Bill supporters to gather tomorrow at 37th annual March for Life in Olympia Calling it a common-sense measure to respect the rights of parents, Sen. Mike Padden today announced legislation to require that an underage girl’s parent or guardian be notified before she may have an abortion. Padden, R-Spokane Valley,...

The 2015 session began with a bang of the gavel as members were sworn in. The Legislature will have a Republican majority in the Senate and a Democrat majority in the House of Representatives this session. Given this reality, lawmakers will undoubtedly need to work together to achieve solutions on...

Members of the Majority Coalition Caucus have announced that Spokane Valley Sen. Mike Padden will continue to serve as chairman of the Law and Justice Committee, which deals with civil and criminal law and will assume responsibility for corrections issues. “In the last two years, the Senate Law and Justice...

This Friday the Senate Law and Justice Committee will make history by letting three people offer testimony without having to travel to the Capitol. Sen. Mike Padden, committee chair, said the 8 a.m. work session will offer the first real test of videoconferencing technology he hopes to use more during...

Sen. Mike Padden said he will remember state Rep. Roger Freeman for the courage he showed in being an outspoken defender of life and battling the cancer that claimed the first-term Democratic lawmaker’s life earlier today. Freeman, of Federal Way, was 48. “He was an outstanding person with such a...

Click on the image to view the Senate Law and Justice Committee’s Oct. 2 work session, in the Spokane Valley City Council chambers.

Sen. Mike Padden invites residents of the 4th Legislative District to join him for coffee and conversation on Wednesday, Nov. 12 in Millwood. From 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. that day, Padden will be at the Rocket Bakery, 3315 N. Argonne Rd., to meet one-on-one with the people he serves....

Click on the text below to read the full column by Sen. Padden.