Tag Archives: crime

Let’s “ditch the switch!” and have year-round standard time in Washington

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers November 20, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

Dear friends and neighbors,

In November, Americans in nearly every state were forced to adjust to the annual switch from daylight saving time back to standard time.

If there is one issue most people agree on, it’s the dislike of moving their clocks from standard time to daylight saving time in the spring and then back to standard time in the fall. It confuses and annoys many people, and it causes health problems for some. That’s why state Sen. Kim Thatcher of Oregon and I are working together to see if our respective legislatures will agree to keep our states’ clocks on standard time year-round. We will each introduce legislation to do so in our upcoming legislative sessions.

In 2019, I supported the passage of a state law in Washington calling for year-round daylight saving time. However, that law will not take effect until the federal government approves the same change.

In 2022, I co-sponsored Senate Bill 5511, a bipartisan measure that would have exempted Washington from observing daylight saving time until the state could move to Pacific Daylight Time year-round. SB 5511 was not approved by the Senate.

Sen. Thatcher and I have contacted legislators in California, Idaho and Nevada to see if they also will introduce year-round standard-time bills in those states.

Arizona and Hawaii are the only states on permanent standard time. Because Congress has already decided states may be on permanent standard time if they choose, Oregon and Washington would not need the federal government to pass a bill authorizing the two states to be on year-round standard time.

Since Sen. Thatcher and I two weeks ago announced our plans to introduce legislation to switch our states to year-round standard time, there have been several news stories about this popular issue, including reports by KPBX Radio in Spokane, The Center Square and KING-TV in Seattle. Click here to hear my interview with KONA Radio, in the Tri-Cities.

If you have questions about how to participate in state government this year or thoughts to share on anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call or send me an email.

Thank you, as always, for the honor of serving as your state senator!

Here’s wishing you and everyone else a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

Crime, drug problems still plaguing Washington

Over the past few years, crime has worsened in Washington, whether it is violent crime, retail theft, auto theft or other offenses. Much of the rising crime in our state can be blamed on laws passed by our Democratic majorities in the Legislature, including the disastrous 2021 laws that restricted law-enforcement officers from pursuing suspects and weakened penalties for hard-drug possession down to a misdemeanor.

Two weeks ago, Axios in Seattle posted a story saying that Washington’s violent crime rate continues to increase. According to the article, there were 375.6 reported violent crimes for every 100,000 people in Washington last year, compared to 380.7 violent crimes per 100,000 people nationally, according to the FBI’s data. The story also noted that Washington’s violent crime rate was about 1% below the U.S. rate in 2022. That is a significant rise from 2012, when the state’s violent crime rate was about 23% below the national rate.

I recently did a seven-minute live phone interview with Portland-based talk-show host Lars Larson, whose show is carried throughout the Northwest. We discussed the current crime problem in Washington, and how it is fueled partly by the ongoing restrictions on law-enforcement officers to pursue suspects, as well as the continuing problem with hard drugs, especially fentanyl.

Although our Legislature last session passed a bill that slightly increased the penalty for serious drug possession from a misdemeanor to what is essentially a hybrid between a misdemeanor and a gross misdemeanor, that will not be enough to persuade drug offenders to seek needed treatment. The threat of felony punishment would be a stronger tool to convince offenders to go into treatment.

Speaking at Veterans Day event

On November 11, I had the honor of joining other elected officials and local veterans at the Veterans Day event at Pines Cemetery, hosted by American Legion Post 241. During the ceremony, I spoke to the gathering about the importance of honoring America’s veterans for their service to our nation, and recent laws passed by the Legislature that help veterans. Thanks to all of our veterans!

Addressing Liberty Lake City Council about condo legislation

On November 8, I attended the Liberty Lake City Council meeting and told councilors there about my legislation for next session that would expand on a new state law passed last session that makes it easier for small condominium buildings to be constructed. That new law, which I introduced, specifically exempts buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories from the definition of a “multiunit” residential building. The 2024 bill would allow the construction of such condo buildings to include a third level for parking or retail stores.

