To see latest e-newsletter from Sen. Mike Padden, click here.

With the 2022 legislative session now well in the rear-view mirror, it is time to review laws that were passed and begin preparations for bills to introduce next year. This is also the ideal time to hear directly from you. Please click here to take our 2022 constituent survey, and...

It’s been about a month since we wrapped up the 2022 legislative session, and a good point to step back and look at the impact this session had on you and your family. Soon, you should expect to see our full 4th District Session Review newsletter in your mail. It...

The end is near. If all goes as planned the regular 2022 legislative session will reach its scheduled conclusion later today. In 1866, as Surrogate of New York County, Gideon John Tucker famously wrote: “No man’s life, liberty or property is safe while the Legislature is in session.” Well, soon...

The 2022 session train keeps chugging along, and the end of the line is in sight. We have exactly one week to go until the scheduled end of this year’s regular session. Tomorrow is the final cut-off deadline to approve bills that originated in the House of Representatives, and for...

As we enter the homestretch of the 2022 legislative session, it’s budget week in Olympia. In odd-numbered years, the Legislature is required to create and pass three budgets: an operating budget, a transportation budget, and a capital budget. In the even-numbered years, like this one, lawmakers use the short session...

As we wrap up the sixth week of this 2022 legislative session, we have now passed the “cutoff” for Senate policy bills to move forward from the Senate, and likewise for bills in the House of Representatives. The good news: Some really good Senate bills survived the voting deadline and...

We’ve almost reached the end of the fifth week of the 2022 Legislature. Only four weeks remain in the regular session. The majority of this week has been spent on the Senate floor, voting on bills that were advanced by the policy and fiscal committees. The universe of measures we...

On Friday, January 28, which would have been Sen. Doug Ericksen’s 53rd birthday, the Senate took time to honor and remember his life and accomplishments. After representing Whatcom County’s 42nd District in the state House and Senate for a total of 23 years, Doug passed away in December after contracting...