Tag Archives: SB 5033

Four Padden-sponsored laws take effect July 23

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 Bill 5033 reclassifies the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, (in which the corrections officer has sexual intercourse with the victim) now a Class C felony, to a Class B felony with a seriousness level of VII. That calls for an initial sentence of 15 to 20 months and a high-end sentence between 7.25 years and 9.6 years. The new law also reclassifies second-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexual contact with the victim) from a gross misdemeanor to a Class C felony with a seriousness level of V, which would bring a sentencing range of six to 12 months for those with the lowest offender score and a range of six to eight years for offenders with the highest offender score.

“Officers who work in jails and state correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.”

Padden’s bipartisan bill, which was unanimously approved by the Senate and House of Representatives, was inspired by a KING-TV investigation last year about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who served just over a year in prison after sexually assaulting four women.

SB 5033 is called “Kimberly Bender’s law,” in honor of the 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray sexually harassed her. Bender’s mother, Dawn Reid, asked Padden to name the bill after her daughter.

Gray was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

During the bill’s public hearing before the Senate Law and Justice Committee last January, Michele Devlin, the chief criminal deputy prosecutor for the Clallam County prosecutor’s office, testified in favor of SB 5033, pointing out that Gray sexually assaulted several women in his job as a jail guard.

“This bill acknowledges the disproportionate power dynamic between an inmate and a corrections officer. It also acknowledges the trauma experienced by survivors associated with sexual assault,” Devlin told the committee.

‘Missing middle’ housing

Senate Bill 5058, which was approved unanimously in both the Senate and House, will help encourage home ownership in Washington by making it easier for smaller condominium buildings to be constructed. The measure exempts buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building.”

Padden said SB 5058 should result in more homeownership in the state.

“Washington has one of the lower homeownership rates in the nation, and this bill will help our state address this problem,” said Padden, who noted that the bill received support from cities with limited land area.

“These smaller condominiums will still have the same building requirements that a townhouse or single-family house has,” added Padden. “The reduction of additional inspections beyond requirements for a townhouse or a single-family house will reduce the cost of these condominiums, making them more affordable to more buyers.”

“SB 5058 is a Condominium Act reform bill that will help encourage the development of new, small in-fill condominium units and provides a critically important first step in attainable home ownership for middle-income families,” said Jim Frank, founder of Greenstone Homes. “The bill helps open the door to the ‘missing middle’ housing needed in cities across the state.”

Employee-owned businesses

Senate Bill 5096 is a bipartisan measure that will aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) corporate structure.

The measure was backed by a diverse group, including the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

“Employee ownership is great for our employee owners, our customers, and our communities and is a key part of our culture,” said Joey Nestegard, chief business officer at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. “SEL is proud to be 100% employee owned and we are thankful to Senator Padden for encouraging more businesses to consider this great model.”

“This new law will help promote employee ownership, which is valuable not only for employees but for our society,” said Padden. “Studies have shown that when employees are happier, they stay in their job longer and they retire in a much better financial position. The companies are more likely to remain in the local area.”

Padden added that the measure, which was passed unanimously by the Senate and House, will help maintain local businesses after a business founder retires.

“Many current business owners do not have a plan for when they transition out of the business, and employee ownership provides a valuable option,” Padden said.

SB 5096 specifically will create the Washington Employee Ownership Program at the state Department of Commerce to offer technical support and other services to certain businesses considering certain employee ownership structures; form the Washington Employee Ownership Commission to oversee the program; and provide a business-and-occupation tax credit for costs related to converting a qualifying business to an employee ownership structure.

ESOPs are recognized under federal tax law as a qualified defined contribution retirement plan. The ESOP must be designed to invest primarily in qualifying employer securities and meet certain other requirements. The IRS and United States Department of Labor share jurisdiction over some ESOP features.

A win for patients

People buying motorized wheelchairs or other mobility-improving equipment will pay less thanks to Senate Bill 5218, which makes such equipment tax-exempt. The Senate and House unanimously approved SB 5218.

“This law will help people with disabilities by removing the sales tax from motorized wheelchairs or other technological equipment, which will help them save money while also helping maintain their independence,” said Padden.

One of the people who provided written testimony in support of SB 5218 is Steve Gleason, a former Gonzaga Prep, Washington State University and New Orleans Saints football player who contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“This is a huge win for both patients, and companies that sell mobility-enhancing equipment, as it removes a barrier that a lot of times made it impossible for patients to get equipment,” said Don Whitney, chief operating officer of Inland Medical and Rehab. “Most insurances, including Medicare, did not pay for the sales tax, leaving either the patient or our company to pay the tax to the state Department of Revenue. In Spokane that is equivalent to 9%. So a $40,000 high-end CRT wheelchair would have a tax of $3,600 that needed to be collected from the patient or our company just absorbed the tax and paid it. We absorbed the cost just so we could service our patients, who are also our friends. In the last decade, over 60 independent companies in Washington state went out of business as they could not maintain paying sales tax and not being reimbursed it.

“My hope is this will help the bottom line for all companies providing services in Washington, leading to patients having more access to service and to receive better equipment. Patients who have to pay privately for this equipment will now also have greater access by not having to pay the tax. Most patients are on limited incomes, and without this equipment may be hospitalized or put into long-term care. The passage of SB 5218 has opened the door for people so they can stay in their homes and has helped companies improve their bottom lines to remain in business and provide quality product and access to service to its patients,” added Whitney.

