Building a stronger, more just & transparent democracy
Building a stronger, more just & transparent democracy
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An effort to make Holocaust and genocide education mandatory in Washington public schools has failed to win enough support to pass in this year's Legislature. "We've been trying diligently to reach out to stakeholders to get agreed upon wording that would make this workable and fundable," said Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island, Chair of the Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee. "This bill just needs more time to be worked through." Sponsored by Rep. Travis Couture,...
By Aspen Anderson Washington State Journal As the prevalence of fentanyl rises, so too does the frequency of critical incidents related to parental substance abuse among foster children, often resulting in fatalities or near-fatalities. This alarming trend spurred foster mothers from across the state to gather and protest on the steps of the capitol. They say a recently adopted state law makes it harder to remove children from homes for the evidence of substance abuse alone, a...
Three citizen-led initiatives will receive hearings in this session of the Legislature, said Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, and Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma. The Legislature will debate I-2113 on reasonable police pursuit, I-2081 on restoring parent’s “right to know,” and I-2111, on prohibiting a state income tax. “Washington voters will hear a lot between now and November on any initiatives that end up on the ballot,” Billig and Jinkins said in a press release. “It will be up to them to dec...
When Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, learned how Jehovah’s Witness elders in Spokane had covered up child sexual abuse for years, she looked to the law for answers. Frame found that, under Washington State law, clergy members have no responsibility to report what they suspect to be child abuse. Washington is one of five states that has yet to change this rule. Frame says she experienced abuse as a child, and it was only once after her teacher, a “mandatory reporter,” said somethin...
To protect young people from the dangers of high-strength cannabis, two bills have been proposed in this year’s Washington State Legislature. SB 6220, recently passed in the Senate, establishes the minimum purchase age for high-THC cannabis at 25 and older. The bill defines high THC as greater than 35% THC and mandates the Liquor and Cannabis Board to define concentration levels following extensive market research. THC is the intoxicating ingredient in marijuana. “When we legalized marijuana, we thought we were leg...
On the second level of the white and gray marbled Capitol building stands the Governor's office, guarded by a State Patrol trooper stationed outside. On the interior walls are portraits and paintings showcasing past Washington Governors. In the heart of the conference room stands a grand dark wood table surrounded by twelve bulky wood and brown leather chairs, and the one at the head of the table, where Jay Inslee sits, has leather detailing of Washington's State seal at the...
Testifying before lawmakers, Mina Hashemi recounted how three years ago she was shocked to see that the condom she had explicitly asked for during sex had been removed. "I felt deeply violated," Hashemi said. "While I was lucky not to get an STI or pregnant, there are many stories of women who did. Stealthing is a very specific type of sexual violence that does not neatly fit within existing definitions of sexual assault in Washington. We must close the loophole on assault." "Stealthing" refers to tampering with or removing...
