Republican leaders gathered Wednesday morning during a virtual press conference to give their perspective on the legislative session so far.

Democratic leaders gave an update on the current legislative session at a virtual press conference held tuesday april 13th. Some of the bills that gained traction this session are those aimed at addressing the state’s child care crisis, covid relief, police accountability, climate change and tax reform--including implementing a statewide capital gains tax.

As its last bill before the deadline, the house took up SB 5044, which aims to dismantle institutional racism in the public school system by requiring training in equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism for k-12 teachers, staff, and school board directors.

In the evening of April 8th, state senators debated the passage of SB 5126, also known as the climate commitment act. Requested by Governor Jay Inslee, the climate commitment act aims to build a clean-energy economy and create accountability for limiting emissions across Washington state by establishing a cap and trade program. A cap-and-trade program is a system designed to curb carbon emissions and pollution, where a cap or limit is set on the allowable emissions produced by a business or organization, but, when that limit is reached, it also allows that organization to buy additional capacity from other businesses that have not fully used or reached their limit. The proposed cap and trade program will be implemented by the department of ecology and overseen by an environmental justice & equity panel for greenhouse gas emissions. The climate commitment act also aims to prioritize environmental equity by requiring an environmental justice review to ensure that the cap and trade program reduces air pollutants in highly-impacted communities.

State Representatives went through a number of bills on April 7th during a floor debate that lasted through the evening. Of them was Senate Bill 5066--an act that aims to require law enforcement officers to intervene when another officer uses excessive force, and for them to report any wrongdoing by a fellow officer to their supervisor.

On April 1, State Senators debated the passage of their proposed state operating budget for fiscal biennium 2021-2023, which, according to senate budget leader Christine Rolfes, totals $59.2 billion dollars--and includes $7 billion dollars from the federally-funded American Rescue Plan Act.

In the evening of April 6th, State Senators convened for a floor debate on HB 1054 - an act concerning police accountability, tactics and equipment used during arrests. HB 1054 is a highly-contentious bill that passed out of the house in late February, and has been amended in both chambers as of April 6th. In its original form, the bill proposed to end police use of chokeholds and neck restraints, off-leash dogs, shooting during hot pursuits, military equipment, tear gas, and no-knock warrants.

The Senate Transportation Committee convened Tuesday, April 6th for a public hearing on a transportation funding proposal called “Forward Washington." Introduced by Committee Chair Senator Steve Hobbs, “Forward Washington” is a comprehensive transportation and environmental plan concerning investments in green technology infrastructure and projects across Washington state. Among other sources, the proposal will be funded in part by cap and trade revenues, fuel taxes, the sales and use tax of vehicle parts, rental vehicles, transportation company fees, as well as those of construction projects related to "Forward Washington."

On Monday, April 5th, the Senate Ways and Means committee convened for a public hearing on SB 5476 - an act, that if passed, could potentially change how the state penalizes drug possession. Under current state law, any individual who unknowingly carries a controlled substance but is found guilty would receive the same legal penalties charged on someone who is also found guilty but is aware that they are in possession of said substances. Earlier in February, however, in a court ruling over State v. Blake, the Washington Supreme court found this to be unconstitutional and a violation of an individual’s due process. The bill aims to reinforce this by proposing certain “personal use amounts” of controlled substances, while prohibiting anyone over 21 years of age to knowingly possess an amount that exceeds this, and making it illegal for anyone under 21 to possess any amount of controlled substances.

On Friday, April 2, the Senate Ways and Means committee convened for an executive session to vote on several bills--among them, was house bill 1016, which aims to make June 19, also known as Juneteenth--a state legal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned that the civil war ended and the emancipation proclamation was signed--despite it happening two years earlier in 1863.