Partnering with California, Quebec on a carbon market coalition?!

Early this month, the state Department of Ecology announced it is considering joining a carbon market coalition with California and the Canadian province of Quebec.

Soon after DOE announced this news, KHQ-TV in Spokane did a Zoom interview with me on this topic. I pointed out how such a move could increase carbon costs, which in turn could raise gasoline prices yet again. People are very worried making ends meet, and another gas-price hike will really hurt their wallets. You can watch that news story, including the interview, here.

Contact us!

If you have a question or concern about state government, please do not hesitate to contact our office. During the interim we are conducting business from our district office in Spokane Valley. We are here to serve you!

Phone: (509) 921-2460

Email address: Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov

PLEASE NOTE: Any email or documents you provide to this office may be subject to disclosure under RCW 42.56. If you would prefer to communicate by phone, please contact Sen. Padden’s Olympia office at (360) 786-7606.

To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton, the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.

Padden says new law-enforcement training center will increase public safety

The new law-enforcement training center near Fairchild Air Force Base will boost public safety in Spokane County, says a key legislator on crime issues.

State Sen. Mike Padden, the Republican leader on the Senate Law and Justice Committee, will attend and speak at today’s grand-opening ceremony for the new training center.

“This new training center is a state-of-the-art facility,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “It will enhance public safety for everyone in Spokane County – officers and citizens alike.”

Padden, who serves the 4^th Legislative District, said the new training center is the result of a joint effort between the U.S. Air Force and Spokane County.

“I commend the Air Force and Spokane County for their wonderful job of planning, funding and constructing this outstanding facility,” said Padden.

Padden mentioned it will be used by several law-enforcement agencies in the area, including officers with the Spokane Valley Police Department and the county sheriff’s staff who serve in unincorporated areas.

“This new facility will allow us to train more law-enforcement personnel in our region,” said Padden, who noted Washington ranks last among all states for the number of law-enforcement officers per capita. “It will greatly reduce the backlog for training officers across the state.

“It’s encouraging to know that the vast majority of law-enforcement officers in the 4^th Legislative District will train at this new center,” added Padden.

Seattle already has passed 2022 homicide total – with three months left

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers September 28, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

Dear friends and neighbors,

In recent years, a glaring example of how our state’s crime problem has worsened is the rise in homicides in Seattle and King County.

On Monday, a story published by The Seattle Times shows the homicide problem in Washington’s largest city is especially bad this year. This section is especially noteworthy:

There have been 114 homicides committed in King County as of Friday, when two men were killed in separate Seattle incidents, according to a Seattle Times database. That’s five deaths shy of the 119 homicides investigated in both 2021 and 2022.

This year’s tally has exceeded the county’s 113 homicides in 2020 — a figure that was up from 73 the year before.

Exactly half of this year’s killings have occurred in Seattle, which has totaled 57 homicides, including Friday’s Belltown and Columbia City killings, according to The Times’ database, which is compiled with preliminary information from police, prosecutors and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Seattle police investigated 33 homicides in 2019, 53 in 2020, 41 in 2021 and 54 in 2022, according to The Times’ data. With more than three months left in the year, it’s conceivable the city could break its 1994 record of 69 homicides in a single year.

“It’s a concerning trend,” Dan Clark, a King County chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said of 2023’s homicide count. “We all had anticipated that as we were coming out of the pandemic, some of these disturbing numbers would drop and we haven’t seen that so far.”

As in recent years, this year’s homicides span the gamut of gang-related shootings, domestic-violence killings, violence in homeless encampments, road rage, drug- and prostitution-related killings, and homicides resulting from drug use or mental health crises.

