Tag Archives: Sen. Mike Padden

Senate’s proposed capital budget funds several 4th District projects, says Padden

Sen. Mike Padden appreciates that the Senate’s proposed two-year state capital budget, released Monday, includes several projects in the 4^th Legislative District and allows district residents to see their tax dollars help their local communities.

“Just about everything I requested is included in the Senate’s capital budget proposal, so I’m pleased with it,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “The budget 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 4^th District and for the state, and it’s good to see taxpayers’ money spent on local projects.”

The Senate’s proposed capital budget also funds these 4^th 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 Township Hall North and West in Spokane.
$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 Spokane County Avista Stadium renovations in Spokane Valley.

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 capital budget received a public hearing Monday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The panel is expected to vote on the spending plan today, with the full Senate voting on it Friday.

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

The 2023 legislative session is scheduled to end April 23.

Sen. Padden to hold 4th District telephone town hall Monday, March 20

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 17, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

I invite you and other 4^th Legislative District residents to take part in a district telephone town hall on Monday, March 20, from 6 to 7 p.m.

Invitations to participate will go out just ahead of time via automated phone calls throughout the 4th District, which includes Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and other communities in northeast Spokane County. Constituents who don’t receive a phone call during this event may call (509) 224-9140 to join in.

The telephone town hall will be similar to a call-in radio program. During this event, I will provide an update on the 2023 legislative session before taking questions from participants.

A telephone town hall is a great and easy way to connect with 4^th District constituents from the comfort of their home. It provides me a convenient way to communicate what lawmakers are doing in Olympia and to learn what issues are important to you and others back home.

Most of the legislative session has been completed, but there are several major issues for the Legislature to address during the homestretch, so I look forward to sharing information with you and others and answering questions during the telephone town hall.

I hope you can join me Monday night.

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

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.

Padden to hold 4th District telephone town hall Monday, March 20

State Sen. Mike Padden is inviting 4^th Legislative District residents to take part in a telephone town hall on Monday, March 20, from 6 to 7 p.m.

Invitations to participate will go out just ahead of time via automated phone calls throughout the district, which includes Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and other communities in northeast Spokane County. Constituents who don’t receive a phone call during the event may call (509) 224-9140 to join in.

The telephone town hall will be similar to a call-in radio program, with Padden providing an update on the 2023 legislative session before taking questions from participants.

“A telephone town hall is a great and easy way to connect with 4^th District constituents from the comfort of their home. It provides me a convenient way to communicate what lawmakers are doing in Olympia and to learn what issues are important to people back home,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley.

“Most of the legislative session has been completed, but there are several major issues for the Legislature to address during the homestretch, so I look forward to sharing information with people and answering their questions during the telephone town hall.”

The 2023 legislative session is scheduled to end April 23.

For third consecutive year, Senate passes Padden bill to combat impaired driving

Following a 20-year high in traffic deaths in Washington, the Senate today again approved an anti-impaired driving bill sponsored by 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden.

Senate Bill 5032, which was passed 48-1, 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.

“Washington has suffered a significant increase in traffic deaths over the past few years, and drunk driving and drug-impaired driving are two leading causes,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “This bill tries to remove the most dangerous drivers from our roads and highways 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 reduce traffic deaths.”

Padden, the ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee, said 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 bill tries to prevent those horrible and senseless crimes,” said Padden, a former Spokane County district court judge.

Padden pointed out that SB 5032 would give offenders a chance to undergo a highly structured treatment program.

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.

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

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

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.

Senate passes Padden bill to benefit employee stock ownership plans

The Senate today unanimously passed Senate Bill 5096, a bipartisan proposal introduced by 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden that would aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) corporate structure.

During his floor speech on SB 5096, Padden mentioned the many benefits to employee ownership.

“This bill promotes employee ownership, which I think is a very valuable thing, not only for our employees but for society,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “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.”

Padden added that the bill would help those businesses looking to adopt an ESOP.

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

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.

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

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 unanimously passes Padden bill to remove red tape from construction of smaller condominiums

The Senate today unanimously approved a bill from 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden that would help encourage home ownership in Washington by making it easier for smaller condominium buildings to be constructed.

Senate Bill 5058 would exempt buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building.” The Senate passed it 48-0.

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

“These smaller condominiums would still have the same building requirements that a townhouse or single-family house would have,” added Padden.

The video of Padden’s floor speech in support of SB 5058 can be viewed here.

During its public hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee in January, the bill received support from several groups and individuals, including Spokane Valley City Council member Arne Woodard, who told the committee, “Throughout Washington state, including the Spokane Valley, we need more homeownership opportunities. Condominiums provide a great opportunity for homeownership…To capture homeownership opportunities, we need to change those Washington state laws that are preventing condominiums from being constructed. We need to cut the red tape. Senate Bill 5058 does exactly that for small condominiums with 12 units or less.”

Others testifying in favor of SB 5058 included the Building Industry Association of Washington, Master Builders, Washington Realtors and Jim Frank of Greenshore New Beginning Homes. TVW’s coverage of the bill’s hearing can be viewed here.

