Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 16, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. The 2023 legislative session is now in its 10th week, with five weeks to go. April 23 is the scheduled last day. As the Legislature approaches the home stretch...

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 10, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. The Senate just passed a milestone for the 2023 legislative session. Wednesday was the “floor cutoff,” the last day for the Senate to vote on Senate bills, except measures...

Following a 20-year high in traffic deaths in Washington, the Senate today again approved an anti-impaired driving bill sponsored by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden. Senate Bill 5032, which was passed 48-1, would expand the period for reviewing prior convictions of impaired driving to 15 years, from the 10 years...

The Senate last night voted 28-21 to pass Senate Bill 5536, which aims to provide a long-term solution to the state’s drug laws after the state Supreme Court overturned the state’s drug-possession law in 2021. The bill declares that possession of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine would be charged as...

The Senate today voted 48-0 to pass a bipartisan bill that aims to impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards. Senate Bill 5033 would reclassify the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct as a Class B felony, allowing a prison term of 10 years instead of the...

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers Feb. 22, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, This year’s legislative session is reaching a key transition point. During the previous six weeks, the Senate devoted much of its time to committee meetings...

The Senate Law and Justice Committee held a public hearing today on a bill introduced by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden that aims to reverse the alarming trend in fentanyl use and fentanyl-related deaths in Washington. Padden’s measure, Senate Bill 5035, would make possession or use of illegal drugs like...

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers Feb. 3, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, Officers who work in Washington’s correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate...

Democrats on the Senate Law and Justice Committee yesterday turned back new attempts by Republicans to fix a criminal-friendly flaw in Washington’s law regarding police pursuits of suspected criminals. They stuck instead to a partisan approach that would delay a solution for at least 18 months, and do nothing in...