The high – and likely record-breaking – number of homicides in our state’s most populous county is cause for concern. While there are several likely causes for the high number of King County homicides, a few that immediately come to mind are: 1) the decline in the number of police officers in Seattle and other King County communities, which makes it harder to maintain law and order in these communities; 2) the relaxing of state law by Democratic majorities in the Legislature that limited law-enforcement officers’ ability to pursue suspects; and 3) the Legislature weakened state drug-possession laws a couple of years ago, which resulted in such a notable increase in drug-overdose deaths that Washington now leads the U.S. in both drug-overdose deaths and the percentage increase in drug-overdose deaths.

The weakening of Washington’s drug-possession law in 2021 probably has been a factor in crimes in our state. The Democrat-controlled Legislature this year passed a law increasing the penalty for drug possession from a misdemeanor to what is functionally a hybrid of a misdemeanor and a gross misdemeanor. But many opponents of this new law, myself included, believe it needed to provide tougher punishment so drug offenders would be more willing to undergo treatment to avoid more jail time. People need to be held accountable when they break laws. When lawbreakers are in jail or prison, they aren’t hurting society.

If you have questions about how to participate in state government this year or thoughts to share on anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call or send me an email.

Thank you, as always, for the honor of serving as your state senator!

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

Litter becomes greater problem in WA

Washington has become a national leader in several unwanted categories over the years, from ranking first in the U.S. for drug-overdose deaths to currently having the third-highest gasoline prices in America after briefly having the most expensive gas in the country. Our state also has the lowest number of law-enforcement officers per capita of all states (plus the District of Columbia), a key factor why Washington has experienced a steady and disturbing rise in crime.

We can add litter to this dubious list for Washington.

The (Tacoma) News Tribune last week reported our state has ranked above the national average with litter on roadways and public areas, according to a recent study.

Here are interesting snippets from The News Tribune story:

The national average is 5,714 pieces of litter per mile according to a 2020 nationwide study. Washington state clocked in at 8,112 pieces per mile according to the statewide litter study commissioned in 2022 by the Washington State Department of Ecology that was released Monday, although the agency said they are unsure why there is significantly more litter in the state compared to others.
The Department of Ecology estimated that nearly 38 million pounds of litter accumulates every year on roads and in public areas throughout the state. That averages out to about 5 pounds of litter per resident in Washington.
Cigarette butts, food wrappers, snack bags, glass bottles and construction debris were named as some of the most common items found on the roadside, according to the study.
More than 300 traffic crashes and 30 injuries were caused by debris from unsecured loads, the Department of Ecology said. Five deaths were attributed to debris from unsecured loads.

This problem has not escaped the Legislature’s notice. In 2021, legislators and the governor approved a bipartisan bill introduced by one of my Republican colleagues, 31st District Sen. Phil Fortunato, that enhances litter control in Washington. This law prioritizes litter control along the state’s highways and requires the state Department of Ecology to contract with the Department of Transportation to schedule litter-prevention messaging and coordinate litter-emphasis patrols with the Washington State Patrol.

There has been evidence of this new anti-litter law in action, as a litter crew was spotted next to I-5 in the Tacoma area last week, and an electronic sign south of Olympia last week asked motorists and passengers to not litter.

However, the Legislature should fully implement Sen. Fortunato’s original anti-litter bill from 2021. The House had removed an important part from the original version of that measure that required the Department of Ecology to prioritize funding litter control along state highways when distributing funds to state agencies for litter control programs. The original bill should have been passed by the Legislature two years ago instead of the altered version that became law.

State flag flies over Capitol for new State Bar Association president

Ferry County resident Hunter Abell recently was chosen as the 2023-24 president of the Washington State Bar Association, which typically focuses on law and justice issues before the Legislature. At the request of a mutual friend, I contacted Secretary of State Steve Hobbs’ office in Olympia and arranged to have a Washington state flag flown over the state Capitol two weeks ago. The photo above shows that flag, as well as the certificate from Secretary Hobbs (my former Senate colleague) to Hunter that marks the occasion.

Speaking at Oaks Academy ceremony

On September 15, I had the honor of speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new $14.8 million building at The Oaks Classical Christian Academy in Spokane Valley. It was a good event that was well attended. More than 360 students attend the academy, which has a tremendous academic record and has a number of graduates who have attended some of the finest higher education institutions in the country.

