Mike Padden

New statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show Washington’s fatal drug-overdose situation is even grimmer than a month ago, says Sen. Mike Padden, the lead Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee. For the third straight month, the CDC has issued a report that finds...

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers July 25, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, Washington now has the dubious honor of having the highest gas prices of all states in America. Unfortunately, our state has become a national leader...

Legislature’s two-year experiment with weak, unenforceable laws against hard drugs brings death across the state, say members of Senate Freedom Caucus OLYMPIA – Washington state has become a national leader in drug-overdose deaths, according to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and senators say credit goes...

On Sunday (July 23) many new laws passed this year by the Legislature will take effect. Four of these new laws are based on bills prime-sponsored by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden: Senate Bill 5033, SB 5058, SB 5096 and SB 5218. ‘Kimberly Bender’s law’ The law created by Senate...

SPOKANE VALLEY…On June 22, Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a notice in a pending federal court case stipulating that Washington cannot enforce the 2021 Democrat-sponsored ban on private prisons and detention centers (RCW 70.395.030). Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, sees the move as justification for repealing...

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers May 31, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, I hope all of you enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend. While the three-day weekend provides a great opportunity for us to gather with family and...

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers May 17, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, Although the Legislature concluded its 2023 session on April 23, its work was not finished. An important issue – passing a new law about possessing...

During a one-day special session today, the Legislature approved a bill enhancing penalties for possession of hard drugs, but 4th District Sen. Mike Padden was among the “no” votes in the Senate. Padden, the ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee, believes the compromise version of Senate Bill...

Gov. Jay Inslee today signed Senate Bill 5096, a bipartisan measure prime-sponsored by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden that will aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) corporate structure. “This new law will help promote employee ownership, which is valuable not only for employees but for...