Building a stronger, more just & transparent democracy
Building a stronger, more just & transparent democracy
Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
Use of consumer reproductive health data would be much more restricted under House Bill 1155, the proposed “My Health, My Data Act.” The proposed law requires the consumer’s consent before sharing or collecting personal health data. This prohibits organizations from selling consumer health data not otherwise protected by law. After an extended floor debate over 23 proposed amendments, the bill received a vote of 57-39 in the state House of Representatives and moved to the Senate. In 2022, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announc...
A state task force on missing indigenous women, created in 2021, will be extended at least two more years if a Senate-passed bill is approved by the House and governor. The bill, Senate Bill 5477, sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, would implement recommendations identified in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force. “Crimes against Indigenous people, especially women, and children, have continued to plague our state and our nation,” said Torres. “Despite making up only 2% of our popul...
For the first time in history, a foreign head of state has addressed a joint session in the Washington State Legislature. President, Sauli Niinistö, of the Republic of Finland, met with Washington lawmakers March 6 to discuss climate change and their partnership in supporting Ukraine. The visit comes as Finland intends to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "The current critical geopolitical situation has brought us closer together than ever before. We are...
Terminally ill patients seeking help to end their lives with the aid of a physician shouldn’t have to wait so long to get approval from the state. That’s the position of Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, who said he intends to eliminate barriers to care without removing safeguards in the Washington Death with Dignity Act. His Senate-passed proposal is Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5179. "One in four people do not live long enough to survive the 15-day waiting period (currently in the law). We talked to people who asked for...
Free lunches for all public-school students is apparently off the table in the state Legislature, but House members are now considering phasing-in paid lunches for kindergarten through fourth grade. “While I am disappointed we are unable to move legislation that will cover all kids with universal meals, I am pleased that we are continuing to move legislation forward that will help us take another step toward the goal,” said bill sponsor Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane. House Bill 1238 originally provided universal free lun...
Washington State is moving to keep out-of-pocket costs of insulin at $35 per month until Jan. 1, 2025. “For people with Type 1 diabetes, this bill is literally life or death,” said Matthew Hepner, the father of a child with diabetes in support of SSB 5729. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, passed unanimously through the Senate and moved to the House of Representatives Feb. 28. It requires insurers to cap the patient share of the cost for insulin. In 2022, legislators passed Keiser’s previous insul...
School districts should be required to test all students to see if they qualify for more challenging classes. That is the message behind Substitute Senate Bill 5072, proposed by T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest. It requires districts to screen all students during the school day for participation in a “Highly Capable Program (HCP). “With this model, every student in a grade level gets to be considered, and no student is overlooked.” Nobles said. “Districts that have implemented universal screening are seeing the results improve e...
Installing automated vehicle speed cameras and other measures to improve highway safety were approved in separate bills by the state Senate Feb.23. “Speed kills. Our work zones have lower posted speeds for very good reasons. This helps to prevent collisions with slower-moving work vehicles and helps to protect workers who are often outside of their vehicles,” said Mark McKechnie from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission testifying in support of ESSB 5272. There were 28 fatalities in work zones in the past three years. Abo...
Elementary schools will be required to give students 30 minutes of recess every day and teachers would be prohibited from denying recess as a disciplinary measure, under a bill that passed the Senate despite objections. The bill, ESSB 5257, is sponsored by Sen. T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, and passed with a vote of 28-21. “Play is critical to positive youth development. What we know about recess is it can lower cortisol levels. It can increase problem-solving, and it can help our students build relationships with each oth...
A national test given to people who want to be paraeducators in public schools often slows the process and presents roadblocks for bilingual applicants, some educators say. Substitute House Bill 1015, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, attempts to solve these problems. “As many of you are aware, school districts are not only dealing with a significant shortage of teacher applicants but also struggling to fill their para-pro positions,” said Rural Education Center Director Jim Kowalkowski. “While this bill...
Ashley Bonus said she began her fight against impaired driving after her sister, Stacy Gammons-Ankerfelt, died in an accident in 2012. Now, she wants a new law that lowers the blood alcohol level needed to sustain an impaired driving conviction. “I work hard to make a change for my sister. I would never want any other family to feel the pain we feel every day. So, I work really hard just to make any change I can,” Bonus said. Bonus, now a volunteer with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), testified recently in support of Su...
Allisone McClanahan suffered from severe chronic pain and fibromyalgia. To ease her pain, the 26-year-old took a pain pill from a friend she thought contained oxycodone. Instead, she died of a drug overdose in 2021. After her death, the toxicology report revealed the pill did not contain any oxycodone and was poisoned with fentanyl, seven times the amount her body could withstand. Genevieve Schofield, Allisone’s mother, said she did not want anyone to experience pain like hers. She reached out to legislators, and testified a...
Seahawks legend Walter Jones joined Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of State Steve Hobbs in raising the 12th-man flag at the capitol Jan. 11 to promote this weekend's playoff game. The Seahawks will face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL wild card game on Saturday. Lawmakers wore Seahawks jerseys and carried 12 th-man banners as Jones raised the flag. Jones said meeting Washington lawmakers in the Capitol was a great way to kick off the legislative session. "To get a chance to...
Victims and witnesses who track perpetrators in prison to know when they are released will be able to keep their identities private, if a bill that passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support becomes law. “This bill creates a safer environment for the victims and survivors, and they are not placed again in harm’s way because of a public records request,” said T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest. The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) provides a tracking program for victims and witnesses so they can know when the per...
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and Gov. Jay Inslee say they are backing a package of new laws aimed at protecting workers, pedestrians and commuters. New bills would include reducing the blood alcohol concentration limit for operating a vehicle when driving, imposing more restrictions on high-risk drivers and requiring a skills course for young and older drivers. Amber Weilert, a mother from Parkland, described how her son was struck and killed in a crosswalk while...
Mary Le Nguyen stood in front of a group of 70 abortion-rights activists on the Capitol steps for a "reproductive freedom rally" in early January and she shared her personal story of being a survivor of sexual abuse. "This is not about power shifting from here to here. I want people to like us to have the power," Nguyen said, as she protested with Pro-Choice Washington. "I want us all to be more powerful, but that means we need to slow down together and see that reproductive...
People who change their names to hide from their abusers should be afforded more privacy. That, at least, is the conclusion Maia Xiao came to after a transgender friend committed suicide after being harassed online despite a name change. Her friend’s “deadname,” the name used before transitioning, was discovered since it was a public record under Washington state law. “Even if she knew she was in a dangerous situation, she could not have changed her name privately because of our law,” Xiao said. Under consideration now is Se...
Starting at the Olympia Ballroom in the state capital's historic district, students from across Washington carried inflatable orcas and salmon and marched through the streets of Olympia to the steps of the Legislative building. Chanting "Save our salmon," members of the Washington Youth Ocean and River Conservation Alliance (WYORCA) and other environmental groups advocated for the protection of Northwest salmon runs and the orca pods that depend on them. "We need Inslee and th...