Attending judicial meeting in Tumwater

Late last week, I traveled to Tumwater for the Interbranch Advisory Committee meeting at the state Supreme Court’s temporary chambers. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Steve Gonzalez provided a judicial branch update, and I joined one of my colleagues, Sen. Jamie Pedersen of Seattle, in providing a legislative update.

Contact us!

Phone: (509) 921-2460

Email address: Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov

To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton, the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.

Washington now leads U.S. in drug overdose deaths

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 in another undesirable category. According to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Washington state has become the national leader in drug-overdose deaths.

What led to this? Our Democrat-controlled Legislature and its successful effort in 2021 to erase felony drug laws from the books.

Statistics show drug deaths skyrocketed in Washington state after Democratic leaders insisted on not reinstating felony penalties for the possession of hard drugs after the BLAKE decision. For the period February 2022 to February 2023 Washington saw the biggest increase in overdose fatalities anywhere in the country, a stunning 23.9 percent increase. Overdoses of heroin, fentanyl and other hard drugs claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people across our state. This is tragic and unacceptable.

I joined three other members of the Senate Freedom Caucus in putting out a news release earlier this week that decries this terrible moment for our state. Here is part of that news release:

The new statistics from the CDC illustrate the effect of Washington’s decriminalization effort because they show the rise in drug deaths between 2022 and 2023, as the liberalized drug law took effect.

Washington lawmakers revised drug laws in 2021 after the state Supreme Court overturned felony statutes for possession of hard drugs. Majority Democrats in the Legislature chose not to fix the language in the statute, arguing that the “war on drugs” was counterproductive and racially insensitive. Instead, the Legislature reduced the crime to a misdemeanor, with penalties accruing only on the third offense. As a result, there was Defacto decriminalization.

By eliminating the threat of jail time, the law eliminated incentives for addicts to enroll in drug-treatment programs. The law also eliminated a tool used by law enforcement in sweeps of homeless camps.  

Lawmakers changed the law again this year, keeping hard-drug possession as a hybrid misdemeanor, but allowing jail time on the first offense. The new law took effect on July 1, and the effect has yet to be seen.

On Monday, I was interviewed by KVI talk-show host John Carlson on the drug-overdose increase. You can listen to the interview here.

If you have questions about how to participate in state government this year or thoughts to share on anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call or send me an email.

Thank you, as always, for the honor of serving as your state senator!

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

New report reveals that crime is increasing in Washington

This chart shows the number of murders in our state between 1980 and 2022.

Many people throughout Washington realize that crime continues to worsen in our state. The latest “Crime in Washington” report, released earlier this month by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, confirmed that crime is a growing problem. You can view the full report here. WASPC’s news release on its report is here.

The report showed that 2022 was another record year for murders in our state, with 394 homicides in 2022, an increase of 16.6% compared to 2021 and a shocking rise of 96% over 2019, when there were 201 murders in Washington.

There have been other startling increases in other crime categories since 2019: Motor vehicle theft skyrocketed 94%, robbery rose 31%, aggravated assault increased 41%, burglary went up nearly 26%, and destruction of property saw a hike of nearly 41%.

(This recent KHQ-TV story said July is National Vehicle Theft Awareness Month, and the Spokane Police Department pointed out “the Inland Northwest and the State of Washington as a whole is seeing an increase in vehicle thefts.”)

The report pointed out that Washington was last in the nation in per capita law enforcement and continued to see a decline in commissioned law-enforcement officers, falling by 70 statewide (from 10,736 in 2021 to 10,666), while the state’s population during this period has increased by 93,262.

Unless communities in our state hire more law-enforcement officers, crime likely will continue to rise in our state.

Spokesman-Review publishes op-ed on WA Cares program’s problems

Over the past several months, many 4^th District constituents have reached out to me to complain about the WA Cares long-term care program, including the expensive payroll tax that funds it. After being delayed, the payroll tax became active on July 1.