The new law states that to claim the sales-tax exemption, the purchaser must provide the seller with an exemption certificate as prescribed by the state Department of Revenue. The tax exemption will apply to mobility-enhancing equipment sold or used on or after Aug. 1, 2023.

Governor signs Padden bill raising penalties for sexually abusive jail guards

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 30, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

Dear friends and neighbors,

I am pleased that my public safety bill that imposes longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards was signed today by Governor Inslee after being unanimously approved by both the Senate and House this session.

The law created by Senate Bill 5033 reclassifies the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexually assaulted the victim), now a Class C felony, to a Class B felony with a seriousness level of VII. That calls for an initial sentence of 15 to 20 months and a high-end sentence between 7.25 years and 9.6 years. The new law, which will take effect in late July, also reclassifies second-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexual contact with the victim) from a gross misdemeanor to a Class C felony with a seriousness level of V, which would bring a sentencing range of six to 12 months for those with the lowest offender score and a range of six to eight years for offenders with the highest offender score. The grid is based on the criminal history and the serious level of the crime.

Senator Padden and others join Governor Inslee as he signs Senate Bill 5033 today.

Officers who work in jails and state correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes. Like all the people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.

SB 5033 was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who served just over a year in prison after sexually assaulting four women.

When the bill was being considered by the Senate Law and Justice Committee early this session, it was named “Kimberly Bender’s law,” in honor of the 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray sexually harassed her. Bender’s mother, Dawn Reid, asked me to name the bill after her daughter.

Gray was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

This newsletter covers several other issues and events happening in Olympia in this past week.

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

Senate passes flawed operating budget

Another key point of this year’s legislative session was reached when the Senate yesterday voted 40-9 to pass its new state operating budget for the upcoming 2023-25 biennium, which begins July 1.

While the Senate’s spending plan has some positive qualities, including funding to combat drunk driving and funding for two of my bills – Senate Bill 5218 and Senate Bill 5096 – I voted “no” on the budget for a number of reasons. Here are three important ones.

The first is because this budget provides $15 million over the next two years for abortion care, including more than $730,000 for “outreach, patient navigation, and staffing” at the Department of Health. This large amount of money is for the governor’s program to bring women to Washington from states that have abortion restrictions. It is incredibly wrong to use taxpayer dollars to make Washington an “abortion destination state.”

One of the lower Snake River dams in southeastern Washington.

Second, the Senate operating budget includes $500,000 in one-time funding for yet another study involving the four lower Snake River dams. This study, to be conducted by the state Department of Ecology, would look at the actions needed to “continue water use for irrigation during drawdown related to potential lower Snake River dam removal and thereafter of a natural flowing river.” These duplicative studies are a waste of taxpayer dollars. I share the strong belief of many eastern Washington legislators and eastern Washington’s congressional delegation that the four Snake River dams in our state should not be breached.

My third reason for opposing this budget is because it does not provide property-tax relief. Many Washingtonians are being taxed out of their homes, and some property tax relief, which the state can afford, would greatly help many homeowners. When Sen. Lynda Wilson, the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, unveiled her Republican budget proposal two years ago, her plan included property-tax relief. It’s unfortunate this year’s Senate budget won’t provide it.

More information about the Senate operating budget, Senate Bill 5187.

House Democrats released their own operating budget plan on Monday. The House is expected to vote on its own two-year spending plan sometime next week.

Despite Republican opposition, Senate committee passes bills that would weaken Second Amendment rights

This legislative session, a few Democrat-sponsored bills aiming to erode Second Amendment rights have made their way through the Legislature. On Tuesday, the Senate Law and Justice Committee passed two of these measures, despite strong opposition by my Republican colleagues and myself.

One of the proposals, House Bill 1240, would ban the sale or purchase in our state of modern sporting rifles, or “assault weapons,” as Democrats prefer to call them. The measure was passed along party lines. Before that vote was taken, other Republicans and I offered 17 amendments to improve the bill or limit its negative impact, but all were defeated. Like many others, I oppose this bill because it would ban the purchase of some of the most commonly owned and lawfully possessed sporting firearms, including some shotguns and pistols. Many people possess semiautomatic firearms for self-defense, and certainly for hunting. If it becomes law, this proposal will be challenged in court and likely will be ruled unconstitutional.

The other gun measure passed by the committee’s Democratic majority is House Bill 1143, which would prohibit an individual from buying a firearm from a dealer until the buyer has passed a background check and has completed a firearm-safety training program. As opponents argued during testimony before the committee, this bill would restrict access to firearms and won’t address the root causes of crimes committed by individuals with a firearm. It infringes on the rights of Washingtonians to own a firearm. My Republican colleagues and I offered six amendments, but all were rejected.

When the two bills received public hearings in the Law and Justice Committee, a large number of people testified against them, with 37 speaking against HB 1143 and 107 against HB 1240. Both bills likely are now headed to the floor for a full Senate vote.

DUI ‘lookback’ proposal still moving, as part of other drunk-driving proposal

Earlier this session, the Senate voted 48-1 to pass Senate Bill 5032, my proposal to help combat drunk driving.

SB 5032 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 the proposal, 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. Furthermore, SB 5032 would give offenders a chance to undergo a highly structured treatment program.

Our state has seen too many accidents and fatalities caused by drunk and drug-impaired drivers, especially repeat offenders. This bill could help reduce traffic deaths.

