Longer sentences for habitual property offenders approved by Senate committee
OLYMPIA – A bill allowing longer sentences for habitual property offenders cleared the Senate Law and Justice Committee Thursday, giving prosecutors tools to crack down on rising burglaries, thefts and similar crimes. Senate Bill 5703, sponsored by committee chair Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, allows sentences to be extended by up...
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Bill prompted by Corrections scandal set for Thursday vote in Senate committee
OLYMPIA – A bill prompted by deadly prisoner releases by the state Department of Corrections is set for a vote Thursday in the Senate Law and Justice Committee, a year after the agency revealed it turned loose some 3,000 violent and dangerous prisoners ahead of schedule. Senate Bill 5294, sponsored...
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Freedom the theme at town hall meeting
The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, Feb. 3, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Last weekend it was my pleasure to join my 4th District seatmates, Reps. Matt Shea and Bob McCaslin, for a town hall meeting at the New Life Church...
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Remembering Judge Sam Cozza, reforming DUI laws
The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter Jan. 18, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, On Saturday, the people of our area will pay tribute to one of our best-respected jurists, Sam Cozza, presiding judge of the Spokane County Superior Court. Cozza...
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An out-of-bounds court casts shadow over Legislature
By Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley Note: This op-ed originally appeared in the Valley News Herald, Spokane Valley, Jan. 13, 2017. In Olympia this year we’re going to be talking about a number of specific issues that have a direct impact on the people of the Spokane Valley and...
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Off and running in Olympia
The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter Jan. 12, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, We’re off and running on our 2017 legislative session. The Legislature opened Monday for what is supposed to be 105 days at the state...
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Coroners’ inquests, investigations of police fatalities, subject of committee hearing Wednesday
OLYMPIA – The Senate Law and Justice Committee will hold a work session Wednesday, Jan. 11, on coroners’ investigations of police use of deadly force – a topic that has garnered much comment during the run-up to the 2017 legislative session. The hearing begins at 8 a.m. in Senate Hearing...
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2017 shaping up as busy year for Legislature
Taxes, other key issues for Spokane Valley, are on the table By Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley Note: This op-ed was originally published in the January 2017 editions of the Liberty Lake Splash and the Valley Current. The buzz about next year’s legislative session is all about education funding, proposals...
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Breaking the bank in 2017
The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter Dec. 16, 2016. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, We’re getting ready again for another legislative session in Olympia, and it is looking like this will be one of the hardest-fought sessions in...
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