Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Four key bills targeting sexual harassment passed both chambers and went to the Washington governor's desk before the end of session March. 8. SB 6313, sponsored by Senator Karen Keiser, D-Kent, makes an employment contract void if it requires an employee to waive the right to pursue legal action if she or he faces discrimination in the workplace. A similar bill, SB 5996, also sponsored by Keiser, makes an employment contract void if it requires an employee to waive the right to pursue legal action if she or he faces sexual harassment or...
OLYMPIA (March 6) More than 100 students from Seattle and Olympia area high schools rallied at the Capitol building in Olympia in support of gun legislation. They partnered with the Alliance for Gun Responsibility and on Tuesday called on lawmakers to pass SB 6620 sponsored by Senator David Frockt, D-Seattle. The bill would increase the legal age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21. It also enhances background checks for assault rifles and creates a reporting program in schools so...
OLYMPIA (March 6) -- A controversial gun control bill to ban bump stocks was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. SB 5922 passed both chambers in the Washington state legislature by slim margins and largely along party lines. The vote was 29-20 in the Senate and 56-41 in the House of Representatives. Gov. Inslee signed the bill on Tuesday, March 6. Starting July 1, 2018, bump stocks will be illegal to manufacture or sell and starting July 1, 2019 the accessory will be illegal to possess. The...
OLYMPIA (March 8) -- Four key bills targeting sexual harassment passed both chambers and were waiting to be signed by the Washington State governor before the end of session March. 8. SB 6313, sponsored by Senator Karen Keiser, D-Kent, makes an employment contract void if it requires an employee to waive the right to pursue legal action if she or he faces discrimination in the workplace. A similar bill, SB 5996, also sponsored by Keiser, makes an employment contract void if it requires an employee to waive the right to pursue legal action if sh...
A bill that would ban bump stocks, a device that increases a weapon’s rate of fire, is a step closer to becoming law. SB 5992 passed the House of Representatives 56-41 last Friday largely along party lines. The bill had passed in the Senate 29-20 on Jan. 25. “It’s always been my belief that lawmakers should be judged not by what we say in response to gun violence but by what we do in response to gun violence,” Representative Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said during floor debate. The votes came in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida...
With less than two weeks left in the session, state lawmakers introduced a new bill in response to the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. SB 6620, and its companion in the House, HB 3004, introduced last Friday, would create a mechanism for students to report dangerous behavior and would require the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to allocate grants to school districts to implement emergency response systems. It also raises the age to purchase an assault rifle from 18...
OLYMPIA (Feb. 23) -- A bill that would ban bump stocks, a device that increases a weapon's rate of fire, is a step closer to becoming law. SB 5992 passed the House of Representatives 56-41 on Friday, Feb. 23 largely along party lines. The bill passed in the Senate 29-20 on Jan. 25. "It's always been my belief that lawmakers should be judged not by what we say in response to gun violence but by what we do in response to gun violence," Representative Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said during floor...
Washington State lawmakers introduced a multitude of bills early this 2018 session on issues of gun regulation to address the multiple incidences of gun violence in the nation. More than 10 firearm bills were introduced and led to heated debate throughout January. Four still have a chance to become law, having passed the Feb. 14 cutoff deadline. “We are not doing nearly enough to regulate access to weapons designed to cause mass casualties. We can do better if we choose to do better,” Governor Jay Inslee wrote in a press release on Feb. 15,...
OLYMPIA (Feb. 23) -- A bill that would ban bump stocks, a device that increases a weapon’s rate of fire, is a step closer to becoming law. SB 5992 passed the House of Representatives 56-41 on Friday, Feb. 23 largely along party lines. The bill passed in the Senate 29-20 on Jan. 25. “It’s always been my belief that lawmakers should be judged not by what we say in response to gun violence but by what we do in response to gun violence,” Representative Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said during floor debate. The votes came in the wake of a school...
OLYMPIA (Feb. 8) -- A proposal to establish the Evergreen Free College Program would phase in funding to pay tuition for students from low and middle income families. SB 6101 applies to state residents enrolled in a state university or community college with 45 credits and maintaining a grade point average of 2.0 or above. A student would also have to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or Washington Application for State Financial Aid each year. “Just as important as making sure lowest and lower income children go to c...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 31) -- The state Senate approved a measure that would provide greater access to birth control and other reproductive health services, including abortions. Passed by a slim margin, 26-22 on Jan. 31, the vote marks the farthest the Senate Bill 6219, the Reproductive Parity Act, has advanced since it was introduced in 2012. The vote was largely along party lines. This session also marks a new Democratic majority in the House and the Senate If passed into law, the act would allow...
A proposal before lawmakers could make it a crime for someone to carry a concealed weapon into a friend’s home without permission. The current law allows someone to carry a concealed handgun anywhere in the state with a concealed weapon permit which requires a background check with both state and federal databases. SB 6415, and its companion bill in the house HB 2738, would make it unlawful for someone to carry a concealed firearm into another person’s home without expressed permission, even with a license to carry. A violation of the law wou...
