Press Releases

OLYMPIA – With the 2021 mostly remote legislative session now entering the second half, Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) has sponsored five bills that have earned Senate approval and will continue on in the legislative process. More information on Salomon’s bills that are now in the House of Representatives is available below and at senatedemocrats.wa.gov/salomon.

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 Senate on Monday with a bipartisan vote of 33-16. SB 5226, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would remove criminal penalties for an inability to pay traffic fines.

OLYMPIA – A bill to better protect workers during a public health crisis was approved by the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 40-7 on Tuesday. SB 5254, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would bar employers from prohibiting employees from wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when a public health state of emergency is declared because of an infectious disease.

A bill to protect family wage jobs at Washington’s marine ports was approved by the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 34-14 on Tuesday. Senate Bill 5026, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would prohibit marine ports that receive public funds from fully automating their operations for the next ten years.

A bill aimed at restoring salmon habitat for Puget Sound orcas struggling to find enough food to survive was approved by the Senate by a vote of 28-21 on Thursday. Senate Bill 5273, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would require residential property owners to use an alternative that has the least amount of negative impact on marine life when replacing existing shoreline seawalls.

OLYMPIA – State Senator Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) introduced a bill to rebuild public trust in law enforcement agencies by placing limits on law enforcement collective bargaining agreements related to officer discipline and accountability, and preventing police unions and their employers from setting up privately paid-for disciplinary review systems. SB 5134 would place several limitations on disciplinary processes for law enforcement officers, such as:

• Prohibiting privately paid-for, for-profit third-party arbitrators from overturning disciplinary decisions by police chiefs;
• Prohibiting police union ...
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“I strongly condemn violence in all forms. That includes violence against law enforcement officers like the recent alleged attack on a Seattle Police officer near Denny Park. “There is an important nationwide dialogue happening now around systemic and structural problems with current law enforcement policies and practices. “However, violence in any form, especially acts targeted at police officers, is never the answer. Continued acts of violence against police officers will make enacting much-needed reforms more difficult.

OLYMPIA – A bill to set up state level enforcement against illegal foreign donations in political campaigns in response to the Federal Elections Commission’s abandonment of campaign finance enforcement received a unanimous vote from the House of Representatives on Wednesday. “I was motivated to work on this bill after the Citizens United ruling, which opened up our elections to endless amounts of corporate influence,” said Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), the bill’s sponsor. “That ruling was a major step backwards in ...