Senate passes Brown’s bills to encourage job growth

Published on March 03, 2015
Community Prosperity and Revitalization (CPR) Act will help resuscitate local economies, says Brown Today the Senate voted 30-19 to pass the Community Prosperity and Revitalization (CPR) Act, aimed at helping local communities create jobs by speeding up the permitting process for large-scale projects of statewide significance. Earlier today the Senate also approved a bill to... Read More

Senate adopts Benton resolution honoring Boy Scouts of America

Published on March 03, 2015
On Friday the Senate adopted a resolution sponsored by Sen. Don Benton that honors and recognizes the service, character, and strong ethical standing of the Boy Scouts of America and its 105-year history. Benton, a longtime volunteer Scout leader, shared his personal experiences with scouting, including the role it has played in the life of his... Read More

Teachers convicted of sex crimes shouldn’t get pensions; give it to their victims

Published on March 03, 2015
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Senate delivers on transportation – can we avoid a political detour in the House?

Published on March 03, 2015
It took three long years, but after bipartisan negotiations, public meetings in 10 cities, extensive study and much debate in Olympia, the state Senate delivered on its promise to reform Washington’s broken transportation system. With a bipartisan vote Monday we passed a statewide transportation package that creates 200,000 jobs, gets our economy moving, fixes our... Read More

A lingering stink regarding judicial fairness

Published on March 03, 2015
Last year there was a furor when it appeared the staff of the Office of Insurance Commissioner leaned on a judge in order to obtain favorable decisions. This rather troubling situation was possible because the judge in question, Patricia Petersen, was employed by the Insurance Commissioner’s office. But here’s the part I think ought to... Read More

Senate approves Padden bill to increase judicial independence

Published on March 02, 2015
Today the Senate approved a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden aimed at increasing the independence of the state’s administrative-law judges by limiting the ability of state-agency heads to add undue pressure or retribution during administrative hearings. “I was a district court judge for 12 years,” said Padden, who chairs the Senate Law and Justice... Read More