Washington state House and Senate Republicans today unveiled their common-sense solutions to the public safety crisis ravaging communities and destroying lives across the state. “During the last legislative session, the majority dropped the ball on public safety,” said Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, ranking member of the Senate Law and...

Padden calls decision a ‘significant victory’ for advocates of religious liberty A controversial Washington law requiring private-insurance plans that provide maternity coverage to also pay for elective abortions received a major blow last week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that a Seattle-area church was...

Measures would reduce barriers to condo construction and help protect free speech In a virtual ceremony today at the state Capitol, Gov. Jay Inslee signed two of Sen. Mike Padden’s measures from the 2021 legislative session. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5024, which cleared both the House and Senate unanimously after...

Uniform Public Expression Protection Act would restore critical free-speech protections The House of Representatives voted 97-1 on Friday to approve Sen. Mike Padden’s measure to help protect citizens, whistleblowers and members of the news media from frivolous lawsuits aimed at stifling freedom of speech and the discussion of legitimate public...

We’ve just started the eighth week of the legislative session. We are still keeping a busy pace, with several days continuing well into the evening as we take votes on a variety of bills. Many of the measures passed so far are worthwhile and reflect the needs of our state....

Spokane Valley lawmaker calls on the House to follow suit quickly OLYMPIA… Today the Senate voted 41-7 to approve Senate Bill 5054, a measure aimed at strengthening the state’s felony-DUI law and reducing the pain and suffering faced by victims of impaired drivers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden,...

By SEN. MIKE PADDEN As much as we would love to see an end to impaired driving and with it, the need to keep sponsoring DUI legislation, we unfortunately know there is still much work to be done. Last week the Senate Law and Justice Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill...

Today the Senate Law and Justice Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 5054, a measure aimed at strengthening the state’s felony DUI law and reducing the pain and suffering faced by the victims of impaired drivers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, would extend the “look-back” in DUI cases,...

Today the Senate Law and Justice Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 5024, a measure to help increase the supply of affordable housing by removing barriers to condominium construction. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley and the lead Republican on the committee. “The committee has long...