This Friday (February 17^th) is the deadline for policy bills to be voted out of committee in the Washington State Legislature. (The following Friday is the similar cut-off for budgetary bills.)  Hundreds of bills have been introduced, with fair fewer given any committee time. There are three pieces of policy legislation which many observers, including Shift, are following to see how deeply Democrats believe that last fall’s election was a huge referendum on their policies.  They are:

• Police pursuit bill. Republicans continue to push for the repeal of the Democrats’ disastrous 2021 restrictions on police pursuits, which nearly all local law enforcement agencies in the state have cited as being partially responsible for the state’s high crime rate.  Observers are watching to see if Democrat House members will join Republican representatives in sending repeal legislation to the State Senate, where Senator Manka Dhingra (D – Redmond) has rightfully received strong criticism for leading a group of extreme Democrats which kept previous reform bills from receiving a floor vote in the Senate, and is refusing to even hear bi-partisan reform bills in her committee this year.
• Agriculture overtime wage compromise. To protect small family farms and to ensure farm workers receive larger paychecks during the harvest season, the agriculture community has proposed a compromise bill to replace the Democrats’ 2021 legislation which dramatically increased employment costs and placed Washington State farmers at a competitive disadvantage. New legislation allows farmers to select 12 weeks a year (usually during planting and harvest seasons) when employees must work 50 hours to receive overtime wages.
• Bi-partisan riparian bill. After the Inslee Administration has twice attempted to force farmers to pay for buffer zone improvements around streams to protect salmon runs, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers has developed a voluntary riparian program which has obtained strong support in the agricultural, environmental, and tribal communities. Only a member of the governor’s staff spoke out against the legislation in a House hearing.

The next couple of weeks will be jam packed with legislative activity and Shift will be on top of any breaking developments. (Washington Legislature Calendar, Senate Republican Caucus media release, KPQ Radio, and Washington Policy Center)

Drug possession legislation (i.e. a needed response to the 2021 Washington State Supreme Court’s “Blake Decision”) is also a closely watched issue this week in Olympia.  After the state’s highest court struck down the state’s drug possession laws two years ago, Democrat legislators and Governor Jay Inslee have ignored Republican suggestions to make necessary small administrative adjustments to the law and instead used the opportunity to essentially decriminalize possession of lethal drugs (SB 5476), such as fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.  This has led to record number of Washington State residents dying from drug overdoses and has created more drug addicts who now rely on criminal activity to fund their addictions.

KTTH host Jason Rantz reports that the Democrats’ legislation (SB 5536) does make drug possession a gross misdemeanor with the potential to spend 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.  If the suspect accepts drug treatment they would not serve jail time.

The Democrats’ bill also contains very controversial language creating “Health Engagement Hubs” which provide tools which allow addicts to continue using their illegal drugs.  The bill also contains language to create a “safe supply work group” which will make recommendation to the legislature on how the state could supply drugs to addicts. As Rantz points out, “the government could become the state’s largest illicit drug dealer.”  (MyNorthwest, Seattle Times, Washington Legislature Bill Summary,

Nearly 50 state and local business organizations sent a letter to the members of the Washington State Legislature to describe how the Democrats’ 2021 anti-police legislation has negatively impacted their businesses and the safety of their employees. The letter states there are ongoing “reports of employees who are harassed as they make their way from the parking lot to work, job sites where items are stolen, retail stores where shoplifters brazenly walk off with merchandise, and store clerks who are threatened with guns or assaulted.”  The letter does not endorse any specific legislation the business organizations are supporting, but rather calls on the legislators “to find solutions this year that will ensure improved community outcomes.” (Business organization letter to the legislature part 1 and part 2)

Representative Jenny Graham (R – Spokane) has introduced legislation to categorize second degree robbery once again as a “Three Strikes” offense after Democrats retroactively removed it two years ago.  The Democrats’ actions forced a Clark County judge to retroactively reduce the sentence of a murderer of a 14-year-old Vancouver girl.   Chelsea Harrison was killed by Roy Russell after he attempted to rape her in 2005.  He was convicted of the murder and because he had two previous felony strikes (including one for second degree robbery), Russell was sentenced to life imprisonment with this third felony conviction.

In 2019, Democrats passed legislation which removed several felonies from the state’s “Three Strikes, You’re Out” classification.  In 2021, Democrats passed another bill to make these classifications retroactive.  This forced a judge to remove Roy Russell’s life imprisonment sentence and it was replaced with a 26-year prison sentence.  Russell could be set free in the next few years.

Representative Graham said her legislation (HB 1805) is meant to correct the wrongs committed by the Democrats previous soft-on-criminals legislation. “The laws we pass in Olympia have consequences. The consequences of laws passed here over the past few years means a brutal murderer, a career violent offender, may be walking our streets one day instead of being locked up for life. This isn’t right. Chelsea and her family deserve better than this. Our citizens deserve better than this.” (KING5 News and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Residents of Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood are extremely frustrated by Governor Inslee’s lack of action to remove a violent homeless encampment which sits on state property under the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge and is one block away from an elementary school.  The encampment has been the source of gun shots (a man was murdered there in January), assaults, open use of illegal drugs, and numerous fires (six were reported in January).  Local residents formed a group to respond to the dangers posed by the encampment and have sent numerous request to the governor to clear the encampment from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) property. All have been ignored by Governor Inslee and his staff.

The group sent another letter to the governor last weekend pleading with the state to finally do something. The group’s latest letter stated, “It is unacceptable that confused governmental responsibility prevents significant action in a place where a large-scale encampment will (has) inevitability lead to tragic outcomes, both for temporary and permanent residents of the neighborhood.” WSDOT told the media they will clean the encampment this week, but people may remain living there – thus essentially doing nothing to relieve the residents’ concerns.

The King County Regional Homeless Authority has been asked multiple times by the media if the residents of the encampment have been offered housing.  KOMO News stated, “The agency has not given an answer in its responses to the inquiries.”

This is the latest example that despite billions in taxpayer dollars being spent on the homelessness issue, government fails to act while neighbors fear for their safety and thousands continue to live a very cruel existence. (KOMO News)

Washington State Department of Commerce (DOC) Director (and career politician) Lisa Brown finally announced she will stop collecting a government paycheck at the end of the month as she continues in her quest to become the Mayor of Spokane). Yesterday the DOC issued a media release stating Director Brown will step down from her position on March 1^st.  Last year Director Brown had the state taxpayers fund her moving her office from Olympia (where nearly all Department of Commerce employees work) to Spokane, where she began organizing her nascent 2023 mayoral campaign while still collecting her state salary.

In 2019, former TV news anchor Nadine Woodward defeated controversial liberal City of Spokane Council President Ben Stuckart to become mayor.  Mayor Woodward announced last July she would be running for re-election. (Washington State Department of Commerce media release, Shift, and Spokesman Review)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview was with Republican Representative Eric Robertson of Sumner, who previously served as an officer in the Washington State Patrol and was appointed U.S. Marshall for Western Washington by President George W. Bush. He previously served in the Washington State Legislature for two terms in the 1990s and returned to the House of Representatives in 2021.  He is a father of five and enjoys being with his nine grandchildren.

Representative Robertson is a legislative leader among those seeking to restore common sense to our state’s public safety policies after the Democrats passed their anti-police measures in 2021.  He is the co-sponsor of the bi-partisan HB 1363 to repeal the disastrous restrictions the Democrats imposed on police pursuits.  The representative discussed in his interview several bills aimed to make our communities safer. He also shared his thoughts on Republican-sponsored legislation to financially support more educational options which will provide flexibility in meeting student needs.

Representative Robertson also shared his thoughts on taxing cannabis products, providing tax relief to lower- and middle- income workers, and repealing the Democrats’ poorly developed Long Term Care tax/plan. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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