Report from Olympia | February 25, 2022
  Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As we enter the homestretch of the 2022 legislative session, it’s budget week in Olympia.
In odd-numbered years, the Legislature is required to create and pass three budgets: an operating budget, a transportation budget, and a capital budget. In the even-numbered years, like this one, lawmakers use the short session to make supplemental changes that reflect new or emergency needs, changes in revenue and shifting priorities.
The operating budget, which is by far the largest of the three, funds the daily operations of our state government. It includes state spending on human services, education, natural resources, law and justice issues and state employee salaries. The transportation budget pays for construction and maintenance for roads, bridges and ferries, and the Washington State Patrol. Finally, the capital budget invests in the construction and repair of buildings such as schools, state offices and historical sites.
On Wednesday, we passed the bipartisan plan that now represents the Senate’s supplemental capital budget. It is by far the least partisan and least controversial of the three budget proposals. The operating and transportation budgets are more contentious. You can read more about the budget deliberations below.
With the end of the legislative session rapidly approaching, the pace of legislative action has accelerated. Next week we’ll be voting on bills late into the night and will likely be on the Senate floor a week from tomorrow as well.
As always, it’s an honor to serve as your state senator.
Best Regards,
 Senator Mike Padden
Video Update:
Testimony from disability-rights advocate helps defeat assisted-suicide expansion bill
 Click on the image above to watch testimony on the assisted suicide bill.
Good news! With yesterday being the deadline for House bills to pass forward from Senate policy committees, it appears the assisted-suicide bill has been rejected for the second year in a row.
House Bill 1141, which failed to receive a floor vote in the Senate last year, didn’t even make it out of the Senate Health and Long-Term Care committee this year. The bill would have allowed nurse practitioners or physicians assistants to help people commit suicide even though neither are officially licensed doctors. It would also have allowed lethal drugs to be shipped via mail or courier. Finally, the bill would have cut the waiting period when requesting lethal drugs to just 72 hours or less, instead of the current 15 days.
Many citizens fought against HB 1141 again this year, as did the Washington State Catholic Conference, Family Policy Institute of Washington, Human Life of Washington, many disability-rights organizations and the Washington Medical Association.
Audio Life News Update: House Bill 1851 would expand abortions, reduce care for women and eliminate medical accountability
To learn more: Click here to listen to the radio story on this bill to expand abortions.
Audio Update:
Sen. Mike Padden on KGMI Radio in Bellingham
 Click on image above to listen now.
Sen. Mike Padden talks to host Charlie Crabtree of KGMI Radio’s “Saturday Morning Live” about anti-police bills and proposed fixes, the governor's emergency powers, transportation, parental rights and more.
LISTEN NOW: Click here or on the image above to listen now!
Budget Update:
Democrat operating-budget proposal increases spending by $5 billion but includes NO tax relief despite record revenue!
 Republicans and Democrats have very different visions about how to manage taxpayer dollars, and the majority’s new budget proposal proves it. My Republican colleagues and I see the current $15 billion budget surplus and we know there is a great opportunity to support Washington families and employers through meaningful relief from taxes and inflation. Our Democrat colleagues see that huge surplus as just another chance to make government larger.
 It is inexcusable that the Senate majority can’t find space within a $15 BILLION surplus for anything that qualifies as significant, direct inflation and tax relief. Their budget proposal shows that when given the choice between government and taxpayers, the majority made sure government came out ahead.
Our Senate Bill 5769 would provide significant property-tax relief and support good family-wage jobs with tax relief for manufacturing. The operating budget in its current form misses a golden opportunity to help all our citizens, especially working-class families.
Capital budget passes Senate unanimously
 Newman Lake
On Wednesday, the state Senate approved a capital budget providing funding for public construction and other improvements statewide, including projects in our district.
This year’s budget supplements the two-year plan adopted by lawmakers in 2021. In the supplemental plan, there is $100,000 for the Newman Lake Milfoil Reduction plan and funds for the continued improvement at Felts Field airport.
Senate Bill 5651 passed the Senate 49-0, and now moves to the House for further consideration. Lawmakers have until their scheduled adjournment on March 10 to adopt a final plan.
In the News:
Bill to fix ‘police reform’ laws is step in right direction to improve public safety
By Sens. Jeff Holy, Mike Padden and Shelly Short | Spokesman-Review | Feb. 22, 2022
Last year’s legislative session in Olympia was disappointing in several ways, but there was no other major issue in which majority Democrats did more damage to Washington than public safety.
During the 2021 session, the majority party in the House and Senate passed “police-reform” bills, despite our warnings that they would negatively affect law enforcement’s ability to keep people and communities safe.
When these anti-pursuit, anti-arrest crime laws took effect a few months later, our predictions that crime would rise sadly came true. Clearly, criminals figured out officers couldn’t respond to 911 calls and other situations like they could just a year ago. They realized officers could no longer apply the standard of “reasonable suspicion” when responding to an incident.
News stories quickly surfaced across the state about how police officers and others in law enforcement could not pursue and detain suspects because of these new laws. Frustrations were felt by law-enforcement officers in our region, whose feelings came to a boil last summer when many gathered in Spokane to express their concerns.
Click here to read the full opinion-editorial.
Local-government, law-enforcement officials support bill to hire more officers
An effort to reestablish public safety across Washington by halting an exodus of law-enforcement officers received strong support when it came before the Senate Ways and Means Committee earlier this week.
Local-government officials and law-enforcement agencies testified firmly in favor of Senate Bill 5841, which would provide funding to hire more officers.
“The positive testimony clearly shows this would be an effective way to reduce crime and improve public safety in our communities,” said Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney and the sponsor of the bill. “Smaller cities and counties often can’t afford to pay their portion for future officers to attend a police academy, and they sometimes can’t afford to replace officers who are leaving the force or retiring. This bill would promote having an adequate number of officers on the streets to keep our communities safer.”
Officials with the Association of Washington Cities, Washington Association of Counties, and Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs testified in support of SB 5841, as did Wenatchee Police Chief Steve Crown and Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict.
Click here to learn more.
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Proposed tax on WA fuel exports scorned by neighboring states
By David Kroman, Seattle Times | Feb. 23, 2022
A proposed 6-cent per gallon tax on fuel exported from Washington state is running into bipartisan pushback from neighboring states that stand to absorb the additional cost.
But Democrats in Olympia, including Gov. Jay Inslee, have so far continued to back the new source of funding as a necessary piece of an ambitious $16.8 billion transportation package and a counterbalance to the environmental impact of oil refineries in the state.
The tax barely survived a House Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday, which voted to advance the revenue side of the proposed package.
In the weeks since the tax proposal was introduced by state Democrats, lawmakers from Alaska, Oregon and Idaho have issued a flurry of pleas and threats of retaliation if it’s signed into existence by Inslee.
… The Idaho House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously approved a joint memorial calling on Inslee to veto the tax if it comes to his desk, warning that the Legislature “will take any and all actions necessary to block this new tax.”
Idaho’s governor and attorney general, Brad Little and Lawrence Wasden, also asked Inslee in a letter to veto the tax.
Click here to read the full story.
If you have a question or concern about state government, please do not hesitate to contact our office. We are here to serve you!
Phone: (360) 786-7606
Street address: 106 Irv Newhouse Building, Capitol Campus, Olympia, WA 98504
Postal address: PO Box 40404, Olympia, WA 98504
Email address: Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov
PLEASE NOTE: Any email or documents you provide to this office may be subject to disclosure under RCW 42.56. If you would prefer to communicate by phone, please contact Sen. Padden's Olympia office, which will be open starting Jan. 6, at (360) 786-7606.
To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton who is the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.
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