Tag Archives: Washington State Patrol

Padden hopes traffic deaths, crime will drop as initiative restoring police pursuits goes into effect

Today marks the day when Initiative 2113, which restores police pursuits in Washington, goes into effect. State Sen. Mike Padden said the initiative, which was approved by the Legislature last March, should results in fewer traffic deaths in the state.

“Washington state is experiencing an increase in fatal and serious-injury crashes on our roads and highways that is shocking and heartbreaking. I-2113 should help officers apprehend dangerous drivers and make our roads and highways safer,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley.

The 4th District senator pointed to a recent Washington Traffic Safety Commission report revealing the state has reached a 33-year high for traffic fatalities. The report showed 810 people were killed in crashes involving a motor vehicle last year, an increase from 743 killed in 2022.

Of these 810 traffic deaths, nearly half (400) involved a drug- or alcohol-impaired driver, while 251 involved excessive speed, 171 involved not wearing a seatbelt or other restraint, and 135 involved a distracted driver.

“There are several factors that have resulted in the high number of traffic fatalities in recent years, but a key one has been the inability for officers to pursue vehicles in many situations. With I-2113 in effect, officers can pursue drivers in more instances and get them off our highways,” said Padden, the Republican leader on the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

Padden noted I-2113 will help reverse the growing crime problem in Washington.

“Crime is perhaps the greatest concern for citizens and communities throughout our state,” said Padden. “In fact, we have reached a crisis point in our state because of skyrocketing crime.

“After the Legislature passed laws a few years ago that restricted law-enforcement officers from pursuing suspects, criminals became more emboldened. They have acted in a more brazen manner as they commit crimes. The result was a sharp increase in auto theft, retail theft, burglary and other property crimes. Making matters worse, many auto thieves have used their stolen vehicles to smash into ‘pot shops’ to steal cash, or they use these cars as battering rams to break into other stores to steal merchandise.

“With Initiative 2113 now in effect, law-enforcement officers again are able to pursue suspects instead of helplessly watching them drive away,” added Padden.

The Washington State Patrol recorded nearly 8,000 incidents of drivers refusing to stop for troopers in the years after a controversial 2021 state law restricted police officers from chasing suspects.

Washington reaches highest number of traffic fatalities in 33 years

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers May 17, 2024. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

Dear friends and neighbors,

Our state is experiencing an increase in fatal and serious-injury crashes on our roads and highways that is shocking and heartbreaking. We’re failing to protect our families, friends and children.

Earlier this week, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission issued a report revealing our state has reached a 33-year high for traffic fatalities. The report showed 810 people were killed in crashes involving a motor vehicle in 2023, an increase from 743 killed in 2022.

Of the 810 traffic deaths last year, nearly half (400) involved a drug- or alcohol-impaired driver, while 251 involved excessive speed, 171 involved not wearing a seatbelt or other restraint, and 135 involved a distracted driver. What is so tragic about these fatality figures is that these deaths could have been prevented if drivers were more careful and responsible when behind the wheel. 

What is especially troubling about Washington’s rise in traffic deaths is that the rest of America is driving more safely. According to a Seattle Times story about the WTSC report, Washington’s increase in road fatalities runs counter to national figures. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 40,990 people died on U.S. roads last year, a 3.6% decrease from 2022. The Times story noted that nearly every other state recorded fewer deaths than the year before.

It’s unacceptable that nearly half of the 810 traffic deaths in 2023 in our state involved impaired drivers. The Legislature has taken recent steps to reduce impaired driving, including making a fourth DUI conviction a felony and expanding the “lookback” period for reviewing prior impaired-driving convictions to 15 years, instead of 10. We also passed the initiative restoring police pursuits, which should allow officers to apprehend more bad drivers on roads and highways.

But more needs to be done! It would be good to see the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and Washington State Patrol work to increase public awareness about impaired driving so more people avoid driving after downing too many drinks or taking drugs that can impair their driving ability. The Traffic Safety Commission and State Patrol also should do more to remind drivers to keep their eyes on the road instead of focusing on their cell phones or other things that can distract them.    

