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 crimes. Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.

The crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct is already a Class C felony, but that unfortunately does not seem to be having the appropriate deterrent effect. I introduced Senate Bill 5033 to reclassify this crime as a Class B felony, which would allow a prison term of 10 years instead of the current five-year maximum.

The Law and Justice Committee heard testimony about the bill on Monday, as reported by KING-TV in Seattle (click here to view the report). The committee unanimously passed SB 5033 yesterday. I expect it will be sent to the Senate Rules Committee, which acts as a final gatekeeper before bills that have been passed by other Senate committees can reach the Senate floor.

If you have questions about how to participate in state government this year or thoughts to share on anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call or send me an email.

Thank you, as always, for the honor of serving as your state senator!

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

Panel hears bill requiring pursuit of community-custody violators

One of the problems with Washington’s criminal-justice system is the state Department of Corrections’ failure to prioritize the pursuit of felons who have violated terms of their community supervision, which leaves them free to commit more crimes.

Senate Bill 5226 aims to address that problem. It would require the Department of Corrections to prioritize staffing to pursue active warrants for community-custody violators. In doing so, my bill tries to refocus the agency on its highest duty, which is public safety – because that duty is not being carried out if arrest warrants are going unserved.

This proposal resulted from a 2016 Senate investigation into the premature release of about 3,000 prisoners from the Department of Corrections. Information related to that investigation can be viewed here.

Offenders who have warrants out on them are more prone than others to reoffend. By serving these warrants, we can see some positive changes, including the possibility that these people will not reoffend.

Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Haskell, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels and Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl testified remotely from Spokane in favor of the proposal. Their willingness to offer support is greatly appreciated; that testimony can be seen here.

DUI ‘lookback’ bill clears
second committee hurdle

The Senate’s 12 policy committees have until Feb. 17, or a little more than two weeks from now, to act on Senate bills. When a bill passed by a policy committee has a budget component, it almost always goes before a fiscal committee as well. That means more work for the Senate’s two fiscal committees, which is why they are given an additional week to decide which bills move ahead.

My Senate Bill 5032, known at the Capitol as the DUI “lookback” bill, received the Senate Transportation Committee’s endorsement on Monday. It aims to reduce impaired driving in Washington, and had already been approved at the policy level, by the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

The Senate’s 12 policy committees have until Feb. 17, or a little more than two weeks from now, to act on Senate bills. When a bill passed by a policy committee has a budget component, it almost always goes before a fiscal committee as well. That means more work for the Senate’s two fiscal committees, which is why they are given an additional week to decide which bills move ahead. My Senate Bill 5032, known at the Capitol as the DUI “lookback” bill, received the Senate Transportation Committee’s endorsement on Monday. It aims to reduce impaired driving in Washington, and had already been approved at the policy level, by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. SB 5032 would expand the period for reviewing prior convictions of impaired driving to 15 years, from the 10 years now in state law, when determining whether a new offense of impaired driving is charged as a felony. The proposal would increase the penalty from a gross misdemeanor to a felony offense for any person who has three or more prior DUI offenses within that “lookback” period. Transportation is a fiscal committee, and ordinarily a bill that has received fiscal-committee approval proceeds directly to the Senate Rules Committee. For some reason – perhaps because it would increase the prison population, which costs money – SB 5032 is instead headed for Ways and Means, the Senate’s other budget committee. Considering half of the sponsors of this bill are also members of Ways and Means, this added stop should not be a roadblock.

Other bills still moving:

• Senate Bill 5218, which would provide tax relief to people who require specialized, medically prescribed equipment such as custom wheelchairs — “complex rehabilitation technology products,” as the legislation puts it. SB 5218 is scheduled for a public hearing Feb. 7 before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, after receiving approval from the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee.
• Senate Bill 5096, which would aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), is also before the Senate Ways and Means Committee after being passed last week by the Business, Financial Services, Gaming and Trade Committee. Ways and Means has through Feb. 24 to take action.

Washington has a shortage of homes that people can afford to buy – especially those looking for their first home – and the staggering cost of regulations is a big reason why. The Building Industry Association of Washington recently compiled the latest numbers showing how the cost of a home is inflated by a variety of government-controlled factors. I am a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 5027, to promote housing affordability and home construction; it has received a public hearing before the Senate Housing Committee, a new panel for 2023.

West Valley student
serves as Senate page

It is a joy to see young people from across our state come to the Capitol to serve as pages for the Legislature. This week I had the honor of sponsoring Hadassah Duff as a Senate page. She is the 15-year-old daughter of Jaime Colds-Duff and Rocky Duff of Spokane, and a sophomore at West Valley High School. Hadassah is involved in cross country and track, National Honors Society, and is the president of her school’s HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) club. 

Celebrating and honoring
Americans of Chinese Descent

Those of us serving in the Legislature know January as the month that our annual sessions begin, as specified in Washington’s constitution. If Senate Bill 5000 becomes law, January will also become “Americans of Chinese Descent Month” in our state.

The Senate passed SB 5000 unanimously this week, with the prime sponsor – Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley – noting how the designation is a perfect fit for Washington, as Americans of Chinese descent make up the largest percentage of Asian-Americans in our state.

This bill also would encourage public schools to remember and honor the many contributions and achievements made by the Chinese-American community, and designate time for appropriate activities in commemoration of our state’s complicated history with the Chinese community – “the good and the bad,” as Senator Wagoner put it.

There’s a heartwarming tie between this bill and our legislative district, as I noted when speaking in the Senate chamber prior to our vote (click here to view my remarks). In January, Central Valley High School student Lucy He received a legislative certificate of appreciation for winning the Chinese American History Month national essay contest, sponsored by Asians for Equality – a group that also testified in support of SB 5000 at the committee level.

The connection became deeper when Dr. John Parker, the Central Valley School District’s new superintendent, also spoke in favor of the legislation, with a compelling recollection of the three years he and his wife, Ashley, spent at Shanghai Community International School in Shanghai, China.

The Senate unanimously passed a version of this legislation in 2022, but it was not brought to a vote in the House. Hopefully SB 5000 will become law this year, so we can mark Americans of Chinese Descent Month in 2024; either way it was uplifting to hear senators offer their respect to those in the Chinese-American community before passing the bill.

Contact us!

If you have a question or concern about state government, please do not hesitate to contact our office. During the session we are conducting business from our Senate office in Olympia. We are here to serve you!

Phone: (360) 786-7606

Olympia Office: 215 Legislative Modular Building, Olympia, WA 98504-0404

Email address: Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov

PLEASE NOTE: Any email or documents you provide to this office may be subject to disclosure under RCW 42.56. If you would prefer to communicate by phone, please contact Sen. Padden’s Olympia office at (360) 786-7606.

To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton, the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.