June 15, 2017

Public safety at The Evergreen State College is topic of Senate work session

OLYMPIA – Over-the-top student protests, vandalism, threats of violence, and other public safety concerns are prompting an inquiry by the Senate Law and Justice Committee into recent events at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. The committee will hold a work session on campus safety Tuesday at 1 p.m. in...
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June 12, 2017

Senate committee chair offers new version of Corrections reform bill

OLYMPIA – A new version of this year’s Department of Corrections reform bill will be heard in the Senate Law and Justice Committee Tuesday, as Chair Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, seeks middle ground on one of the session’s biggest issues. The new version of Senate Bill 5294, sponsored by Padden,...
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June 08, 2017

Freedom on trial at The Evergreen State College

The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s Report From Olympia, June 8, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Waiting for a session-ending breakthrough Dear friends and neighbors, Right now the Legislature is waiting for House and Senate negotiators work to reach a final agreement on a...
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June 05, 2017

Padden: Counties’ campaign is about taxes, not public safety

The following op-ed appeared in The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, June 4, 2017. By Sen. Mike Padden Special to The Spokesman-Review In the final weeks of the 2017 legislative session, we’ve been hearing wild claims about the Senate’s no-new-taxes budget proposal; you might get the idea the sky is falling. The argument...
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May 25, 2017

School funding, tax hikes, rural wells are top issues as overtime drags on

The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s Report From Olympia, May 25, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here.     Dear friends and neighbors, This week our first special session ended and a new one began – a distinction that probably means more to...
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May 18, 2017

Victory at last for felony DUI bill

The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s Report From Olympia, May 18, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, At long last, our effort to make the 4th DUI a felony in the state of Washington has cleared the final hurdle...
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May 16, 2017

Padden bill making 4th DUI a felony is signed into law

OLYMPIA – A bill making the 4th DUI a felony in the state of Washington was signed into law Tuesday following more than four years of work by lawmakers to toughen laws against impaired driving. Senate Bill 5037, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, sends impaired drivers to prison...
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May 11, 2017

Connecticut crisis offers lesson for Washington

 The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s Report From Olympia, May 11, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, We have reached the midway point of our 30-day overtime session in Olympia, and to all outward appearances it might not look...
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May 10, 2017

Board decision on Corrections worker confirms key conclusion of Senate investigation

OLYMPIA – A year after a Senate investigation concluded the early release of 3,000 violent and dangerous prisoners was due to pervasive mismanagement at the Department of Corrections, a new decision by a state board confirms one of its central findings, lawmakers said Wednesday. The state Personnel Resources Board this...
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