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. In fact, a few of my bills have now made it through the Senate and are now awaiting action in the House of Representatives. You can read more about these bills and more below.
Other bills, however, leave you scratching your head and asking: What are they thinking?
Last week, the majority pushed a bill at the committee level that would create a new tax on sweetened drinks. The House passed a bill that would allow felons to vote before they have fully met the obligations of their sentences, including victim restitution. The Senate also passed a ban on openly carried weapons in the state Capitol or on the Capitol’s grounds. Washington is an “open-carry” state, yet this bill would eliminate that right within 250 feet of a permitted demonstration.
Shockingly, we have also seen an outright attack on policing in our state, with a number of measures stripping law enforcement of critical tools, making it easier to decertify officers, and creating new, unworkable regulations.