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...

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...

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...

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...

 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...

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...

OLYMPIA – A bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden that toughens penalties for retail theft was signed into law Friday by Gov. Jay Inslee. Senate Bill 5635 makes it easier for prosecutors to seek longer sentences for retail-theft crimes, by expanding the application of “special circumstances” sentence enhancements. Padden, R-Spokane...

The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, May 3, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here.    Dear friends and neighbors, The first important action of our special session took place Tuesday as the full House and Senate convened and started taking action on...

OLYMPIA – The Washington Senate passed a Department of Corrections reform bill for the second time Tuesday, assuring the issue will remain under active consideration during the Legislature’s current special session. Senate Bill 5294, prompted by last year’s early-release scandal, was one of several bills revived Tuesday as the full...