Austin Jenkins
Stories
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Inslee deploying 100 National Guard to help hospitals, orders pause on non-emergency procedures
Following the lead of Oregon and other states, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that he will deploy 100 members of the National Guard to assist hospitals struggling to respond to a spike in COVID-19 patients due to the highly-contagious omicron variant.
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Aiming to address ‘armed intimidation,’ Washington lawmakers consider a gun ban at school board meetings and election facilities
A pair of proposals in the Washington Legislature would ban weapons, including firearms, at school board meetings and election facilities, and bar the open carry of firearms at local government meetings. Backers say the new restrictions are needed to address "armed intimidation" and the threat of violence. Opponents call the bills an attack law-abiding gun owners and their constitutional rights.
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Five things to know about Washington’s 2022 legislative session
The Washington Legislature convenes on Monday for a short, 60-day session. Top issues include delaying and making fixes to the state's long-term care insurance program, clarifying some of last year's police reforms and deciding how to spend $1.3 billion in leftover federal COVID-19 relief money the state received.
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Politics
Gov. Inslee says lying about elections should be a crime
The Washington state governor says he is drafting legislation to make it a crime for elected officials and candidates for public office to make false statements about election outcomes with the goal of inciting lawlessness.
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Washington Gov. Inslee says lying about elections should be a crime
In a surprise announcement Thursday, the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that he's drafting legislation to make it a crime for elected officials and candidates for public office to make false statements about election outcomes. Inslee said such a law could withstand free speech challenges and is necessary to guard against ongoing attacks on democracy.
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As omicron soars, Inslee announces expanded testing and mask distribution to keep schools open
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says the state is racing to expand access to testing, masks and vaccines, but has no immediate plans to impose new rollbacks, mandates or restrictions in the face of an unprecedented wave of new COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant.
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Reversing predecessor, Washington’s new secretary of state mandates vaccines
In one of his first acts as Washington secretary of state, Democrat Steve Hobbs has told his roughly 300 staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by February 25, or face losing their jobs.
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Government
Omicron scrambles plans for start of Washington’s legislative session
So much for the best laid plans for Washington’s 2022 legislative session. The highly contagious omicron variant of Covid-19 has upended what was supposed to be a mostly in-person start to the 60-day session, at least in the House of Representatives.
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Once again, Washington lawmakers sue Inslee over vetoes
For the second time, Washington lawmakers are suing Gov. Jay Inslee over his use of the veto pen. In a lawsuit filed Monday in Thurston County Superior Court, the Legislature asserts Inslee exceeded his veto power earlier this year when he line-item vetoed parts of the state transportation budget and eliminated a subsection of a low carbon fuels bill.
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Republican Senator Doug Ericksen, is dead at 52 after Covid diagnosis
Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen, a Whatcom County Republican, has died, according to an announcement from the Senate Republican Caucus on Saturday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