Amid national and state-wide awareness of women’s healthcare, Washington state lawmakers are considering a bill that would require community and technical colleges to provide free tampons or sanitary pads to students. Representatives in the House Higher Education Committee passed the bill out of committee on Wednesday Jan. 31. “It smartly identifies something that should not have taken us this long to identify,” said Representative Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island, chair of the House Higher Education Committee. Representative Melanie Stamb...
OLYMPIA (Feb. 1) -- A proposed pilot project would partner mental health professionals and local law enforcement officers on calls that involve a mental health crisis. HB 2892 creates a grant from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to fund services from mental health professionals who would either go with police officers on calls or respond to scenes when requested. The bill was voted out of the House Public Safety Committee and advanced to the rules committee on Thursday, Feb. 1. “Our current system works but I think it i...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 26) -- Proposals before the state Legislature would grant new protections from sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. The bills come after national reports about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s alleged repeated bullying and sexual harassment of women who worked for him. The news came at the same time the #MeToo Movement was re-ignited across the country. In response, lawmakers in Washington state are trying to change the workplace culture and ensure that people who are subjected to bullying or harassment feel e...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 24) -- A proposed bill would add harassment to a list of domestic violence crimes for which someone can have their firearm rights revoked. SB 6298, sponsored by Senator Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, adds harassment crimes in a domestic violence setting to existing law. The bill was heard on Jan. 23. Under both existing law and Dhingra’s bill, a person must be convicted of a domestic violence felony or gross misdemeanor to have their firearm rights revoked. Harassment, which is a gross misdemeanor, not a felony, would be included u...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 18) -- A bill giving people at risk of suicide the option to voluntarily give up their right to keep a firearm passed the Senate Law and Justice Committee unanimously. The next step for the bill is the Rules Committee before it gets a hearing in the House of Representatives. Senate Bill 5553, sponsored by Senator Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, was introduced and heard last year. Pedersen is now chair of the Law and Justice Committee starting this session. “While we know not any one policy will solve all gun violence or prevent all g...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 18) -- A bill passed in the State House of Representatives last year offers some hope for people who were sexually assaulted years ago and want to see the one who harmed them prosecuted. But that hope faces some difficult challenges in the Senate. House Bill 1155 would eliminate the statute of limitations for the most serious rape and sexual assault offenses. The Law and Justice committee in the Senate is the next step for the bill. Committee chair Senator Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, who has discretion on legislation the committee...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 19) -- A bill to expand birth control choices for women is before the Legislature for the fifth year in a row. Senate Bill 6219, also called the Reproductive Parity Act, would require health plans that offer maternity coverage to also offer abortion coverage as well as coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices such as IUDs. “I’m feeling hopeful this year,” Senator Steve Hobbs, D-Snohomish, the bill’s prime sponsor said at a hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 16. The bill would provide state funding for birth control and abortion service...
Washington state lawmakers are considering a bill that could raise the legal age to purchase any nicotine product from 18 to 21 years old. SB 6048, sponsored by Senator Patty Kuderer, D-Redmond, was heard Jan. 22 by request of Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “No bill in Olympia this session will save more lives than increasing the legal smoking age to 21,” Ferguson said. He was careful to mention that this bill would not criminalize youth who already possess tobacco or vape products, it would only disallow them from buying mor...
Nearly 1,000 people from law enforcement, gun rights groups, gun violence prevention groups, veterans, and Washington State residents signed in to support or oppose contested firearm bills heard on Monday Jan. 15. Hundreds lined up along the corridors of the Capitol’s Cherberg Building, where Senate bills are heard, and along exterior sidewalks to get into the hearing. Packed into three filled hearing rooms, activists, lawmakers, and citizens heard five bills. Those under consideration included banning bump stocks and high capacity m...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 18) -- A bill giving people at risk of suicide the option to voluntarily give up their right to keep a firearm passed the Senate Law and Justice Committee unanimously. The next step for the bill is the Rules Committee before it gets a hearing in the House of Representatives. Senate Bill 5553, sponsored by Senator Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, was introduced and heard last year. Pedersen is now chair of the Law and Justice Committee starting this session. “While we know not any one policy will solve all gun violence or prevent all g...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 18) -- A bill passed in the State House of Representatives last year offers some hope for people who were sexually assaulted years ago and want to see the one who harmed them prosecuted. But that hope faces some difficult challenges in the Senate. House Bill 1155 would eliminate the statute of limitations for the most serious rape and sexual assault offenses. The Law and Justice committee in the Senate is the next step for the bill. Committee chair Senator Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, who has discretion on legislation the committee...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 19) -- A bill to expand birth control choices for women is before the Legislature for the fifth year in a row. Senate Bill 6219, also called the Reproductive Parity Act, would require health plans that offer maternity coverage to also offer abortion coverage as well as coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices such as IUDs. “I’m feeling hopeful this year,” Senator Steve Hobbs, D-Snohomish, the bill’s prime sponsor said at a hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 16. The bill would provide state funding for birth control and abortion service...
