Press Releases

Legislation introduced by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) would establish a civil, non-criminal process for intervening and providing treatment for people found to possess illegal drugs while creating a higher level of accountability for behaviors like using drugs in public. Senate Bill 5976 would address the legal crisis created in 2021 when the state Supreme Court totally invalidated the law prohibiting illegal drug possession in State v. Blake. A temporary legislative fix in response to the ruling (SB 5476) reduced ...

Critical fish habitat would receive increased oversight and protection through legislation passed today by the Senate. SB 5885, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), builds on his 2021 legislation to require friendly shoreline development by directing the state to identify illegally built docks and seawalls and to enforce laws prohibiting them. “Illegally built docks and seawalls are unnecessarily harmful to shoreline habitat and marine life,” Salomon said. “They damage eelgrass habitat, disrupt salmon migration, and expose salmon to more predators.” Salomon’s ...

Public safety would be heightened by the creation of an account to increase resources for residential and commercial fire inspections, under legislation passed today by the Senate. Senate Bill 5880, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would fund the account by increasing license fees for installers as well as penalties for systems installed without state certification. The bill passed 44-5 with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. “Our standards are put in place to protect property, prevent tragedies and save lives, but the state ...

It would be legal in Washington state to use psychoactive mushrooms to treat depression, PTSD and other conditions, under legislation heard today by the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee. “The use of mushrooms as part of therapies to treat problematic mental health issues should be divorced from the lingering cultural drug stereotypes of the sixties,” said Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline). “It’s long past time we stop grouping psilocybin with Schedule 1 substances like heroin and meth and recognize its ...

Permits issued to develop farmland could be withdrawn if a planned project would violate the state Growth Management Act (GMA), under legislation passed last week by the Senate. Senate Bill 5042, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would protect communities from having to provide costly infrastructure for unplanned development by closing a loophole in permitting. “The way it works now, once a permit is vested a developer has a right to develop a proposed project even if the local law that ...

Critical fish habitat would receive increased oversight and protection through legislation heard Thursday by the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee. SB 5885, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), builds on his 2021 legislation to require friendly shoreline development by directing the state to identify illegally built docks and seawalls and to enforce laws prohibiting them. “When docks and seawalls are built the right way, people can enjoy all the benefits of waterfront property and marine life can ...

People who sell or present false proof of a COVID-19 vaccination would be subject to criminal charges under legislation heard today by the Senate Law & Justice Committee. “I can’t imagine a worse time for someone to falsify proof of a vaccination than during a pandemic, as we’re facing now,” said Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline). “This is the most serious public health threat of our lifetimes, a true life-and-death issue for people who are medically vulnerable or unable to get vaccinated ...

Legislation introduced early this session by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) would restrict avenues used by police who have been disciplined by their superiors to overturn or reduce those disciplinary actions and gain reinstatement despite serious misconduct. A glaring example of the existing gap in accountability has been playing out for more than a year in Kent, where the city has been unable to resolve the case of an assistant police chief accused of multiple acts of on-duty displays of pro-Nazi insignia. ...