Spokane-area residents will have chances to ask their legislators what’s going on in Olympia this weekend at several town hall meetings scheduled for Saturday. Sen. Andy Billig, Reps. Timm Ormsby and Marcus Riccelli, all Democrats from central Spokane’s 3rd District, have a 10 a.m. meeting…
The most contested race in this year’s three races for Spokane City Council seats is almost certain to be in the Northwest council district. One seat in each of the three districts will be on the ballot this year, but the position in the Northwest…
OLYMPIA -- House Republican released their long awaited "Education First" budget, which explains how they would meet the state Supreme Court mandate to do a better job of living up to the constitutional requirement that educating our children is the state's paramount duty. They propose…
OLYMPIA – People buying supplies for a home remodeling project might not realize that they have asbestos in them. The state Senate says the product should say so, right on the label. This week, it passed a proposal sponsored by a Spokane senator to require…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate told employers they can't demand their workers' password to Facebook or other social media sites. On a 49-0 vote, they approved Senate Bill 5211, which says an employer can't ask an employee, or a prospective employee, for the information that would…
OLYMPIA -- A special task force to figure out how well the state is doing at reducing greenhouse gas emissions got strong support from the Senate today after it was changed to get to work faster. A critic, however, said the Legislature was paying attention…
OLYMPIA -- Somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 bills face a timely death today at 5 p.m. Timely because if they don't pass the chamber where they were introduced, they are essentially dead for the session. The Senate began work on their list of bills…
OLYMPIA – Democrats abandoned a bill to require wider background checks for gun purchases late Tuesday after disagreements over the proposals caused the House of Representatives to grind to a halt for a second afternoon Tuesday. “It does not appear we are going to make…
Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, the sponsor of the universal background check bill, talks with Rep. Steve Kirby, D-Tacoma, one of its key opponents, before debate starts on the bill. OLYMPIA -- The House is expected to vote this afternoon on a bill requiring all gun…
OLYMPIA -- Changes to last year's recreational marijuana law that a sponsor says will make it more workable will get a hearing next week in a House committee Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, wants to shrink the distance restrictions for locating stores that sell marijuana and…
OLYMPIA -- Sex crimes involving minors could be prosecuted until the victim turns 30 under a bill that passed unanimously this morning in the House of Representatives. HB 1352 mirrors a bill that passed last week in the and seeks to expand the statute of…
OLYMPIA -- Both chambers are expected to be working feverishly to pass legislation throughout the day ahead of tomorrow's key deadline that will render many unpassed bills dead. Plans to bring up universal background checks for gun purchases hit a major stumbling block Monday when…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee continued filling cabinet slots today with three appointments. Bud Hover, an Okanogan rancher and former county commissioner, was named director of the Department of Agriculture. John Wiesman, Clark County Public Health director, was named director of the Department of Health.…
OLYMPIA -- A vote on a bill that would require a background check for private gun sales might be delayed because it doesn't have enough support to pass, a co-sponsor said. The vote on HB 1588 will probably not take place today, Rep. Mike Hope…
OLYMPIA -- The House gave overwhelming support this afternoon to four bills designed to tighten up mental health laws involving violent people. It gave unanimous support expanded the ability of victims of stalking and "cyberstalking" to seek protective orders from a court, in a bill…
Gov. Jay Inslee talks with Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, during a visit to the House to lobby for votes on a bill to require universal background checks on gun purchases. OLYMPIA -- The House is expected to take up a package of bills supporters…
OLYMPIA – As the Legislature passed the halfway mark in the 2013 session last week, some members started to show signs of too much time in the damp, gray environs of the South Puget Sound. Or maybe just too much time in close proximity to…
Then there was Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, who had the bad sense to be flippant in an e-mail, which in 2013 amounts to spray painting an expletive about one’s boss on a brick wall, and signing one’s name. Orcutt derided the House Democrats’ recent proposal…
OLYMPIA -- Medical examiners would have permission to discuss their conclusions from the autopsies for people killed during law enforcement actions under a bill that passed the Senate unanimously Friday. The proposal, prompted by several high-profile cases in the Spokane area with fatalities involving local…
It remains unclear how much the city will pay a retired judge to investigate “circumstances” that led Police Chief Frank Straub to place his assistant chief on paid administrative leave. Assistant Police Chief Scott Stephens was placed on leave by Straub in December. City officials…
OLYMPIA -- A resolution praising a school program to teach firearms safety to kids briefly ignited the gun-control debate in the state Senate this morning. The resolution was in support of the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, which is sponsored by the National Rifle Association and…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate began its day with a resolution honoring former U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, with a string of legislators telling stories of how the long-term congressman helped them with a project an issue or a campaign. Dicks, who retired last year after 36…
OLYMPIA -- Legislators in both houses will likely spend most of the day at their desks, voting on a wide variety of bills that have to be moved to the other chamber by next Wednesday or be declared dead. The Senate is scheduled to vote…
OLYMPIA – The Senate spent part of a second day making changes to the state’s education laws, approving a plan to identify and change “persistently failing” schools and removing certain outdated mandates for schools. To read the rest of this item, or to comment, go…
OLYMPIA – Some would-be voters would have more time to register online, and younger ones could “pre-register” as early as age 16 under election law changes approved Thursday by the House. Often by large margins, the House passed and sent to the Senate a handful…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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