While it would have been preferable to pass SB 5032 as a stand-alone measure, I’m pleased that it is continuing to move forward this year as part of another proposal to combat drunk driving.

The Senate Law and Justice Committee recently passed House Bill 1493, which would make several changes to the state’s impaired-driving laws. Before doing so, the committee incorporated the SB 5032 language. The good policy in SB 5032 remains alive as part of HB 1493.

Concerns over land-use bill in Senate

One of the many House bills still being considered by the Senate this session is House Bill 1110, which would require certain cities planning under the state’s Growth Management Act to authorize minimum development densities on lots zoned predominately for residential use.

If HB 1110 reaches the Senate floor, I will vote against it. There are a few reasons why I have concerns with this bill. This is an issue that should be addressed by locals, not the state. This legislation takes away local control on land-use decisions from the cities of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and Millwood. It gives the decision-making power to Olympia. The folks in Olympia are not elected and do not have the same values as 4th Legislative District citizens.

The proposal was passed last week by the Senate Housing Committee and is scheduled to receive a public hearing tomorrow in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Ridgeline students visit Olympia

On Monday, I enjoyed meeting with members of Ridgeline High School’s Robotics Club during their visit to the Capitol. They were a bright group of students who have promising futures ahead of them.

Contact us!

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

Phone: (360) 786-7606

Olympia Office: 215 Legislative Modular Building, Olympia, WA 98504-0404

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.

Governor signs Padden bill raising penalty for custodial sexual misconduct

A bipartisan bill, sponsored by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden, that aims to impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards was signed today by Gov. Jay Inslee after receiving unanimous approval by the Legislature this session.

The law created by Senate Bill 5033 reclassifies the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, (in which the corrections officer has sexual intercourse with the victim) now a Class C felony, to a Class B felony with a seriousness level of VII. That calls for an initial sentence of 15 to 20 months and a high-end sentence between 7.25 years and 9.6 years. The new law, which will take effect in late July, also reclassifies second-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexual contact with the victim) from a gross misdemeanor to a Class C felony with a seriousness level of V, which would bring a sentencing range of six to 12 months for those with the lowest offender score and a range of six to eight years for offenders with the highest offender score.

“I’m very pleased that the governor has signed this bill after both the Senate and House unanimously passed it earlier this session,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Officers who work in jails and state correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes. Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.”

Padden’s bill was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who served just over a year in prison after sexually assaulting four women.

When the bill was being considered by the Senate Law and Justice Committee early this session, it was named “Kimberly Bender’s law,” in honor of the 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray sexually harassed her. Bender’s mother, Dawn Reid, asked Padden to name the bill after her daughter.

Gray was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

Padden is ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

Thanks to everyone who took part in telephone town hall!

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 23, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

I held a telephone town hall that this past Monday night, when it was certain I would not be interrupting those who are once again following our local Gonzaga University Bulldogs in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (myself included!). Thanks to the 80 or so people who took an hour out of their evening to take part in the town hall, and a special thanks to those who asked me live questions.

The telephone town hall was similar to a call-in radio program, and it’s a convenient way to reach constituents during the week while I’m still having to be over at the Capitol. I provided an update on the 2023 legislative session, including the status of my bills that are still alive, before taking live questions from participants. During the event, listeners were asked by the call’s moderator to use their phones to respond to three questions relating to the 2023 legislative session.

The first question was “Would you support legislation that allows law enforcement to pursue criminals again under the reasonable suspicion standard?” All 100% who responded voted “yes.”

The second question was “Should the Legislature enact legislation to ban the use of natural gas in Washington state?” This time, 100% of respondents voted “no.”

The third and final question was “Should the Legislature use the state’s budget surplus for property tax relief?” The response here was not unanimous but it was decisive, with 81.8% saying “yes” while 9.1% said “no” another 9.1% saying they were unsure.

Again, thanks to everyone who listened to the telephone town hall and to those who took part in the survey. Your participation is appreciated!

This newsletter covers several other issues and events happening in Olympia in this past week.

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

Legislature passes bill raising penalty for custodial sexual misconduct

I’m very pleased to see a bipartisan bill I sponsored this year that aims to impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards is headed to the governor after being unanimously passed yesterday by the House of Representatives. 

Senate Bill 5033 would reclassify the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexual intercourse with the victim) from a Class C felony to a Class B felony, allowing a prison term of 10 years instead of the current five-year maximum. The bill also would reclassify second-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexual contact with the victim) from a gross misdemeanor to a Class C felony, which would bring a maximum sentence of five years.

Officers who work in jails and state correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes. Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.”

This bill was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who served just over a year in prison after sexually assaulting four women.

You can view KING-TV’s story yesterday about the Legislature passing SB 5033 by clicking here.

When the bill was being considered by the Senate Law and Justice Committee early this session, it was named “Kimberly Bender’s law,” in honor of the 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray sexually harassed her. Kimberly’s mother, Dawn Reid, asked me to name the bill after her daughter.

Gray was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

SB 5033 was passed by the Senate 48-0 on Feb. 27.

Senate’s capital budget includes several 4th District projects

The Legislative Building stands above blooming cherry trees early last spring.

The state capital budget funds the construction and maintenance of state buildings, public-school matching grants, higher-education facilities, public lands, parks, and other assets. The Senate version of the state capital budget for 2023-25 was released early this week. Just about everything I requested is included in this proposal, so I’m pleased with it.