On July 16, the Spokesman-Review published my guest editorial piece that points out problems with WA Cares, as well as the recent proposal by some of my Senate Republican colleagues for next session that would make WA Cares optional instead of mandatory, and, depending on when someone opted out of the program, would provide a refund on taxes already paid. You can read the guest editorial here.

It’s time to repeal law banning private prisons

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).

This action recognizes the unconstitutionality of the statue. The unenforceable statute needs to be repealed. Senate Bill 5055 does that.

My news release that responds to the notice filed by the governor and attorney general can be read here.

In late June, I appeared on the Lars Larson Show to discuss this issue. You can listen to the interview with Lars here.

Kudos to East Valley High School on revamping wood and metal shops

As a proponent of vocational classes in high schools and vocational and trade programs after high school, I was interested in a recent Spokesman-Review article that said East Valley High School “is in the middle of revamping their wood and metal shops to include updated machines and new opportunities for learning.” The story said the high school applied for a grant from the Washington Department of Commerce and received $200,000.

It’s important that people, especially those who are in high school or are college-age, have opportunities to receive enough training in vocational fields so they can earn a job in such a field and possibly make a career of it. Congratulations to East Valley High School for taking positive steps to help students who wish to take wood and metal classes.

WA does not fare well in SEL’s latest state rankings on business

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories recently unveiled its latest “Index of Freedom,” which ranks states on a variety of business-related criteria. You can view the rankings here.

The top five scoring states were Utah (with a score of 11.53), South Dakota (11.58), North Dakota (11.97), Idaho (12.35) and Nevada (12.55). Where did Washington rank? Our state was 32^nd, with a 26.78 score.

Here is what the report said about our state: “Washington suffers from a challenging regulatory climate and poor labor rates, driven by some of the most progressive prevailing wage and minimum wage laws in the nation. While Washington has been buoyed by the lack of a personal income tax, a newly implemented 7 percent capital gains tax sets a dangerous and highly irregular precedent, as the Washington State Supreme Court characterized this tax as an excise tax and not an income tax, as does the IRS and every other state in the country. This ruling opened the door for more bad tax policy in the state. On the positive side, Washington benefits from the most abundant hydroelectric power in the country, and this keeps electric power relatively cheap; any attempts to stop or lessen the use of hydro power would negatively impact the state and its standings. However, even with this important resource lifting the score, Washington remains in the bottom tier.”

This annual report focuses on three critical variables: government efficiency, regulatory freedom, and energy resiliency. Information from this report highlights potential advantages or challenges that exist when doing business in each state.

Contact us!

Phone: (509) 921-2460

Email address: Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov

PLEASE NOTE: Any email or documents you provide to this office may be subject to disclosure under RCW 42.56. If you would prefer to communicate by phone, please contact Sen. Padden’s Olympia office at (360) 786-7606.

To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton, the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.

Padden laments Legislature’s lack of progress to address impaired driving

The day after its annual session at the state Capitol ended, 4th Legislative District Sen. Mike Padden is criticizing the Legislature’s inability to pass a meaningful bill that would help combat impaired driving.

“The Legislature missed a golden opportunity to start reversing the disturbing increase in traffic accidents caused by impaired driving,” said Padden, the ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee. “In the final days of the session, a bill that represented a significant step toward addressing impaired driving stalled because of inaction by House Democrats and because certain legislators did not like it for one reason or another. As a result, our state likely will continue to see even more traffic accidents and traffic deaths because of impaired driving.”

According to statistics compiled by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, Washington road deaths reached a 20-year high in 2021. There were 670 traffic deaths in 2021, including 272 fatalities involving drug-impaired driving and 155 deaths involving alcohol-impaired driving. In 2020, Washington had 574 traffic fatalities, including 214 involving drug-impaired driving and 135 involving alcohol-impaired driving.

The commission has a current preliminary estimate of 745 traffic fatalities in 2022. No 2022 figures on traffic deaths involving drug- or alcohol-impaired driving are available yet.

