Gov. Jay Inslee called Democrats in the Legislature “wussies” during a recent interview with The Stranger. When asked about the Democrats in the House and Senate who don’t support his carbon legislation, Inslee said they need to “quit being wussies and actually pass the [energy tax] bill in Olympia.” He then backs down on calling out specific legislators who aren’t supporting his bill, saying he “didn’t come to name names. That was the McCarthy era and I’m past naming names.” (Ironic, seeing as he usually has no qualms about naming Republicans when it comes to assigning blame for problems in Olympia.) (The Stranger)

And in case you were wondering, whether or not the Governor is paying attention to the current government transparency issues in Seattle – Inslee said “I haven’t been.” Of course, this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. After all, it’s the Democrats right now who are “on the wrong side of the open-records fight” in Olympia. (The Stranger)

Sen. Maureen Walsh (R-Walla Walla) was back in the Legislature yesterday after suffering a heart attack two weeks ago, which required surgery. We are grateful she is recovering and feels well enough to get back in action. (Tri-City Herald)

1,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Sinclair Inlet on Sunday afternoon, at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. Officials put a no-contact advisory in place for the immediate waters until further notice. (Kitsap Sun)

Ivar’s is leaving Sea-Tac Airport entirely “after a second round of lease drama with the Port of Seattle.” “We’re disappointed. We have loved serving our loyal customers at Sea-Tac and we’re very sorry we won’t be able to continue. The Port has selected companies other than Ivar’s for leases at Sea-Tac, so we will be finishing our tenancy there early in 2019,” said Ivar’s President Bob Donegan. (MyNorthwest)

NHL season tickets are set to go on sale March 1 for Seattle’s not-yet-granted, unnamed potential hockey team. The ownership group is said to be looking for around 14,000 ticket deposits – depositors would be refunded should Seattle not be chosen for an NHL team. (MyNorthwest)

The Evergreen State College was ranked as one of the 10 worst schools for free speech by a national organization that promotes First Amendment rights on campuses. “Protest is good. Censorship is not. Disagreeing over how to stand up for diversity is not a good reason to intimidate or attempt to silence anyone,” the Foundation for Independent Rights in Education wrote of Evergreen. (The Seattle Times)

The chief counsel for ICE in Seattle is charged with stealing the identities of immigrants who went to the agency for assistance. Prosecutors claim that Raphael Sanchez stole the identities of seven immigrants who were “in various stages of immigration proceedings,” using them to defraud credit card companies. (The Seattle Times)

An Everett teenager is in jail after his grandmother read journal entries with plans to commit a mass shooting at his high school. The 18-year-old student was arrested at ACES High School on Tuesday. “We are really grateful to the grandmother. It couldn’t have been easy for her to do…It speaks to the importance of the saying, ‘if you hear something or see something, call authorities,’ and that’s what she did. It’s quite possible she saved many lives including her grandson’s,” said Andy Muntz, a spokesman for the Mukilteo School District. (The Seattle Times)

“Nuclear should be part of clean energy goals,” Tri-Cities scientist Jim Conca writes. Conca says nuclear energy deserves to be part of low-carbon energy discussions, because nuclear energy is a low-carbon energy – something many environmentalists are too quick to dismiss. “All leading climate scientists, including the top four — Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Tom Wigley, Dr. Ken Caldeira and Dr. Kerry Emanuel — have repeatedly stated that we need all low-carbon sources; renewables, nuclear and hydro…fear and misunderstanding aside, nuclear energy is the safest form of energy we have.” (Tri-City Herald)

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Sunnyside) is standing up for Hanford nuclear cleanup funding after the Trump Administration’s budget proposal calls for a $230 million cut to the site. “Now is not the time to jeopardize worker safety or impede this vital cleanup,” Newhouse said, adding that he will work with “colleagues on both sides of the aisle” to restore funding. (Yakima Herald)

Concerning school safety: “requiring first responders to warn public and private schools in the region about incidents that would warrant a lockdown.” | SB 6410 | passed Senate 48-0-0-1, headed to House | “I’m pleased to see my colleagues unanimously support this common-sense bill to better protect all of our students. Many times schools have to call law enforcement for information about emergencies when it should be the other way around,” said bill sponsor, Sen. Mike Padden (R-Spokane Valley). (MyNorthwest)

Eliminating the death penalty | SB 6052 | passed Senate with 26-22-0-1 vote, headed to House | “Two amendments to restrict but not eliminate the death penalty proposed by Republican lawmakers were struck down prior to the final vote 26-22 vote. One would have kept the penalty for those found guilty of murder of a law enforcement officer while the other would have kept it for the murder of a correctional officer.” (The News Tribune)

Concerning the January 1, 2020, implementation of the school employees’ benefits board program | ESSB 6241 | 41-7-0-1 vote

Enhancing consumer access, affordability, and quality of broadband and advanced telecommunications services | ESB 5935 | 45-3-0-1 vote

Establishing a student loan bill of rights | E2SSB 6029 | 35-13-0-1 vote

Regarding the school construction assistance program | SSB 6531 | 40-8-0-1 vote

Creating the orca protection act | E2SSB 6268 | 27-21-0-1 vote

Concerning population-based representation on the governing body of public transportation benefit areas | SB 6414 | 25-23-0-1 vote

Allowing counties to request ferry capital improvement funds without creating ferry districts | SB 6354 | 46-2-0-1 vote

Clarifying that court hearings under the involuntary commitment act may be conducted by video | SSB 6124 | 46-2-0-1 vote