The budget proposal helps fund several local athletic and recreational projects in our district, as well as performing arts projects and other local projects. It’s a good capital budget for the 4th District and for the state, and it’s good to see taxpayers’ money being invested in local projects.

Specifically, the Senate’s proposed capital budget would fund these 4th District projects:

  • $1.176 million for Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center construction, with another $1.849 million provided for the Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, which will be part of the performing arts center.
  • $1.03 million for the HUB sports fields in Liberty Lake.
  • $750,000 for Spokane Scale House Market in Spokane Valley.
  • $500,000 in Washington Wildlife Recreation Program funding for phase 2 work at Greenacres Park in Spokane Valley.
  • $350,000 for a synthetic turf field in Liberty Lake.
  • $207,000 for Veterans Memorial Balfour Park in Spokane Valley, with this funding having been repurposed from the 2022 state capital budget.
  • $130,000 for natural areas facilities preservation and access.
  • $100,000 for Mount Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park in Mead.
  • $100,000 for Spokane Valley Heritage Museum in the old Opportunity Township Building.
  • $100,000 from the Building Communities Fund Grant Program for expansion of the public food business incubator.
  • $40,000 to fund appraisals of two pieces of property, one in Liberty Lake that is being considered as the possible new location for the Army National Guard unit, and the other at Geiger Field, where the unit currently is located.

In addition, Senate capital-budget writers provided funding for several baseball-stadium projects across Washington, including $543,000 in local and community project funding for renovations to Spokane County Avista Stadium in Spokane Valley.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee approved the capital budget yesterday after holding a public hearing on it Monday. The full Senate is expected to vote on it tomorrow.

The House of Representatives is expected to release its proposed capital budget next week.

Update on Padden bills as new deadline for action approaches

The next key deadline for this year’s legislative session is next Wednesday, March 29. It’s the last day for House policy committees to approve Senate bills, and for Senate policy committees to pass House bills, except for proposals considered necessary to implement the budget.

With next week’s deadline approaching, I’m glad that some of my other bills besides SB 5033 are also alive and advancing through the Legislature:

  • SB 5032 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. The proposal would increase the penalty from a gross misdemeanor to a felony offense for any person who has three or more prior DUI offenses within that “lookback” period. The bill received a public hearing Tuesday in the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee. You can watch my testimony on the bill here.
  • SB 5058 would help encourage home ownership in our state by making it easier for smaller condominium buildings to be constructed. It specifically would exempt buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories from the definition of multiunit residential building. The proposal received a public hearing yesterday in the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee. My testimony can be viewed here. Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley and Spokane City Councilor Betsy Wilkerson also testified in favor of SB 5058. You can watch their testimony here. The committee is scheduled to vote on SB 5058 tomorrow.
  • SB 5096, which would aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) corporate structure, was passed last Friday by the House Innovation, Community and Economic Development, and Veterans Committee. It is now in the House Appropriations Committee, which has an April 4 deadline to approve Senate bills sent there.
  • SB 5218, which would provide tax relief to people who require specialized, medically prescribed equipment such as custom wheelchairs, was passed last week by the Senate Ways and Means Committee. It is now in the Senate Rules Committee, which acts as a final hurdle before bills reach the Senate floor. SB 5218 is considered necessary to implement the budget, so it did not to be approved by the Senate earlier this session.

Home Builders visit the Capitol

On Tuesday I enjoyed meeting with officials with the Spokane Home Builders Association, including Jacob Clark (second from right), who was my legislative assistant until he left late last year to work for the Home Builders Association. Others in the photo (from left to right) include Tyrell Monette, Sharla Jones, Katie Getman (who was holding her daughter, Anastasia) and Andrew Northrop. 

Contact us!

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

Phone: (360) 786-7606

Olympia Office: 215 Legislative Modular Building, Olympia, WA 98504-0404

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.

Legislature passes Padden bill raising penalty for custodial sexual misconduct

A bipartisan bill that aims to impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards is headed to the governor after being unanimously passed today by the House of Representatives.

Senate Bill 5033 would reclassify the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexual intercourse with the victim) from a Class C felony to a Class B felony, allowing a prison term of 10 years instead of the current five-year maximum. The bill also would reclassify second-degree custodial sexual misconduct (in which the corrections officer has sexual contact with the victim) from a gross misdemeanor to a Class C felony, which would bring a maximum sentence of five years.

The proposal is prime-sponsored by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden, the ranking Republican on the Law and Justice Committee.

“I’m very pleased that both the Senate and House unanimously passed this bill and sent it to the governor,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Officers who work in jails and state correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes. Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.”

Padden’s bill was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who served just over a year in prison after sexually assaulting four women.

When the bill was being considered by the Senate Law and Justice Committee early this session, it was named “Kimberly Bender’s law,” in honor of the 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray sexually harassed her. Bender’s mother, Dawn Reid, asked Padden to name the bill after her daughter.

Gray was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

SB 5033 was passed by the Senate 48-0 on Feb. 27. It now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee for final consideration.

Despite stable state coffers, Democrats want to create ‘wealth tax’

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 16, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

The 2023 legislative session is now in its 10th week, with five weeks to go. April 23 is the scheduled last day.

As the Legislature approaches the home stretch of this year’s session, there is still plenty of work ahead. At the top of the to-do list are passing new two-year state operating, capital and transportation budgets.

Democrat  budget writers are expected to unveil their operating budget proposal late next week, just days after the next state revenue forecast is released. House Democrat budget writers likely will release their spending plan a few days later after the Senate budget comes out.

