In the News

Outrage over deaths of citizens in police custody sparked efforts by lawmakers to address racial equity, hiring and training, and the use of force within law enforcement. Now, nearing the halfway point in the 2021 legislative session, the steps toward major reform of police tactics have gained support from both sides, though not without controversy. “I wouldn’t argue that we have complete agreement amongst all of them but we’re continuing to work to bring people together and to move the bills,” ...

State senators passed a bill that would require landowners who live near the seashore to implement a least-destructive alternative to a seawall Thursday. Senate Bill 5273 passed in a 28-21 vote. The bill would require a person — when replacing residential marine shoreline armor — to use the least-impacting alternative to protect marine wildlife, according to the bill’s text. Least-impacting alternatives include native vegetation in place of hard armor, according to the bill’s text. Another alternative could be a soft structure made ...

My Edmonds News presents the Daily Legislative Report, covering the 2021 Washington State Legislature. Substitute Senate Bill 5273, sponsored by 32nd District Senator Jesse Salomon, concerning shoreline armoring, was heard on the Senate Floor. SSB5273 passed the Senate 28-21, moving onto the House for consideration.

State lawmakers advanced several good police reforms out of committee before Monday’s policy cutoff. But they balked at a vital piece of legislation that would help make sure that police chiefs and sheriffs aren’t forced to put cops with troubling records back on the payroll. Senate Bill 5134 would have stripped disciplinary processes for excessive use of force and other serious misconduct from collective-bargaining agreements between law enforcement unions and agencies. It would eliminate private arbitration for ...

No one would dispute that monetary fines — from a $136 speeding ticket on up to $2.6 million for violating state campaign financing laws — can be effective in keeping everyone in line. We can easily think of plenty we’d rather do with that $136 than send it to the court. Yet, for many, those fines — if they go unpaid and lead to a suspended driver’s license — become more than an annoyance, more than incentive to obey speed limits ...

If you’re hoping to see shackles placed on the ability of police unions to hamper officer misconduct investigations, then I suggest you get to grips with an excellent slice of legislation: Section 3 of Senate Bill 5134. Because it may not be long for this world. Or at least this legislative session. In a Legislature overflowing with police reform proposals, that proposal, along with a narrower bill proposed by Spokane Sen. Andy Billig, takes aim at the unholy conflict between police unions ...

School district leaders, the statewide teachers union and other groups are urging lawmakers to address housing affordability for school employees. Right now, state law allows school districts with fewer than 2,000 students to build teacher cottages and other employee housing. Sen. Jesse Salomon, a Democrat whose district includes Shoreline, Edmonds and northwest Seattle, has sponsored a bill that would expand that to all school districts. It advanced out of the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education on Wednesday. Click ...

State lawmakers are wading decisively into the difficult but necessary challenge of addressing the injustices and abuses that drove this summer’s historic Black Lives Matter protests. Last week, the House Public Safety Committee passed three police-reform bills, which were the products of months of thoughtful research and robust discussion. They would ban certain police tactics, require independent audits of use-of-force investigations and create a public database of force and other incidents.