OLYMPIA – A bill prohibiting local governments from taking private property for economic development purposes cleared the Senate Tuesday night, aimed at preventing a practice permitted by state law that has frustrated property owners statewide. Senate Bill 5445, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, restricts the use of eminent...

 The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, Feb. 23, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, We’re at the point of our legislative session when the action begins to move to the Senate floor. There are still a few bills...

OLYMPIA – The Washington Senate voted 41-0 Thursday morning to make the fourth DUI a felony in Washington state, marking the sixth time the Senate has given such a measure a unanimous vote since 2015. The previous five times, House leaders have declined to bring the measure to the House...

OLYMPIA – A bill aimed at making coroners’ inquests a more useful procedure, particularly in high-profile cases involving law enforcement, cleared the Senate Law and Justice Committee last week and awaits action by the Senate Rules Committee. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, was inspired in part...

The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, Feb. 16, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, We’re at the point of the legislative session when the pace starts to quicken. On Friday we face a deadline for the passage of...

OLYMPIA – A bill prompted by last year’s early-release scandal at the state Department of Corrections cleared the Senate Law and Justice Committee Thursday. Senate Bill 5294 enacts key reforms recommended by the committee following a months-long investigation into the improper early release of some 3,000 prisoners convicted of violent...

OLYMPIA – A bill allowing longer sentences for habitual property offenders cleared the Senate Law and Justice Committee Thursday, giving prosecutors tools to crack down on rising burglaries, thefts and similar crimes. Senate Bill 5703, sponsored by committee chair Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, allows sentences to be extended by up...

OLYMPIA – A bill prompted by deadly prisoner releases by the state Department of Corrections is set for a vote Thursday in the Senate Law and Justice Committee, a year after the agency revealed it turned loose some 3,000 violent and dangerous prisoners ahead of schedule. Senate Bill 5294, sponsored...

 The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, Feb. 3, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Last weekend it was my pleasure to join my 4th District seatmates, Reps. Matt Shea and Bob McCaslin, for a town hall meeting at the New Life Church...