The Legislature also can do more to reduce impaired driving, which contributes to so many of our state’s traffic deaths. Last year, I introduced Senate Bill 5791, a bipartisan proposal, supported by the State Patrol, that would require WSP to establish a pilot program to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of oral fluid roadside information (basically, an oral swab) collected by law enforcement when impaired driving is suspected. (Taking the oral swab would be voluntary for drivers.) After being passed by the Senate Transportation Committee during this year’s session, SB 5791 died when it was on deck for a full Senate vote.

Several other states have implemented oral swab testing (which detects six drugs and alcohol) on suspected impaired drivers, and the results have been positive. My hope is that another legislator will sponsor this bill next year after I retire from the Senate and that the Legislature will finally pass this measure. It should help reduce impaired driving and lower the number of traffic deaths in our state.         

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 representing you in Olympia!

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

Efforts to increase number of law-enforcement officers in state

Senator Padden and other attendees during last October’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new law-enforcement training center run jointly by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Air Force. 

Another reason for Washington’s rise in traffic fatalities is the lack of law-enforcement officers in our communities. Many law-enforcement agencies, anti-crime advocates and legislators have pointed out in recent years that Washington ranks dead last (51st out of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia) for the number of law-enforcement officers per capita.

Washington’s extremely low number of police officers in communities also is a key reason why crime continues to rise across our state.

An article recently published by Seattle-based Crosscut offers some reasons for the low number of law-enforcement officers across Washington, beyond the simple fact that more are leaving the profession than entering it. The net loss in officers makes it hard for the remaining officers to maintain law and order in their communities.

The Crosscut story cited several likely reasons for the drop in police officers: job pressures, burnout, frustrations, the fluctuating stigmas of being a cop, bad hours for raising a family, sometimes long commutes because an officer cannot afford to live in the city they are protecting and a lack of local money to hire new law-enforcement officers.  

Many people argue that the backlash against police officers in 2020 following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and the ensuing demonstrations and riots in Seattle and other cities across the nation caused many officers to leave law enforcement for other jobs. The combination of “officer loss” and pro-criminal laws passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature in recent years has contributed greatly to the increase in many types of crime in Washington, including murders, auto thefts and robberies.      

Fortunately, the Legislature finally has recognized the problem of a lack of law-enforcement officers and taken steps to fix it. This part of the Crosscut article discusses what the state has done to tackle the lack of officers:

In 2022, the Criminal Justice Training Center added a campus in Spokane. This year, other satellite centers started operating in Pasco and Vancouver. Another is expected to open in Arlington later this year. One of the hurdles to training recruits is that it is difficult for many — especially those with children — to spend four and a half months in Burien. The satellite campuses are designed to address that while raising the total capacity to train 870 police recruits in 2025, plus 800 correctional officers, misdemeanor probation officers and other roles. 

Another improvement is that it no longer costs local law enforcement to send their recruits in for training. Until this year, local police and sheriff’s departments had to pay 25% of the training costs for each recruit. After legislative action this year, the state is paying 100% of the bill.

4th District Government Guide still available at many locations

As mentioned in my e-newsletter in recent weeks, there is a new 4th District Government Guide for districts residents to use. The free guide includes names and contact information for officials at the federal, statewide, legislative and local government levels. It also provides other helpful information. If you would like to have a copy of the new government guide mailed to you, please call my legislative assistant, Annalise Hemingway, at 509-921-2460 or email her at annalise.hemingway@leg.wa.gov.

There also are copies of the updated government guide at these locations:

  • Millwood City Hall (9103 E Frederick Ave., Spokane)
  • Argonne Library (4322 N Argonne Road, Spokane)
  • Spokane Valley City Hall (10210 E Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley)
  • Spokane Valley Library (22 N. Herald Road, Spokane Valley)
  • Liberty Lake City Hall (22710 E Country Vista Drive, Liberty Lake)
  • Liberty Lake Library (23123 E Mission Ave., Liberty Lake)
  • Otis Orchards Library (22324 E Wellesley Ave., Otis Orchards)
  • Spokane Valley Senior Center (2426 N Discovery Place, Spokane Valley)

Washington had largest increase for drug-overdose deaths among states

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday released its monthly report on drug-overdose deaths by state. This report covers all 12 months of 2023. A Seattle Times story reported that overdose deaths in the U.S. declined by nearly 3,500 deaths from the prior year, or 3.1%.