One big question leading up to next week’s operating budget rollout is whether the Democrats will propose new or higher taxes. The most recent state revenue forecast, released last November, revealed that state revenues are expected to increase by $545 million for the 2021-23 biennium (which ends June 30) and $684 million for the 2023-25 budget cycle. In terms of total dollars, it showed the state with $60.779 billion in revenue for the current biennium and $62.966 billion for the 2023-25 biennium. There is no need for any new taxes.   

A recent example is the capital-gains/state income-tax proposal that was passed by majority Democrats and signed by Governor Inslee in 2021. (That tax was ruled unconstitutional in March 2022. An appeal of the ruling is before the state Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the case in late January. There is no word on when the court will issue its ruling.)

Although our state has plenty of money in its coffers, that apparently is not enough to satisfy some legislators. A new and notable example is Senate Bill 5486, which was introduced by 36th District Sen. Noel Frame, a Seattle Democrat. SB 5486 would establish what some call a “wealth tax” – a 1 percent tax on “financial intangible assets” in excess of $250 million.

Republicans oppose this bill because the sponsors clearly want to create another way to take away money from people, even though the state already has enough money. Instead of continually trying to target those in a particular income bracket, the bill’s sponsors should focus on getting the most out of existing tax dollars and making state government more efficient.

The Democrats’ wealth-tax bill received a public hearing last week in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Because it is a bill that is considered “necessary to implement the budget,” SB 5486 has been exempted from any of the deadlines for Senate bills to be passed.

Many people testified either in favor of or in opposition of SB 5486. The testimony of two people who testified against the bill, anti-tax activist Tim Eyman and Association of Washington Business official Emily Shay, made good points on why the bill should not be approved by the Legislature. You can watch their testimony here.     

Other Republicans and I will continue to fight this unnecessary and harmful proposal and try to prevent it from being approved.

This newsletter covers several other issues and events happening in Olympia in this past week.

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

Bill targeting catalytic-converter thefts receives Senate hearing

The fastest-growing crime problem in Washington in the past couple of years is catalytic-converter thefts. Catalytic converters use elements like platinum to make vehicle exhaust less harmful, and this crime has skyrocketed over the past two years as precious-metal prices have increased. Thieves can crawl under a car and saw a catalytic converter out of an exhaust system in minutes – or less – which leaves the vehicle owner in a real bind.

About 4,000 catalytic-converter thefts were reported in Washington in 2021, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, ranking the state third in the U.S. Preliminary figures for 2022 put our state on pace to match or surpass that figure.

On Tuesday, the Senate Law and Justice Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 5740, which aims to deter catalytic-converter thefts. One of my colleagues, 19th District Sen. Jeff Wilson of Longview, is the bill’s prime sponsor, and I’m a co-sponsor.

SB 5740 would target the crime rings behind our state’s fastest-growing crime by going after those who purchase stolen catalytic converters in order to recycle them for their valuable precious-metal content.

Under this proposal, those who purchase catalytic converters removed from vehicles must:

  • Obtain a valid license as a scrap dealer or an auto wrecker.
  • Post it on display at their place of business.
  • Keep meticulous records of each transaction, including a photocopy of the seller’s driver license.
  • Promptly report any transaction to police that appears to be suspicious.

Anyone purchasing five or more catalytic converters without a license would be guilty of a Class B felony, trafficking in catalytic converters, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison. Purchase of four or fewer would be a Class C felony.

SB 5740 is exempt from last week’s floor cutoff for Senate bills to be passed by the Senate because it is considered necessary to implement the operating budget.  There still is work to be done on this bill.

Padden bills update

Sen. Padden testifying on one of his bills earlier this session. 

Two of the bills that I introduced earlier this session have seen action in House committees this week.

On Tuesday I testified before the House Innovation, Community and Economic Development, and Veterans Committee in favor of my Senate Bill 5096, which would aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) corporate structure. This bill promotes employee ownership, which is good, not only for our employees but for society. Studies have shown that employee-owners are happier, they stay in their job longer and they retire in a much better financial position. Also, employee-owned companies are more likely to stay locally. Additionally, this bill would help those businesses looking to adopt an ESOP. Bryan Richter of Schweitzer Engineering testified in support of the bill. The committee has scheduled a vote on SB 5096 tomorrow morning.  

This morning the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 5033, a bipartisan measure that would impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards. The bill would reclassify the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct as a Class B felony, allowing a prison term of 10 years instead of the current five-year maximum.

Officers who work in our state’s correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community. Like all the other officers who serve the public, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody. SB 5033 would increase the punishment for corrections officers who sexually assault or abuse inmates in the course of their jobs.

The bill was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

Changes with Senate office staff

An e-newsletter in January shared a photo of my Senate office staff for this year’s session. The office staff recently underwent some changes. Scott Staley, my legislative assistant earlier this session, recently left this position for personal reasons, and we will miss him very much. Irina Dolbinina, who began the year as my session aide, is now my legislative assistant for the remainder of the session. Ethan Mettlin, who served as my session intern, will be the session aide through the end of April.   

Expect higher fuel prices following state’s first carbon auction

When the Democrat majorities in the Legislature passed the so-called “Climate Commitment Act” two years ago, supporters of the law contended that the “cap-and-trade” program it created would not be very costly to fuel companies or consumers. Now it looks like they will be wrong.

