Ellen Dennis

The money is part of a $20.5 billion investment announced this month by the Federal Transit Administration to bolster public transport across the country under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. $388 million of that funding will go to Washington state in the form of grants.

The Washington State Department of Commerce announced that it will send roughly $850,000 in maintenance money to both the Cornerstone Courtyard Apartments at 151 S. Adams St. and the Hoffman Apartments at 2024 E. Hoffman Ave.

The Republican leader on the Senate Law and Justice Committee is leaving the Legislature behind after serving for nearly 3 decades. He was first elected in 1980 to represent Eastern Washington's 4th legislative district in the House. He went on to hold his seat there for 15 years. In 1995, he served as the House majority floor leader.

On Friday, U.S. Senators from Washington and Idaho joined a group of 12 other national lawmakers to send a letter to that advisory committee, urging it to keep potatoes classified as vegetables. The letter was addressed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary Thomas Vilsack and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra.

On Monday, the Spokane City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution that, if passed, would call on Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency for the fentanyl and opiate overdose crisis in Spokane and the greater state of Washington.

Details about the reason Bob Lutz resigned from his post at the state agency after three years remained unclear Tuesday evening. His sudden departure was met with disappointment from some local elected officials, including Mayor Lisa Brown. 

For the second year in a row, a group of lawmakers and activists tried to get a bill passed that would reduce the maximum allowable blood alcohol concentration for drivers in Washington from 0.08% to 0.05%. 

OLYMPIA – During the past two months, state legislators in Olympia passed a stack of 359 bills that Gov. Jay Inslee has been working through signing into law this week.

The campaign to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primary picked up statewide and national momentum in the new year as the death toll in Gaza continued to climb and surpassed 30,000 people late last month, with thousands more missing, the associated press reported.

State lawmakers spent the last day of Washington’s legislative session finalizing the state’s supplemental operating budget, passing some final bills and bidding adieu to a number of elected officials who will not run for re-election in the fall.

Thursday marked the final day of the state’s 68th annual legislative session, commonly called ‘sine die,’ the Latin term for ‘without a day.’ Legislators in Olympia had to finish up all lawmaking business for the year before returning to their respective districts across the state until they convene again in 2025.

OLYMPIA – Medical Lake fire recovery support, expansion of a behavioral health treatment center and new boilers for an aluminum factory are a few of the projects the state has decided to fund this year in Eastern Washington.

The Washington Legislature has loosened restrictions on police pursuits for law enforcement agencies in the state, circumventing the need for voter approval in November. 

In the last week of the 2024 legislative session, the announcement that one of the Spokane delegation's most influential lawmakers will not run for re-election left in question how much influence Eastern Washington will have in the state's capitol moving forward.

State senators unanimously advanced a proposed law that would increase the cap on the percentage of a district’s student body that receives state funding for special education support services, including instructional teacher’s aides and speech therapy. Both chambers of the state Legislature fully supported upping the per-district maximum from 15% to 17.25%. 

In Washington, the court a defendant gets tried in is determined by the age they were when charges were filed. This means a handful of days can make or break the difference between a future of hardship and a second chance. A bill passed by the Washington Legislature this week would change state law to require defendants be tried in the court corresponding to the age they were when they allegedly committed a crime. If Gov. Jay Inslee signs it, the bill will become law.

Last year, more than 400,000 Washingtonians signed a ballot measure that would overturn the state law preventing an officer from embarking on a car chase unless they have “reasonable suspicion” a person has committed certain crimes, such as a violent offense or driving while drunk or high on drugs. Supporters of Initiative 2113 argue the current law on the books prevents police from doing their jobs to catch suspected criminals and keep communities safe. Those opposed to the initiative argue police chases are dangerous for everyone involved and that criminals aren’t deterred by them.

If passed, Initiative 2111 would prohibit income tax by putting a new law on the books that would ban cities, counties and other local jurisdictions from taxing any form of a resident’s personal income.

House Bill 2114 has been one of the most controversial proposals discussed in this year’s legislative session. The proposed law would limit annual increases that tenants in the state pay to 7%. It would also ban landlords from charging late fees if a tenant pays rent within five days following the rent due date.

The state has mailed combined Republican and Democratic primary ballots to 4.8 million registered voters in all of Washington’s 39 counties. Voters have until March 12 to cast their ballots and weigh in on their chosen party’s nominee for president. Voters must declare a party and select only one candidate, or else their votes won’t be counted.

House Bill 1958 would make the act of removing or tampering with a sexually protective device during intercourse punishable with a $5,000 fine.

If passed, House Bill 1915 would add financial education to the current list of state-mandated high school graduation requirements. It would not change the total number of credits students need to get their diplomas – 24 – but rather embed a half-credit’s worth of instruction into that existing credit total.in or before the 2027-28 school year.

In Spokane County, current budget proposals stem from sending millions of dollars to help with recovery from the Gray and Oregon Road fires to building a bike path along Sunset Highway. Lawmakers have until the beginning of March to finalize their supplemental budget proposals. Both the House and Senate will have a chance to amend the other chamber’s budget proposals before they come together to submit one set of proposals on behalf of the entire Legislature.

Democratic lawmakers in Olympia are pushing for legislation to ensure hospital mergers don’t limit patient access to abortions, gender-affirming care or medically-assisted death. The bill was partially inspired by concerns over access to abortion and gender-affirming care in hospitals with religious affiliations, especially in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade.