News from the Caucus

A bill from 4th District Sen. Mike Padden that could keep repeat property offenders behind bars longer was approved today by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. Senate Bill 5056 would require that someone who is found to be a habitual property offender to be sentenced to an additional 24 months in total confinement for...

The Senate Law and Justice Committee held a public hearing today on a bill introduced by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden that aims to reverse the alarming trend in fentanyl use and fentanyl-related deaths in Washington. Padden’s measure, Senate Bill 5035, would make possession or use of illegal drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin a...

Robert Jackson was among 3,000 prisoners released in earlier Department of Corrections fiasco OLYMPIA – Resentencing of a man who got life without parole after he killed his girlfriend in a bloody 2015 car crash is a travesty that illustrates the terrible human consequences when the Legislature goes “soft on crime,” Republican senators say. Robert...

— August 8, 2022 It was apparent then, and is even more apparent today: The 2021 legislative session really pushed our state in the wrong direction. Governor Inslee and others who longed for a state income tax finally got their way. Hard drugs were essentially legalized. Even worse, it was done in a way that...

Washington state House and Senate Republicans today unveiled their common-sense solutions to the public safety crisis ravaging communities and destroying lives across the state. “During the last legislative session, the majority dropped the ball on public safety,” said Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, ranking member of the Senate Law and Justice Committee. “Democrats removed critical...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, issued this statement in response to Monday’s announcement by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and California Gov. Gavin Newsom that they have an agreement on a shared vision for reopening their states’ economies and controlling COVID-19 into the future. “If Washington shares a vision with...

Forward-looking approach aims to head off problems before they occur Ongoing problems at the scandal-plagued state Department of Corrections are prompting a trio of Senate Republicans to introduce a package of sweeping reforms to address what they call a costly and fatal record of mismanagement. Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said recent inmate deaths due...

No monkey business with initiatives, court tells Legislature A state Supreme Court ruling Tuesday sends a police-deadly-force initiative to the November ballot, protects the initiative process, and establishes the supremacy of the state constitution over the whims of some legislators who find it inconvenient, says Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley. Padden was one of the...

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has again named state Sen. Mike Padden “Legislator of the Year” for his continuing effort to toughen Washington laws against driving under the influence. The national-level award goes to lawmakers in each state who have demonstrated leadership on the issue. Padden, R-Spokane Valley, is one of 70 recipients nationally of MADD’s...

For the third time since lawmakers convened at the state Capitol in January, the Washington state Senate has unanimously passed Sen. Mike Padden’s bill to make a fourth DUI conviction in 10 years a felony. “We have only a few more days to act before the end of the current legislative session, and it is...

Momentum and support continue to grow for Sen. Mike Padden’s bill to make a fourth DUI conviction in 10 years a felony. Today the state Senate Law and Justice Committee voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 5105, which now moves one step closer to a vote of the full Senate. “These repeat-DUI offenders are the...