Earlier this month, the state Department of Ecology announced the results from the state’s first carbon-allowance auction, which was mandated by the CCA. The recent auction is the first of a series of quarterly auctions under the law. The estimate in 2021 was that carbon “allowances” under the cap-and-trade program would cost $22.78 per metric ton of carbon. But the recent auction showed these allowances costing $48.50, more than double the cost some had predicted.

The $48.50 allowance would translate to 39 cents per gallon for gasoline and 47 cents a gallon for diesel. Although the advocates for the Climate Commitment Act might argue that oil companies would absorb these extra costs, that is not realistic. It’s much more likely that any additional costs somehow will be passed on to consumers, who already have faced high fuel prices over the past year or two.

Photos with visitors this week

On Wednesday, I had meetings with several people in my office to discuss various issues before the Legislature this session. The top photo shows me with officials with the Washington Auto Dealers Association (from left to right are Anthony Brock, Kristin Goffand Mario Wierzchowski). The bottom photo shows me with Sarah Davenport-Smith from Human Life of Washington.

Contact us!

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

Phone: (360) 786-7606

Olympia Office: 215 Legislative Modular Building, Olympia, WA 98504-0404

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.

Bills passed by Senate don’t go far enough to combat drugs, allow police to pursue suspects

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 10, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

The Senate just passed a milestone for the 2023 legislative session. Wednesday was the “floor cutoff,” the last day for the Senate to vote on Senate bills, except measures that are considered necessary for the upcoming state operating, capital and transportation budgets.

With the “floor cutoff” behind us, the Senate has returned its focus to committee meetings, this time to hold public hearings on bills passed by the House. Meanwhile, House committees are holding public hearings on legislation approved by the Senate. The 105-day legislative session is scheduled to end April 23.

During the final days before the floor cutoff, the Senate passed two bills that try to address significant public safety issues. However, both measures failed to significantly improve public safety.

The first of these two measures is Senate Bill 5536. This proposal is the latest attempt to address a problem created by a controversial ruling by our state Supreme Court two years ago.

On February 25, 2021, the Supreme Court in State v. Blake ruled Washington’s felony drug-possession statute was unconstitutional because it criminalized possession even when a person did not knowingly have drugs.

The Blake ruling basically decriminalized drug possession or drug use. As you can guess, this decision by the Supreme Court caught the Legislature’s attention two years ago. Two months after the Blake ruling, the Democrat majorities in the 2021 Legislature passed Senate Bill 5476. Every Senate Republican opposed the bill on final passage, along with a couple of Democrats. This law reduced the criminal penalty for possessing an illegal drug like fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine from a felony to a misdemeanor. The language in the legislation prevented even the misdemeanor from being prosecuted.

The action taken by the Legislature two years ago in response to Blake did not work. Plus, the law created by SB 5476 expires this year, so the Legislature needs to take new action on drug possession this session or hard drugs will be legal rather than just effectively legal.

Last Friday night, the Senate voted 28-21 to pass Senate Bill 5536, which aims to provide a solution to the state’s drug laws after the Blake ruling. The bill declares that possession of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine would be charged as a gross misdemeanor after three diversions.

I was among the 21 senators (some were Republicans, others were Democrats) who voted against the proposal. 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 incentivize 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.

While Senate Bill 5536 is an improvement over the inadequate drug-possession law passed in 2021, it does not go far enough to make meaningful and needed changes to our state’s drug laws.

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

The second public safety measure passed by the Senate that I opposed is Senate Bill 5352, a proposal that deals with vehicle pursuits of suspects by law-enforcement officers. The Senate passed SB 5352 on a 26-23 vote. There were 16 Democrats and 10 Republicans who voted for it, while 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted against it.

SB 5352 fails to sufficiently fix the problem created two years ago. It is, however, a vehicle for the Legislature to address the inability of law enforcement to pursue criminals.

The Democratic majorities in the Legislature changed state law in 2021 to limit the ability of officers to pursue suspects. Before the change, officers needed “reasonable suspicion” to initiate a vehicle pursuit of suspects. The new law only allows such vehicle pursuits based on “probable cause.” As a result, officers have been forced to watch criminals drive off. It also has emboldened criminals to commit other crimes and victimize others and resulted in a loss of lives.

According to the Washington State Patrol, between 2014 and 2020 an average of 1,200 suspects per year fled from police. In 2022, after the pursuit standard was changed to probable cause, 3,100 suspects fled — an increase of more than 150%. Before the change in this law, the statewide record for stolen cars in a single year was 30,000. That climbed to nearly 47,000 stolen vehicles in 2022.

Under SB 5352 as approved by the Senate Wednesday, a vehicle pursuit can occur if there is reasonable suspicion, but only for suspicion of violent offenses, sex offenses, vehicular assault offenses, assault in the first-to-fourth degree involving domestic violence, an escape or a driving-under-the-influence offense.

During floor debate on the measure, I offered a floor amendment that would have permitted an officer to engage in a vehicle pursuit if the officer has reasonable suspicion a person inside the vehicle has committed or is committing theft of a motor vehicle. We are fourth in the U.S. for auto thefts per capita. The amendment was defeated along party lines 29-20.

This newsletter covers other issues and events happening in Olympia in this past week.

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

Senate passes ‘DUI lookback’ bill for third straight year

For third year in a row, the Senate has passed legislation of mine that aims to decrease impaired driving.

Senate Bill 5032 , which was approved 48-1 on Wednesday, 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. The proposal would increase the penalty from a gross misdemeanor to a felony offense for any person who has three or more prior DUI offenses within that “lookback” period.