SB 5058 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Padden bill to increase penalty for drug possession receives committee hearing

The Senate Law and Justice Committee held a public hearing today on a bill introduced by 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden that aims to reverse the alarming trend in fentanyl use and fentanyl-related deaths in Washington.

Padden’s measure, Senate Bill 5035, would make possession or use of illegal drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin a class C felony, with opportunities for drug court participation.

“In 2021 the Democrat majority in the Senate passed Senate Bill 5476, which de facto decriminalized possession of hard drugs, such as fentanyl, meth and heroin,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “It’s no wonder fatal drug overdoses are hitting record numbers in Washington. The Democrats’ law that decriminalized drugs has been an absolute and costly failure. We need to fix this crisis, and Senate Bill 5035 would help us do that, including a chance for offenders to go into drug diversion programs.”

SB 5035 is one of several proposals heard by the Senate Law and Justice Committee today that seek to provide a new legislative response to the state Supreme Court’s February 2021 decision in State v. Blake. The justices ruled Washington’s felony drug-possession statute was unconstitutional because it criminalized possession even when a person did not knowingly have drugs. SB 5476, which was passed by the Legislature two months after the high court handed down its decision, is a temporary fix that expires this summer.

“There is general agreement that the action taken by the Legislature in response to Blake did not work. Senate Bill 5476 expires this year, so we need to take new action this session. We need the proper leverage to get those people into treatment. A misdemeanor charge won’t compel them to get into treatment as much as a felony charge,” said Padden.

SB 5035 is scheduled to receive a vote in the Law and Justice Committee on Thursday.

According to the state Department of Health, 2,264 people in Washington died of a drug-related overdose in 2021, compared to 1,731 drug-overdose deaths in the state in 2020 and 1,259 in 2019.

Spokane resident Molly Cain signed up in support of SB 5035. Cain testified on Feb. 1 during the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee legislative hearing on the fentanyl crisis. Part of Cain’s congressional testimony can be viewed here. Cain’s son, Carson, died of a fentanyl poisoning in 2020 at age 23.

Despite Republican objections, committee passes incomplete ‘police pursuit’ bill

Democrats on the Senate Law and Justice Committee yesterday turned back new attempts by Republicans to fix a criminal-friendly flaw in Washington’s law regarding police pursuits of suspected criminals. They stuck instead to a partisan approach that would delay a solution for at least 18 months, and do nothing in the meantime to address the spike in crime seen since new pursuit restrictions took effect in July 2021.

As passed by the committee, Senate Bill 5533 would create a “model vehicle pursuit policy work group” within the state Criminal Justice Training Commission. The work group would comprise both community and law-enforcement stakeholders, including the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, the Washington Fraternal Order of Police, a community organization working on traffic-safety issues, and a statewide organization working on police accountability. The CJTC would be required to present the model vehicle pursuit policy to the Legislature by Oct. 31, 2024.

“This bill won’t fix the problems caused by not allowing law-enforcement officers to use ‘reasonable suspicion’ when they decide whether to engage in vehicle pursuits of suspects. Instead, it would basically kick this important issue down the road for 18 months, or maybe longer, by having the state Criminal Justice Training Commission start a work group on it,” said 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “A key reason why Washington is seeing a spike in crime is because officers are not allowed to pursue suspects in most cases. We need to take action now on this matter, not study it for a year or longer.”

Before the committee passed Senate Bill 5533, Padden, who is the committee’s lead Republican, and another committee member, 39^th District Sen. Keith Wagoner, offered amendments to improve the proposal.

Wagoner’s amendment would have kept SB 5533, if passed into law, from taking effect unless the Legislature also passes a bill changing the threshold required for a law-enforcement officer to engage in a vehicular pursuit from probable cause to reasonable suspicion. Wagoner’s amendment was ruled “out of scope” by the Law and Justice Committee chair, 45^th District Sen. Manka Dhingra. After Padden challenged the ruling, the committee voted 5-5 on the amendment, which means it did not pass.

After his amendment was rejected, Wagoner spoke to the committee about SB 5533.

“We’ve been hearing from our communities, from our mayors, from our county commissioners, from our police departments, how important it is for us to fix this. I haven’t heard any calls to study it. I’ve heard many calls to fix it, and it is important that we get the fix right. That’s why I support the study and I support the idea of a model policy that protects everyone. But in the meantime, we are not keeping our communities as safe as we could. We can argue about cause and effect…but I know this for a fact: The switch went one way and things got worse. It might be prudent to switch the switch the other way and see if we can at least maintain the status quo or get things better while we study a model policy,” said Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley.

“Sometimes, when the Legislature doesn’t want to move on something, we kick it to a joint task force or a study. I don’t want to see that happen with something that is so critically important to the safety of our communities,” added Wagoner.

This video captures Wagoner’s remarks to the committee after his amendment was rejected.

Padden’s amendment would have added required members to the work group and also added additional factors the work group must consider in drafting a model policy for the training and use of vehicular pursuits for officers. The amendment was defeated along party lines. This video shows Padden explaining his amendment.

When James McMahan with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs testified before the Law and Justice Committee on the bill Monday, he said the Washington State Patrol reports more than 3,100 people have fled from police stops since the 2021 pursuit statute went into play, and about 500 fewer people total have been pursued.