Unfortunately, Washington state actually is leading the nation in the increase in overdose deaths in 2023 (going from 2,763 in 2022 to 3,526 in 2023, an increase of 763). In percentage terms, this was a 27.6% year-over-year increase, only outpaced by Alaska (44.1%), Oregon (30%) and Nevada (28.9%).     

To put this in perspective, California and Texas combined saw a smaller increase in overdose deaths than Washington, despite having nearly 10 times our state’s population.      

When the state Supreme Court issued its Blake decision in February 2021, Washington was 31st in the country in per-capita drug overdose death rate, with a rate 20% below the national average. Washington now ranks ninth-highest in the country, with a rate over 40% higher than the national average.   

West Virginia ranks first in drug-overdose death rate with 81.2 deaths per 100,000 population, followed by Tennessee (53.4 deaths), Delaware (51.6), Louisiana (49.0), Alaska (48.5), New Mexico (47.9), Kentucky (47.1), Nevada (45.7), Washington (45.3) and Maine (42.9). Oregon ranks 11th, with 42.7 deaths. 

See WSDOT’s aerial photo of new Barker Road roundabout

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Transportation)

Even though the recently completed Barker Road roundabout was mentioned in an earlier e-newsletter just a couple of weeks ago, the Eastern Region office of the state Department of Transportation provided this aerial photo of the new roundabout near I-90. It is worth a look.

Video shows problem with ranked choice voting

In recent years, some individuals and groups have been pushing an unusual and very rarely used voting system called “ranked choice voting“ or “RCV.”

Pierce County used ranked choice voting for a couple of years in the early 2000s before getting rid of it.

This video discusses the problems with RCV. If a bill to implement ranked choice voting in Washington had reached the Senate floor for a vote, I would have been a resounding “no.”

Receiving lifetime award

It was my honor to recently receive this lifetime achievement award from the Spokane County Republican Party for my years as a 4th District legislator.

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 applauds Senate’s passage of initiative restoring police pursuits

The Senate’s 36-13 passage today of Initiative 2113, which would restore police pursuits in Washington, is a major step toward making Washington communities safer, said 4th District Sen. Mike Padden.

Padden, the Republican leader on the Senate Law and Justice Committee, said I-2113 would help reverse the growing crime problem in Washington.

“Among the many problems plaguing Washington now, crime is perhaps the greatest concern for citizens and communities throughout our state,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “In fact, we have reached a crisis point in our state because of skyrocketing crime.

“Thanks to recent state laws that restrict law-enforcement officers and weaken public safety, criminals have become more emboldened. They are acting in a more brazen manner as they commit crimes. The result is many people throughout Washington have been victims of auto theft, retail theft, burglary and other property crimes. Making matters worse, many auto thieves use their stolen vehicles to smash into ‘pot shops’ to steal cash, or they use these cars as battering rams to break into other stores to steal merchandise.

“The crime spike here in Washington has a strong connection to a recent law enacted by majority Democrats that placed tight limits on when law-enforcement officers can engage in vehicle pursuits of suspects. Fortunately, if and when Initiative 2113 is enacted by the Legislature and becomes law in early June, law-enforcement officers will once again be able to pursue suspects instead of helplessly watching them drive away,” added Padden.

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 the pursuit law, the statewide record for stolen cars in a single year was 30,000. That record increased to nearly 47,000 stolen vehicles in 2022. Washington is now fourth in the U.S. for auto thefts per capita.

“It’s not only the owner of the vehicle that suffers as the victim, it’s all the crimes that are committed with these stolen vehicles. Some of these crimes have led to the deaths of our citizens,” said Padden during his floor speech in favor of the initiative.

Padden said many sheriffs and police chiefs throughout Washington have voiced their frustration about the tighter pursuit restrictions, to little avail. The senator added that the Legislature last year passed a law restoring some ability for law-enforcement officers to pursue suspects, but it still is far short of the pre-2021 police-pursuit policy.

“We can take a major step right here, right now, to protect public safety, to protect our citizens and our constituents. It isn’t going to solve all of our problems, but it’s going to go a long way to make law enforcement better able to do their jobs,” Padden told senators during his floor speech.