Our state has seen an alarming increase in traffic deaths over the past few years, and drunk driving and drug-impaired driving are two leading causes.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission reported that road deaths in our state 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 bill would help get the most dangerous drivers off the road and into treatment. Our state has seen too many accidents and fatalities caused by drunk and drug-impaired drivers, especially repeat offenders. This bill could help reverse this tragic trend.

Many traffic fatalities in the state involve drivers who have had as many as eight DUI offenses, but the current 10-year lookback period is not long enough to allow the state to impose stronger punishment against such offenders.

Repeat impaired-driving offenders commit most of the vehicular homicides and vehicular assaults in Washington. This is a bill to try to prevent those horrible, senseless crimes.

SB 5032 would give offenders a chance to undergo a highly structured treatment program.

SB 5032 now goes to the House of Representatives for more consideration.

A similar proposal that I introduced, Senate Bill 5054, was passed by the Senate during the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions, including unanimous approval last year. The bill later died in the House both years.

Custodial sexual misconduct bill receives House hearing

Sen. Padden talks to members of the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee during his testimony on Senate Bill 5033. 

Senate Bill 5033, a bipartisan measure that I introduced that would impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards, received a public hearing yesterday in the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee.

This proposal would reclassify the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct as a Class B felony, allowing a prison term of 10 years instead of the current five-year maximum.

Officers who work in our state’s correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community. Like all the other officers who serve the public, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially when you consider the unique level of authority they have over people in custody. Senate Bill 5033 would increase the punishment for corrections officers who sexually assault or abuse inmates in the course of their jobs.

The bill was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

Just as she did when SB 5033 received a hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee earlier this session, Dawn Reid testified in favor of the proposal during its House hearing. Reid is the mother of Kimberly Bender, a 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray harassed her.

March 29 is the last day for House policy committees to pass Senate bills.

Chart reveals operating budget growth

As Democratic budget writers prepare to unveil a two-year state operating budget proposal in a few weeks, it is worth seeing how much the operating budget has grown in recent years. As this chart shows, the budget has experienced a 108% spending increase since 2015 if you factor in Governor Inslee’s $70.4 billion proposed budget.         

Contact us!

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

Phone: (360) 786-7606

Olympia Office: 215 Legislative Modular Building, Olympia, WA 98504-0404

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.

Bill that threatens parents’ rights approved by Senate

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 3, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

The Legislature is halfway through its 2023 session. This is Day 54, and Washington’s constitution allows our “long” session to run for no more than 105 days.

On Monday, the Senate began a two-week stretch in which our chamber will debate and vote on bills that were approved by various Senate committees in recent weeks. During this period, the Senate meets on the floor in the morning and works for a few hours before taking a short lunch break. We then return to the floor in the early afternoon for more debates and votes on proposals. On some days, we adjourn in the early evening, though we occasionally take a short dinner break and resume floor action for a few more hours into the evening.

The Senate on Wednesday passed a Democrat-sponsored bill that threatens the rights of parents in Washington.

This proposal would give youth-related facilities a troubling new excuse for withholding the whereabouts of runaway children from their parents. Under Senate Bill 5599, those children could effectively disappear by simply claiming they are seeking what the bill calls “protected health services,” such as gender counseling or puberty-blocking chemicals.

The legislation, passed on a party-line vote, would not allow teens staying at licensed youth shelters or host homes to undergo “gender-affirming” surgery without parental approval. Nor would it allow other parents to hide children. But it does clear the way for children between ages 13 and 18 to stay at these facilities without their parents’ knowledge for an indefinite time while seeking services related to gender dysphoria and gender transitioning.

It also clears a path for any teenager to “game the system.” A child can run away to a youth shelter, claim they are seeking protected health care services even if they really aren’t, and be hidden from their parents. It would not be the first time a teenager would take advantage of a legal loophole to avoid general accountability.

During floor debate on SB 5599, one of my Republican colleagues, 10th District Sen. Ron Muzzall gave a moving five-minute speech in opposition to the proposal. You can view it here.

When SB 5599 received a public hearing before the Senate Human Services Committee on Feb. 6, more than 4,700 people signed in with an opinion on the bill – and 98% were opposed, including parents from the LGBTQ community. 

This controversial proposal now moves to the House for consideration. Members of the public wishing to testify on this bill, if it receives a public hearing in the House, should visit how to testify on a bill on the Washington State Legislature’s website.

This newsletter covers other issues and events happening in Olympia in this past week.

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

Senate passes bill raising penalty for custodial sexual misconduct

The Senate on Monday unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that aims to impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards.

Senate Bill 5033, which I prime-sponsored, would reclassify the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct as a Class B felony, allowing a prison term of 10 years instead of the current five-year maximum.

Officers who work in our state’s correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes. Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody. Senate Bill 5033 would increase the punishment for corrections officers who sexually assault or abuse inmates in the course of their jobs.

The bill was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

During the Senate Law and Justice Committee’s public hearing on SB 5033 earlier this session, Dawn Reid testified in favor of the proposal. Reid is the mother of Kimberly Bender, a 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray harassed her. Reid asked me to name the legislation after her daughter. The Law and Justice Committee later named the proposal “Kimberly Bender’s law.”

SB 5033 now goes to the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee for a public hearing on March 9.

Senate passes bill helping employee stock ownership plans 

Yesterday the Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 5096, a proposal I introduced that would aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) corporate structure.