“This year offered a great chance to start to turn things around in our state when it comes to impaired driving,” Padden, R-Spokane Valley, added today. “Many legislators wanted to strengthen the law to finally tackle this growing problem. It’s very disappointing to see our effort thwarted at the very end. The people of Washington deserve better.”

Padden pointed to House Bill 1493, which had been unanimously passed by the House in March and the Senate earlier this month. The version passed by the Senate included language from Senate Bill 5032, Padden’s bipartisan measure that would expand the period for reviewing prior convictions of impaired driving to 15 years, from the 10 years now in state law, when determining whether a new offense of impaired driving is charged as a felony. Under SB 5032, any person who has three or more prior DUI offenses within that 15-year lookback period would face a felony, rather than the current penalty of a gross misdemeanor. SB 5032 would give offenders a chance to undergo a highly structured treatment program.

Padden said state Rep. Roger Goodman, the chair of the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee, agreed to add SB 5032 language to HB 1493 while SB 5032 was in the House.

After the House last Monday voted to refuse to concur (or agree) with the Senate’s amendments, the Senate last Thursday voted to recede from its original amendments to the bill and then added a floor amendment that included language found in SB 5032 before unanimously passing the newly amended HB 1493. In other words, the Senate passed the policy language for SB 5032 three times this session, and the Senate approved HB 1493 twice this year.

However, the House did not bring the latest version of HB 1493 to the floor for a vote before the 2023 session adjourned last night.

It was the third straight year that the language found in SB 5032 had been approved by the Senate, only to not be passed by the House.

“We don’t know why Representative Goodman could not help bring House Bill 1493 to the House floor for a vote during the final days of the session,” said Padden. “It just languished in the House after the Senate made the changes to it that the House wanted. It was on the House concurrence calendar and there was time for the House to vote on it. The inaction by the House to bring it up for a vote is mind-boggling and a huge disappointment.”

Another disappointment for Padden was an 11th-hour decision to pull $400,000 from the 2023-25 state transportation budget – money that would have funded the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to establish a pilot program by March 2024 to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of oral swab tests to detect alcohol/drug combination DUI violations.

“The Traffic Safety Commission would have worked with the State Patrol and law-enforcement associations in selecting at least 10 locations to implement the pilot program as part of field-sobriety evaluations for possible DUI violations,” said Padden. “That funding would have allowed law enforcement to see how effective the oral-swab tests would help in determining if drivers were legally impaired. The funding was part of the Senate transportation budget plan, so it’s very disappointing that it was yanked out at the last minute.”

Padden noted that the new state operating budget passed by the Legislature yesterday does include ongoing funding for drug courts and the operating budget and the new state transportation budget together provide roughly a $6 million increase for toxicology labs, primarily to deal with backlogs and to open a new lab in Federal Way.

“It was good to see money for the drug courts and toxicology lab in these budgets, so there is some positive news this session about combating impaired driving. But so much more should have been done this year. What a wasted effort,” added Padden.

Padden statement on Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 5536

The Senate last night voted 28-21 to pass Senate Bill 5536, which aims to provide a long-term solution to the state’s drug laws after the state Supreme Court overturned the state’s drug-possession law in 2021. The bill declares that possession of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine would be charged as a gross misdemeanor.

Sen. Mike Padden, the ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee, issued this statement after the Senate’s approval of SB 5536:

“This bill does not go far enough to provide the leverage needed to help people get off dangerous drugs. It’s disappointing that the Senate did not restore making possession of fentanyl and other hard drugs a felony, as it was before the Supreme Court upended our state’s drug laws in the Blake decision two years ago. The threat of a longer sentence is a needed motivation for drug offenders to undergo treatment. We need a balance between accountability and treatment that this legislation doesn’t achieve.

“In recent years, our state has endured a startling increase in drug-overdose deaths, and two-thirds of these deaths involve fentanyl. Law enforcement in our state has pointed out the importance of tougher penalties for drug possession in order to compel drug users to get the treatment they need to hopefully become clean. I’m concerned that we are missing the chance to create a true ‘carrot-and-stick’ approach to combat drug use in Washington.