Concerning the licensure and certification of massage therapists and reflexologists | SHB 2291 | 96-2-0-0 vote

Preventing public identification or stigmatization of public school students | SHB 2558 | 66-32-0-0 vote

Reducing escape of nonnative finfish from marine finfish aquaculture facilities | EHB 2957 | 67-31-0-0 vote

Continuing the work of the Washington food policy forum | 3SE2SHB 1562 | 71-27-0-0 vote

Providing cities and counties flexibility with existing resources | E2SSHB 2006 | 92-6-0-0 vote

Concerning Washington’s property assessment appeal procedures | HB 2479 | 78-20-0-0 vote

Concerning quality in assisted living facilities | EHB 2750 | 91-7-0-0 vote

Concerning campaign finance law enforcement and reporting | ESHB 2938 | 94-4-0-0 vote

Concerning concealed pistol license eligibility requirements | EHB 2519 | 94-4-0-0 vote

Concerning financial reporting by elected and appointed officials, candidates, and appointees | HB 1833 | 98-0-0-0 vote

Amending state greenhouse gas emission limits for consistency with the most recent assessment of climate change science | HB 1144 | 50-48-0-0 vote

Public Safety (House)

Concerning the sentencing of persons under the age of twenty-one years at the time of the commission of a crime | 2SSB 5610

Changing the definition of theft | SSB 5633

Concerning electronic monitoring of domestic violence perpetrators | SB 6292

 

Labor & Workplace Standards (House)

Making unemployment benefits accessible to persons with family responsibilities and other availability issues and making clarifying changes | HB 2987

Establishing the healthy energy workers task force | SSB 6343

Developing model policies to create workplaces that are safe from sexual harassment | SB 6471

 

Education (House)

Requiring teacher preparation programs to integrate Native American curriculum developed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction into existing Pacific Northwest history and government requirements | SB 5028

Expanding statewide career and technical education course equivalency options | SSB 6133

Removing concurrent enrollment requirement of algebra II for AP computer science courses to be counted as equivalent to high school mathematics | SB 6136

 

Higher Education & Workforce Development (Senate)

Providing higher education support for gold star families | E2SHB 2009

Creating a rural county jobs program | E2SHB 2177

Concerning the opportunity scholarship program | HB 1452

 

Financial Institutions & Insurance (Senate)

Making financial services available to marijuana producers, processors, retailers, qualifying patients, health care professionals, and designated providers | ESHB 2098

Addressing municipal access to local financial services | SHB 1209

Concerning relocation assistance for manufactured/mobile home park tenants | ESHB 1884

 

Law & Justice (Senate)

Enhancing crime victim participation in the criminal justice system process | SHB 1022

Changing provisions relating to court-ordered restitution in certain criminal cases | HB 1058

Concerning legal financial obligations | E2SHB 1783

Concerning information on civil traffic infractions | SHB 2035

Concerning jury selection | SHB 2398

Concerning service animals | SHB 2822

 

Health & Long Term Care (Senate)

Concerning midwifery and doula services for incarcerated women | SHB 2016

Prohibiting maintenance of certification from being required for certain health professions | HB 2257

Requiring health plans to cover, with no cost sharing, all preventive services required to be covered under federal law as of December 31, 2016 | ESHB 1523

Concerning opioid use disorder treatment, prevention, and related services | ESHB 2489

 

State Government, Elections & Information Technology (House)

Extending the period for voter registration | SSB 6021

Increasing transparency of contributions by creating the Washington state DISCLOSE act of 2018 | SSB 5991

Enacting the Washington voting rights act of 2018 | ESSB 6002

 

Local Government (Senate)

Requiring transportation benefit districts to hold public hearings prior to imposing fees or charges by a vote of the governing board | HB 1606

Addressing county commissioner elections | SHB 2887

 

Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate)

Clarifying the nature of the driver training education curriculum developed and maintained by the department of licensing and the office of the superintendent of public instruction | HB 2266

Requiring the department of children, youth, and families to provide a written explanation for a determination of unsuitability for unsupervised access to children in care | HB 2642

 

Labor & Commerce (Senate)

Addressing meal and rest breaks and mandatory overtime for certain health care employees | HB 1715

Concerning gambling addiction | EHB 2332

Adding training on public works and prevailing wage requirements to responsible bidder criteria | E2SHB 1673

Granting binding interest arbitration rights to certain uniformed personnel | SHB 1559

Modifying collective bargaining law to authorize providing additional compensation to academic employees at community and technical colleges | EHB 1237

 

 

Judiciary (House)

Preventing suicide by permitting the voluntary waiver of firearm rights | SSB 5553

Concerning bump-fire stocks | ESB 5992

Granting relatives, including but not limited to grandparents, the right to seek visitation with a child through the courts | SB 5598

Addressing meetings under the business corporations act | SB 6040

Concerning child support, but only including a parent’s obligation to provide medical support, use of electronic funds transfers, notice of noncompliance, adoption of the economic table recommended by the child support work group, and references to the federal poverty level in self-support reserve limitations | SSB 6334

Regulating body worn cameras | SB 6408

 

Ways & Means (Senate)

Concerning the sale of manufactured/mobile home communities | SSB 5627

Strengthening oil transportation safety | SSB 6269

 

Transportation (House)

Authorizing the issuance of personalized collector vehicle license plates | SSB 6009

Establishing permissible methods of parking a motorcycle | SB 6070

Defining the planting and harvest dates for purposes of exemptions for agricultural transporters | SB 6180

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