Mike Padden

Wednesday was the final day for the Senate and House of Representatives to act on each other’s legislation, and it brought approval from the House for two more of Sen. Mike Padden’s bills. Senate Bill 5437 would align Washington boating law with the state’s motor-vehicle law when it comes to...

Sen. Mike Padden’s comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation is headed for a place in Washington state law. This afternoon the House of Representatives gave its unanimous support to Senate Bill 5669, as the Senate had done last month, which completes the Legislature’s work on the measure. “This is one of the most...

While the operating budget adopted by the Senate this evening has much to recommend it, Sen. Mike Padden said, it also makes some allocations that the Spokane Valley Republican ultimately could not support. “I appreciate many things about this budget – especially the fact that it wouldn’t raise taxes and...

Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley and a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, had this response to the “budget priorities” Gov. Jay Inslee announced today. “Anyone who voted for Governor Inslee based on the claims he made as a candidate has grounds to be feeling like a victim...

With only about 48 hours until its next deadline for voting on legislation the state Senate spent Monday afternoon and evening moving dozens of bills forward, including a diverse pair of measures introduced by Sen. Mike Padden. One would save money when it comes to housing construction while the second...

The Senate today gave its unanimous support this evening to Sen. Mike Padden’s bill to align Washington boating law with the state’s motor-vehicle law when it comes to driving under the influence. “Alcohol consumption is the leading contributor to boating accidents in Washington,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “There is no...

Washington State’s 4th District Senator, Mike Padden, Chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, talks about his bill to make state anti-trafficking laws include expanding the definition of “communication with a minor for immoral purposes” to cover the purchase or sale of commercial sex acts and sex trafficking; add...

Brianna was 17, residing in a small Washington town near Interstate 5 and working at the local café when she met the man who acted like a friend but turned out to be a pimp. It’s men like that, participants in a commercial sex industry that views girls as nothing...

From tightly-written legislation related to marijuana use and school searches to bills that took on broader issues such as eminent domain and human trafficking, the 42 measures endorsed by the Senate Law and Justice Committee so far in the 2013 legislative session cover a wide swath of concerns. “I’ve been...