Dear Neighbor,

Greetings! This week marked the house of origin cutoff for this session, where any bill must pass out of the body in which it was introduced to still be considered alive this session. The exceptions are bills necessary to implement our state’s capital, operating and transportation budgets.

We have spent the past few weeks on the floor, passing legislation and amendments. In total, the Senate has passed out of its chamber 323 bills so far this year. And I’ll be honest, not all of them have been good for the citizens of our state. This week alone, the Senate passed several pieces of legislation which dilute criminal accountability in our justice system. These are proposals which would negate the rights of the victim, tie the hands or our prosecutors and law enforcement, or simply ignore our federal laws.

SB 5497 – Would prohibit state agencies from using their resources to participate in federal registration programs based on immigration or citizenship status. We can all agree that there is a very real need for immigration reform, but it should be addressed at the federal level. This legislation would require our law enforcement to violate federal law by disallowing the information exchange with federal immigration agencies and would essentially make Washington a sanctuary state.

SB 5339 – Would repeal the death penalty. This leaves our correctional officers and inmates at risk and with no consequences for additional acts of violence. This also limits our prosecutors’ ability to negotiate with known murders to locate missing victims.  This session I introduced legislation that would require a death penalty review board be convened to review and make recommendations in cases where an incarcerated individual was accused of aggravated murder while in the custody of the Department of Corrections.  My bill did not receive a public hearing.

SB 5288 – Would alter our three strikes law by removing robbery in the second degree. It is important to remember that in most instances, this offense has been negotiated down from a more serious charge.

It is disappointing the Senate found the time to coddle criminals while ignoring the very real need to address chronic DUI offenders. Senate Republicans attempted to bring a bill to the floor for a vote this week which would have provided our prosecutors better tools to hold repeat drunk drivers accountable for their actions and help prevent innocent deaths. The majority party chose not to allow this bill to come to the Senate floor for a vote.

I will continue to fight for tougher laws for those who commit crimes and support legislation that helps our law enforcement members do their jobs better instead of enabling individuals who break our laws.

Sincerely,