 My staff and I went to the governor’s office late Thursday night specifically to witness the signing of the Jason’s Law legislation. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to participate. We wanted to show the governor a picture of Jason, so he could understand why this law is so important.
Dear Friends,
Thursday was the last day of
the 2016 regular legislative session. We adjourned “sine die” (a Latin phrase meaning to end without a date certain to
reconvene), but as in recent years, additional time will be necessary to
complete our work on a budget and associated policy bills. Governor Inslee
called for an immediate special session, and already
our Senate majority has released a new budget proposal.
In a misguided attempt to spur
action on the budget, Governor Inslee threatened to veto several measures if we
had not reached a budget deal (in principle, at least). One of the bills that
faced a veto threat was our bill to increase the sentencing guidelines for
vehicular homicide – known as Jason’s Law.
As you know, Jason Smith’s
family has made repeated trips to the Capitol this year to testify on this
bill. Every time they are forced to relive the trauma of Jason’s death at the
hands of a gang member and reckless driver, who was driving 100 miles per hour
while trying to elude police.
I was horrified and angered by
the governor’s total disregard for the family members of victims. Tugging at the heartstrings of
victims and their families is unacceptable. They play no part in
the writing of a budget. Victims do not have a "Republican" or
"Democrat" behind their names; to play political football with them is
deplorable!
After going to the press with
Jason’s story and how the governor’s outrageous behavior was impacting the
family, we learned that the governor had backed down from his
threat to veto all bills to “punish” lawmakers – and had signed 10 of them,
including Jason’s Law!
Apparently, many people had
seen our press coverage and contacted the governor’s office to voice their
outrage at his political games. You can watch some of the media coverage
below.
I continue to welcome your
thoughts and feedback about any issue facing our state. Please feel free to
contact me anytime via email or by calling me in Olympia at (360) 786-7614 if
you have questions or concerns about an issue, or if I can be of assistance to
you and your family in any way.
Thank you, as always,
for the continued opportunity to serve you in the state Senate.
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
Seattle’s KING-TV News reported on the governor’s veto
threat and our efforts to save Jason’s Law.
  Click to watch the video.
After the governor backed down to public pressure, KING-TV
did a new report on Jason’s Law being signed into law.
  Click to watch the video.
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