“The current law does not work. While Senate Bill 5536 is an improvement over the status quo, it does not go far enough to make meaningful and needed changes to our state’s drug laws.”

Padden, R-Spokane Valley, serves the 4^th Legislative District.

SB 5536 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Committee passes Padden bill to keep repeat property offenders behind bars longer

A bill from 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden that could keep repeat property offenders behind bars longer was approved today by the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

Senate Bill 5056 would require that someone who is found to be a habitual property offender to be sentenced to an additional 24 months in total confinement for a Class B felony, and an additional 12 months for a Class C felony.

“We have a real crisis in the explosion of property crimes, including auto thefts, catalytic converter thefts and electric charging equipment,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “What this bill tries to do is keep habitual, repeat offenders behind bars for longer periods of time. If you remove repeat offenders, the property crime rate will decrease substantially. In talking with law enforcement, I’ve learned that relatively few people commit most of the crimes in this area.”

Under an amendment to the bill that was passed by the committee today, it is up to a judge’s discretion whether a defendant is a habitual offender and if the defendant should be in total confinement.

During the public hearing on SB 5056 on Tuesday, officials with the Washington Retail Association and Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs testified in favor of the proposal, as did Jessica Laughery of Hutton Settlement. TVW’s coverage of the public hearing can be viewed here.

SB 5056 is expected to go to the Senate Rules Committee for further consideration.

Senate Republicans unveil trio of bills to improve public safety

Two members of the Senate Republican Caucus have prefiled bills for the 2023 legislative session that aim to reverse recent criminal-friendly laws passed by Democratic majorities.

“One of our main goals this session is to advance bills that will help make people and communities safer in our state,” said Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, who is ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee and was a Spokane County District Court judge from March 1995 until January 2007. “Unfortunately, thanks in large part to harmful laws passed by our Democratic colleagues, many people throughout Washington are feeling less safe in recent years. They have every right to expect the Legislature to take action to reverse this alarming increase in crime.”

The three key public-safety proposals introduced by Padden and a Senate Republican colleague include:

Senate Bill 5034, prime-sponsored by Padden, would change state law to again make it easier for law-enforcement officers to pursue suspects in vehicles. In 2021, the Legislature changed the legal standard required for officers to engage in vehicular pursuits, limiting law enforcement’s ability to pursue and detain suspects.

“It’s no coincidence that crime has dramatically increased since this law was passed because it has severely restricted law-enforcement officers from pursuing suspects. Until we make it easier for officers to do their job, we’ll continue to see this spike in crime. Communities deserve better,” said Padden.

Senate Bill 5035, introduced by Padden, would make possession or use of illegal drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin a class C felony with diversion opportunities and drug court.

“In 2021 the Democratic majorities in the Legislature passed SB 5476, which reduced the penalty for drug possession to an unenforceable misdemeanor that does not effectively utilize data-supported drug court programs. It’s no wonder fatal drug overdoses are expected to hit record numbers in Washington this year. The Democrats’ law that decriminalized drugs has been an absolute and costly failure,” said Padden.

Senate Bill 5011, prefiled by Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, supports her recent vow to restore second-degree robbery to the list of offenses counted as a strike under Washington’s voter-approved “three-strikes” law. Majority Democrats had dropped that crime from the list in 2019, then applied the change retroactively in 2021 – which allowed Clark County child-rapist and murderer Roy Wayne Russell, Jr. to evade the mandatory life-without-parole sentence that comes with a third “strike.”

“There are more on the lifer list who could be resentenced and walk free someday. It’s as though the majority did this with no regard for the victims’ families,” said Wilson. “We need laws that are fair to victims, and this mistake needs to be fixed. I hope those who thought weakening the law was a good idea will recognize the error they made and join us to correct it.”

The 2023 legislative session is scheduled to begin on Jan. 9 and end on April 23.