Mike Padden

State government has never seemed to grow so much, so quickly. Last week, the House and Senate majorities adopted budgets that would spend record amounts of money. Besides draining the rainy-day fund, burning through billions in federal relief dollars, and exhausting enormous budget surpluses, they STILL raise taxes! This is...

• Bill would prohibit discrimination based on COVID vaccination status • Proposals for ‘COVID passports,’ employer actions show urgency of issue • Leaves decision a matter of personal choice Discrimination based on vaccination status is a civil rights issue, and should be prohibited by law, say members of the Senate...

Because state government operates on a two-year budget cycle, new operating, transportation and capital budgets must be approved during the 2021 session. Last week, the majority released its three budget proposals, and to the surprise of few the operating-budget proposal relied on unnecessary tax hikes – even though the state...

Today is Day 72 of the 2021 regular session, which is scheduled to last 105 days and end on April 25. The pace of the session has picked up, with Senate bills moving (or dying) in the House, and vice versa. This week, we will see the majority propose its...

One of the most baffling things in this session is the majority’s insistence on raising and creating new taxes. Despite predictions to the contrary, we have continued to see additional revenue come into the state. In the largest positive quarterly forecast change on record, the March forecast released yesterday increased...

The 2021 legislative session is at the halfway mark. We spent the past week voting on legislation, moving toward yesterday’s 5 p.m. deadline for both chambers to pass their own bills – or they are considered off the table for the remainder of the session. …Unfortunately, the very troubling bills...

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are down, vaccinations are up and now is the time to reopen Washington and bring lawmakers back to Olympia, says Sen. Mike Padden. Pointing to technology difficulties during the remote session, the lawmaker on Wednesday attempted to address the matter to his colleagues during a point...

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....

Spokane Valley lawmaker calls on the House to follow suit quickly OLYMPIA… Today the Senate voted 41-7 to approve Senate Bill 5054, a measure aimed at strengthening the state’s felony-DUI law and reducing the pain and suffering faced by victims of impaired drivers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden,...