All 20 Senate Republicans were joined by 16 Democrats in voting for I-2113 today.

“It was encouraging to see most of our Democratic colleagues join us in voting for this important initiative. I’m hopeful we’ll see an equally strong bipartisan vote in favor of I-2113 when the House considers it,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on I-2113 later today. If the Legislature approves I-2113, it would go into effect June 6.

When the Senate Law and Justice Committee and the House Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee held a joint public hearing on I-2113 last week, 5,961 people signed up to testify, either in person or via written testimony. Of that total, 5,752 (96.49%) supported the initiative.

“The overwhelming majority of people who signed up in favor of I-2113 is a very clear sign that Washingtonians want to see police pursuits restored. They want safer communities instead of rising crime and lawlessness,” said Padden.

The 2024 legislative session is scheduled to end Thursday.

 

Senate committee passes Padden bill to reduce impaired driving

A bill from 4th District Sen. Mike Padden that aims to reduce impaired driving on Washington’s roads and highways is advancing through the Senate.

Senate Bill 5791 was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee this past Thursday. The proposal would require the Washington State Patrol to establish a pilot program to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of oral fluid swabs as part of the enforcement of impaired-driving laws.

“Impaired driving continues to be a growing problem on our state’s roads, so the Legislature needs to take additional steps to combat it,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Oral-swab testing represents one more tool for law enforcement in reducing impaired driving. It’s important for law enforcement to see how effective the oral-swab tests would help in determining if drivers are legally impaired. If the pilot program under this proposal proves to be effective, as it has proven to be in Indiana, the Legislature can make oral-swab testing a permanent part of our state’s efforts to decrease impaired driving in Washington.”

During its public hearing in the transportation committee, many people testified in favor of the proposal. Supporters include the Washington State Patrol, Chuck DeWeese with the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving, Christopher Kirby of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and Ashley Bonus with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

TVW’s coverage of the SB 5791 public hearing is available for viewing here.

SB 5791 is on the Senate’s second-reading calendar, which means it could receive a full Senate vote at any time.

According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, Washington road deaths reached a 21-year high in 2022. There were 740 traffic deaths in 2022, including 389 fatalities involving drug- or alcohol-impaired driving. There were 674 traffic deaths in 2021, including 345 fatalities involving impaired driving. In 2020, Washington had 574 traffic fatalities, including 282 involving impaired driving.

The bell rings — 60-day legislative session starts today

Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers January 8, 2024. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.

Dear friends and neighbors,

This year’s legislative session begins today and is scheduled to last 60 days, ending March 7. Today will be highlighted with the traditional opening-day ceremonies in the Senate chamber. Tomorrow the Senate and House of Representatives will meet in a joint session in the House chamber to hear Governor Inslee’s final state of the state address. 

Once these events are over, the Senate will focus much of its time on committee meetings. Each bill is referred to a committee, where it may receive a public hearing and possibly a vote – steps that are typically determined by the committee chair. The Senate will be in “committee mode” for most of the next month, though occasionally we will meet on the floor of the Senate chamber to debate and vote on bills sent forward by the committees. A solid run of these floor sessions will follow the initial round of committee work. 

Veteran state government reporter Jim Camden wrote this column for the Spokesman-Review that explains how to keep tabs on the session. Jim’s column includes one of my favorite quotes: “No man’s life, liberty or property is safe when the Legislature is in session.”

The Inlander also ran a session preview story over the weekend.

The Legislative Building, where the Senate and House chambers are located.

Here are several resources to help you follow this year’s session 

  • My legislative website|Here you will find my news releases and clips, newsletters, bills, contact information, biography, and other information. 
  • The 4th District Government Guide| In this resource book, you will find the phone numbers, email addresses and offices of city, county, state and federal officials who represent you. 
  • The Capitol Buzz| A daily recap of the top online news stories. Click the link to subscribe. 
  • TVW| You may watch live broadcasts of floor and committee action online. 
  • Legislature’s website| Bill reports, committee agendas, and information about upcoming activities in the Legislature are here. 
  • State agencies| This website is where you may find all the state agencies, boards, and commissions. 
  • Washington Votes| The Washington Policy Center’s vote-tracking website. 

