Lawmakers have a long to-do list as they return to Olympia

Washington's legislative session starts Jan. 9, and that means state lawmakers have less than a week to maneuver for their priorities. For Democrats, those include building more housing, approving gun-control measures and exploring alternatives to prosecution for drug possession.

As state representatives and senators return to Olympia, party control has remained the same as last session. Democrats have majorities in both chambers of the Capitol. They also hold the governor's office.

Those consistent majorities obscure the changeover in the Democratic Party.

"A lot of new members who have joined in recent years, more are coming in this year," says Austin Jenkins, a staff writer at Pluribus News and the host of "Inside Olympia" on TVW. "There are more younger lawmakers bringing new ideas and perhaps less patience for the old way of doing things where you backbench it for a while to learn the process."

Jenkins recently spoke with Gov. Jay Inslee on "Inside Olympia" about his budget priorities. Jenkins says that this will likely be Inslee's last budget in his current office. Although it hasn't been confirmed by the governor, the expectation is that he won't run for an unprecedented fourth term.

Inslee's budget includes a renewed focus on housing and homelessness, behavioral health, climate change, salmon protection, and public safety.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the governor's budget is a proposal for a $4 billion bond measure to build new low-income housing units.

The governor is proposing a statewide voter referendum that would allow the state to raise the $4 billion over the next six years by issuing bonds. The Legislature will also need to approve the measure.

While bonding measures haven't been used in recent memory, they were common during former Gov. