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OLYMPIA – Earlier today, the Washington State Legislature approved a critical piece of tax reform legislation. Senate Bill 5096, sponsored by Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, enacts a capital gains excise tax to fund the expansion and affordability of child care, early learning, and the state’s paramount duty to provide an education for the children of Washington. After passing the House on April 21, the bill was sent to conference following the Senate’s refusal to concur with House amendments. The final bill adjusts the distribution of collected revenues by capping deposits in the Education Legacy Trust Account at ...

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Legislature passed a historic budget today that focuses on an equitable recovery from the economic and health impacts of COVID-19. The 2021-23 operating budget uses a combination of ongoing state revenue and federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to provide back-due rent relief, small business support, strengthen the state’s safety net, build upon investments in local public health, and prioritize needs of low-income and communities of color who have suffered the most impacts due to the pandemic. “This is a budget that meets the moment and will guide a sustainable and equitable recovery ...

OLYMPIA – Washington will extend its public-health approach to substance use disorder by establishing a temporary new legal framework the possession of controlled substances and providing nearly $90 million to significantly expand treatment infrastructure, under a bill passed today by the Legislature. In a Feb. 25 decision in the case of State v. Blake, the Washington State Supreme Court struck down the state statute that made possession of controlled substances a class C felony, removing all state criminal penalties for possession. SB 5476, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond), reduces the penalty to a simple misdemeanor and mandates ...

OLYMPIA — With the passage of Senate Bill 5478 today, the Legislature has now put $2.2 billion in unemployment insurance (UI) tax cuts back into the pockets of Washington’s employers. “Businesses around our state have been suffering during this pandemic,” said Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines), the bill’s sponsor and chair of the Senate Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs Committee. “We knew when the legislative session started that we needed to act quickly and decisively to provide immediate relief and help employers recover going forward—and that’s what we’ve done.” SB 5478 provides the hardest-hit businesses with $500 million ...

Legislation signed into law by the governor this week makes misrepresentation of an unofficial ballot drop box a gross misdemeanor. Senate Bill 5015, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia), would hold anyone who provides a voter with faulty election equipment or misleading or incorrect information guilty of a gross misdemeanor. The penalty for a gross misdemeanor is a maximum of 364 days in jail and a fine of $5,000.

OLYMPIA – Washington state is one step closer to banning open carry weapons within 250 feet of permitted public demonstrations and the state capitol grounds with a bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday. SB 5038, sponsored by Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue), would make Washington the ninth state plus D.C. to ban open carry weapons at public demonstrations according to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

“Every state has laws on the books that limit where you can exercise your Second Amendment rights,” said Kuderer. “You can’t bring a gun into a bar or a courthouse ...

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Washington would re-establish a statewide legal framework pertaining to controlled substances and expanding behavioral health treatment options, under a bill passed today by the Senate. In a Feb. 25 decision in the case of State v. Blake, the Washington State Supreme Court struck down the state statute that made possession of controlled substances a class C felony, removing any state criminal penalties for possession. As amended on the floor today, SB 5476 would make knowing possession of controlled substances a gross misdemeanor and mandate that jurisdictions provide treatment options. The first two times a person is arrested for possession ...

  OLYMPIA – Today, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a measure that will protect people who purchase “flipped” homes from damage or injury due to inadequately performed electrical work. Senate Bill 5267, sponsored by Sen. Rebecca Saldaña (D-Seattle), requires electrical work to be performed by a certified electrician or a licensed electrical contractor in homes that are sold within one year of being acquired. Similarly, it requires telecommunications work in such homes to be performed by a licensed telecommunications contractor. “Electrical inspectors are seeing a fairly pervasive problem of people performing inadequate electrical work on property they are ...

OLYMPIA – A bill that takes another step toward decriminalizing poverty by removing non-payment of moving violation-based traffic infractions from a list of actions that can lead to criminal enforcement of license suspensions was approved by the House of Representatives on Saturday with a strong bipartisan vote of 80-17. SB 5226, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would remove criminal penalties for an inability to pay traffic fines.