This bill promotes employee ownership, which I think is a very valuable thing, not only for our employees but for society. Studies have shown that employees are happier, they stay in their job longer and they retire in a much better financial position. And the companies are more likely to stay locally. Additionally, this bill would help those businesses looking to adopt an ESOP.

The proposal is backed by a very diverse group of supporters, including the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

SB 5096 specifically would:

  • Create the Washington Employee Ownership Program at the state Department of Commerce to offer technical support and other services to certain businesses considering certain employee ownership structures.
  • Form the Washington Employee Ownership Commission to oversee the program.
  • Provide a business and occupation tax credit for costs related to converting a qualifying business to an employee ownership structure.

ESOPs are recognized under federal tax law as a qualified defined contribution retirement plan. The ESOP must be designed to invest primarily in qualifying employer securities and meet certain other requirements. The IRS and United States Department of Labor share jurisdiction over some ESOP features.

The bill now goes to the House for further consideration.

Senate honors Ukrainian Americans

Sen. Padden speaks on the Senate resolution honoring Ukrainian Americans.

Besides debating and voting on the many bills that reach the floor every session, the Senate also passes several floor resolutions each year. Floor resolutions typically honor Washington citizens or remember notable Washingtonians who recently passed away.

Last Friday, the Senate passed an important resolution that recognizes and supports the tens of thousands of Ukrainian Americans in our state. You can view the resolution here. I’m proud to be among the nearly 40 senators who sponsored it. 

Many Ukrainian Americans in our state came to the Capitol and filled both Senate galleries to watch senators on both sides of the political aisle give floor speeches in support of the resolution and to see the  Senate approve this important resolution. You can watch my floor speech supporting the Ukrainian American resolution here.

Assisted-suicide bill passed by Senate

One of the more controversial and divisive bills of the session so far was passed by the Senate on Monday.  

Senate Bill 5179 was approved 28-20. It would add advanced registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants to the category of health-care providers authorized to order the lethal drugs for someone who has decided to use Washington’s assisted-suicide law.

The bill also would reduce the required 15-day waiting period between the first and second oral requests for life-ending medications to seven days and would eliminate the 48-hour waiting period for such medications once a written request is made. Even the seven days is misleading because the lethal drugs can be administered immediately if the death appears imminent. In addition, the requirement for a second opinion has been eliminated. Safeguards are gone.

During the Senate’s deliberation on the bill, I offered a floor amendment that would have required the state Department of Health to contract with an independent organization to confirm, before a patient is qualified to end his or her life, that the patient is not a person with disabilities who is being coerced into providing their OK to take life-ending medication. However, it was defeated along party lines.

My speech against the bill can be watched by clicking this link. You can watch another powerful floor speech by Sen. Muzzall on this bill here. 

This bill would do more harm than good. SB 5179 would further normalize suicides, and it would remove safeguards that were put in by the original law to protect vulnerable patients. The current waiting period allows people the time to reflect and change their mind, but this bill would cut down that time drastically. The terminally ill have declining decision capacity, which gives them impaired capacity to make the decision to end their life. Vulnerable patients might make rash decisions and a bad day could be their last day. This bill would increase assisted suicides and worsen the existing law. 

SB 5179 is now in the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

Senate passes ‘ergonomics’ bill that would threaten jobs

During our floor action Wednesday, the Senate voted 27-21 to pass Senate Bill 5217, a Democratic proposal that ignores the wishes of our state’s voters by allowing the state Department of Labor and Industries to again impose workplace ergonomics rules on employers.

After L&I adopted ergonomics workplace rules in 2000, nearly 55% of Washington voters in 2003 passed Initiative 841, which repealed the ergonomics regulations.

SB 5217 is job-killing bill that would restore burdensome and expensive ergonomics regulations on employers. Only one other state in the U.S. has adopted an ergonomics regulation. If this bill becomes law, it could put Washington at a competitive disadvantage.

During floor action on this bill, I offered an amendment that would have required L&I to consider including the least burdensome and least costly options for an employer to demonstrate alternative control methods during rule making. It was defeated along party lines.

Contact us!

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

Phone: (360) 786-7606

Olympia Office: 215 Legislative Modular Building, Olympia, WA 98504-0404

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.

Senate passes Padden bill raising penalty for custodial sexual misconduct

The Senate today voted 48-0 to pass a bipartisan bill that aims to impose longer sentences on sexually abusive jail and prison guards.

Senate Bill 5033 would reclassify the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct as a Class B felony, allowing a prison term of 10 years instead of the current five-year maximum. The proposal is prime-sponsored by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden, the ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

“Officers who work in our state’s correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.

“Senate Bill 5033 would increase the punishment for corrections officers who sexually assault or abuse inmates in the course of their jobs,” added Padden.

Padden’s bill, named “Kimberly Bender’s law,” was inspired by a KING-TV investigation about a Clallam County jail guard, John Gray, who served just over a year in prison after sexually assaulting four women.

During the Law and Justice Committee’s public hearing on SB 5033 earlier this session, Dawn Reid testified in favor of the proposal. Reid is the mother of Kimberly Bender, a 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019 after reporting to city officials that Gray harassed her. Reid asked Padden to name the legislation after her daughter.

Michele Devlin, Clallam County’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor, also testified in support of the bill. Devlin prosecuted the 2020 case against Gray, a former Forks jail guard who was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.

SB 5033 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.