The push for an outside office to oversee the Department of Corrections has begun in the Washington State Senate. Senator Mike Padden (R-4), a sponsor of the bill, is backing the idea because he believes “there’s huge costs to the state if we don’t do something” about the current problems with oversight in the Department of Corrections. The DOC has fallen under fire as scandals have hit the news when it was revealed that inmates have been released early from prison and then gone on to commit massive crimes – including 29 felonies and two incidents that involved fatalities and an alleged murder.

Senator Miloscia appeals to DOJ to intervene on safe injection sites for heroin users. Washington State Senator Mark Miloscia (R-30) has asked the Department of Justice and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step in and help support his cause, which has also been proposed as SB 5223 to stop safe-consumption sites for drugs. “This is a time to focus on developing ways to help connect people with treatment, and educating our communities about the dangers of illicit drug use… instead of helping, King County is promoting a culture of toleration, diverting precious resources away from treatment,” explained Miloscia.

State Senator Kirk Pearson (R-39) is moving to add more ballot drop boxes around the state. With SB 5472,  Senator Pearson says he hopes to add a box for every “city, town, and census-designated place in a county with a post office… it will allow people to not be disenfranchised. I think it will encourage more people to vote.”

Many bills in Washington will never see the floor, as they failed to meet the cutoff this last Friday. Bills that didn’t make the cut include one to drop the death penalty, one to turn Washington into a “right-to-work” state, one regarding public restroom use based on birth gender and one restricting abortions that aren’t done out of a medical emergency.

HB 1886 is working to reduce the role the state Board of Education has over education policy, instead pushing it to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Should HB 1886 pass, the Board of Education would have less of a hand in immediate oversight of education-related programs and would no longer be deciding things like length of the school year. They would still oversee charter school authorization.

Washington has the nation’s most regressive state and local tax structure – and Democrats are trying to make it worse. The regressive tax structure currently has no income tax, yet still hits the poorest residents of our state the hardest. However, the left is trying to introduce a state income tax yet again – despite it being voted down year after year at the ballot box. Republicans in Olympia are stepping up to the plate to try to intervene. State Rep. Matt Manweller (R-13) said, “It’s time we simply take any talk or debate of a state income tax off of the table. We need to make sure the court isn’t in a position to weigh in, because we know this would not end well for taxpayers in Washington.”

Sound Transit is suing Mercer Island after the city council of the island voted to sue Sound Transit last week for the right to gain access to the HOV lanes on I-90. Sound Transit Board of Directors is going to stop at nothing to gain access to schools, land and HOV lanes on the I-90 floating bridge that acts as a main artery for Mercer Island traffic.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Spokane) met privately with constituents and service organization members from World Relief and Global Neighborhood yesterday. “I think it’s important to remember why we got to where we are,” and while she thinks “there could have been more clarity” in the executive order Trump made to create a travel ban, Rep. McMorris Rodgers believes we need to take another look at immigration policy and take steps to ensure the safety of our nation.