Washington in Focus

The Spokane City Council voted on their "Blake fix" law, set to re-criminalize drug possession passed by a 7-0 vote, bringing a local fix to a statewide problem that originated in Spokane. "The idea for this [ordinance] is to pass something now that will, one, help lead the way in Spokane for the whole state. Which is ironic because the Blake decision, which outlawed felony drug possession laws was created by our county prosecutor at the state supreme court, so it's ironic that we're trying to lead the way [for] the state now," said Council President Breean Beggs shortly before the vote on the politically-charged legislation.

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A series of complaints filed late last year and early this year allege that employees with the Washington Attorney General's Office engaged in "unethical and unlawful conduct" during the selection of a university to create a police use of force database. Per 2021's Senate Bill 5259, the AGO was tasked with overseeing an advisory group to develop recommendations on how to better collect police data, along with creating a request for proposal, or RFP, for a private or public university to collect and store police use of force incident data that would be available for the public to view and download.

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King County officials see the newly-approved crisis center levy as a step forward in providing sufficient mental health services. While the King County Canvassing Board does not certify the election until May 5, The Center Square is calling the race with the levy receiving 57% approval from voters.

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"Criminalizing drug possession and use is an important step for the public health and safety of our community. We have a drug crisis that requires us to act locally," Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward told The Center Square just prior to Gov. Jay Inslee calling a special session of the Legislature. The topic of debate for the special session, dubbed the "Blake fix" because of the Washington Supreme Court decision that it addressed, was meant to head off the de-facto legalization of all drug possession in Washington state starting after the current law expires on June 30.

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A bill sent to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee for consideration would exempt various aspects of the election system from public records requests and centralize all local records requests with the Secretary of State's office.

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The 2023 point-in-time count numbers show a significant increase for individuals and families without a permanent abode in Spokane, though a large encampment had been drawing down at the time. According to the 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress released earlier this year, "homelessness in Washington state increased 10% overall from 2020 to 2022," and the Spokane Regional numbers over that same time period are a significant increase on that percentage.

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Cities throughout King County are seeking their own solutions to a potential lack of illicit drug possession laws in Washington state after the failure of Senate Bill 5536. Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus said she has begun talks with neighboring King County and Pierce County cities to enforce laws that have similar approaches. A common theme amongst King County cities is that they are prioritizing a treatment-forward approach to violators. However, that has a higher price tag.

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A coalition of gun rights advocacy groups and individual citizens have filed a lawsuit against a new Washington state ban on firearms deemed “assault weapons” as soon as the legislation was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. The complaint filed by the Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington argues that HB 1240’s ban on certain types of semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendment.

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A Congressional hearing asking "Who's selling your data?" took place in the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, where Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers delivered her opening remarks calling for new laws to protect Americans from data brokers and stricter penalties for data breaches.

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The Seattle City Council has passed a $10 late-fee cap on rent with a 7-2 vote. Seattle now joins the nearby cities of Auburn and Burien in establishing a $10 late fee cap. Socialist City Councilmember Kshama Sawant sponsored Council Bill 120541. The bill cites that while many Seattle landlords do not charge punishing late fees, many do treat late fees as yet another opportunity to exploit their renters.

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