Author Archives: sdcadmin

18 Feb
0

Crosscut: WA proposed budget funds stipends to attract low-income board members

$50,000 is allocated for constituents to help shape boards and commissions with their lived experiences. Drayton Jackson was homeless for two decades, living in shelters in New York City and, later, Washington state. Over the years, he compiled notes on ...

Read More
10 Feb
0

Whitman County Gazette: Police restraint gets clarification in House bill

OLYMPIA – Those suffering mental health issues and juveniles could be restrained by law enforcement responding to crises. That is the thrust of House Bill 1735, which passed the state House with a 90-5 vote and is now under consideration ...

Read More
13 May
0

KING 5: Open carry ban at state Capitol, near demonstrations signed into law in Washington

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gun owners can no longer display guns at the state Capitol in Olympia or near demonstrations anywhere in the state. Calling it “common sense” legislation, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Washington, signed the bill Wednesday afternoon. It became ...

Read More
23 Apr
0

The Olympian: Lawmakers OK tenants’ civil right to counsel bill. Will it be ready to stop an eviction cliff?

A bill signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday makes Washington the first state in the country to guarantee legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction. Cities such as Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, and Cleveland have passed similar laws in ...

Read More
20 Apr
0

Kuderer bill to ban open carry weapons at permitted demonstrations and capitol campus headed to governor’s desk

OLYMPIA – Washington state is one step closer to banning open carry weapons within 250 feet of permitted public demonstrations and the state capitol grounds with a bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday. SB 5038, sponsored by Sen. Patty Kuderer ...

Read More
10 Apr
0

Salomon’s driver’s license suspension reform bill approved by House

OLYMPIA – A bill that takes another step toward decriminalizing poverty by removing non-payment of moving violation-based traffic infractions from a list of actions that can lead to criminal enforcement of license suspensions was approved by the House of Representatives ...

Read More
10 Apr
0

Crosscut: How fired cops win their jobs back: arbitration

Backup was only about a minute away. But by the time it arrived, Centralia Police Officer Phil Reynolds had already used his Taser three times on a handcuffed suspect in the back of his patrol car. Two days later, Reynolds ...

Read More
10 Apr
0

The Olympian: State House votes to end eviction moratorium June 30

Washington is poised to become the first state in the country to guarantee legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction, with Senate Bill 5160 now approved by both chambers after its vote in the House of Representatives Thursday night. Some tenants ...

Read More
10 Apr
0

Seattle Times: Washington may soon be first state to guarantee lawyers for low-income tenants facing eviction

Washington may soon become the first state in the country to ensure that low-income tenants have legal representation when faced with an eviction, an idea lawmakers see as a way to head off a feared wave of evictions once pandemic-era ...

Read More
09 Apr
0

Washington State Wire: When and why the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs changed their position on ESSB 5226

At a press conference Tuesday, Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D – Seattle) said that the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) did not fully support ESSB 5226 until an amendment from Sen. Annette Cleveland (D – Vancouver) was added. ...

Read More