To Track Legislation 

  1. Go to leg.wa.gov  
  1. On the left-hand panel, click “Bill Information.”  
  1. If you know the bill number, enter it in the search field and click enter. 
  1. Don’t have a bill number? Under the section “Standard Reports” you’ll find alternative tracking tools. You may search based on topic, within a specific biennium, and more. 

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

Meet Team Padden for 2024 session 

I’m happy to introduce my legislative staff for this year’s session. My legislative assistant, Annalise Hemingway (right), joined the office last spring. My session aide this year is Ethan Mettlin (middle). Ethan has returned to my office for this year’s session after interning for me last year. Vandee Pannkuk (left) is my session intern this year. Vandee, an Onalaska native, attends Washington State University and is studying political science and criminal justice. 

Reporters challenge Inslee over gas prices at legislative preview 

In recent years it has seemed like many reporters, whether they are part of the Capitol Press Corps that cover state government or part of the Seattle media, have been hesitant to challenge Governor Inslee on issues when it’s apparent that he is wrong or misleading the public.  

But in recent months, more members of the media have confronted the governor over how the state’s cap-and-trade program has led to higher gas prices in Washington over the past year. That willingness by the media to go after Inslee was on full display during this past Thursday’s legislative-session preview held on the Capitol campus.  

After Inslee began his portion of the meeting by touting what he considers to be his accomplishments as governor entering what will be his last year in that office, some of the assembled media members took aim at him over a report published this week by the Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers that showed Inslee knew long ago that a tax on carbon emissions would significantly increase gas prices.  

The Myers piece noted that the governor’s chief policy advisor at the time told members of the Senate Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee in 2014 that a “High Carbon Price” scenario with a “CO2 price of $52 per metric ton (MT) – almost identical to the state’s current CO2 price – would increase gas prices by 44 cents per gallon.”  

The publication of this report allowed reporters to ask Inslee about it Thursday. As you might guess, the governor was not inclined to agree with Myers’ assertion.  

Brandi Kruse, a former reporter for Seattle’s KIRO radio and KCPQ-TV who now hosts the “Undivided” political podcast, asked Inslee pointed questions over gas prices that appeared to make the governor uncomfortable.    

You may watch the governor’s interactions with reporters at the 3-hour, 4-minute mark of TVW’s coverage. It definitely is worth viewing. 

The Center Square has an interesting article about Myers’ report and the defiant response by Inslee’s  spokesman. KIRO Radio in Seattle published the transcript of a long and sometimes contentious interview with the governor last Friday in which KIRO reporters were not willing to let Inslee off the hook over higher gas prices.

Padden introduces bills to “ditch the switch,” tackle fentanyl crisis 

Senator Padden asks a question during a committee meeting.

In the weeks leading up to this year’s legislative session, many lawmakers “prefiled” bills that will be formally introduced now that it’s opening day. Among the several bills I filed before today are proposals aiming to make our roads and highways safer, reduce fentanyl’s terrible impact in our state and finally end the twice-yearly switch between daylight saving time and standard time:  

  • Senate Bill 5791 calls for the Washington State Patrol to establish a pilot program to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of oral fluid roadside information used as part of the enforcement of impaired-driving laws. The measure is already scheduled for a public hearing tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the Senate Transportation Committee. 
  • Senate Bill 5795 would allow Washington to “ditch the switch” and keep the state on standard time year-round. 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. This bill would keep our state on standard time permanently. The proposal has not been sent to a committee yet, but it likely will go to the Senate State Government and Elections Committee. 
  • Senate Bill 5929 would make reckless endangerment with fentanyl a Class B Felony. Children are dying throughout our state as fentanyl use has increased dramatically. Late last month, information was released that fentanyl deaths in King County topped 1,050 last year, surpassing an all-time record. The bill is expected to be sent to the Senate Law and Justice Committee for consideration.

Two other proposals I’m introducing this session are:

  • Senate Bill 5792 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.
  • Senate Bill 6026 would protect the rights of parents and guardians by using students’ given names in public schools.

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.

 

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!

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Phone: (509) 921-2460

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

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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.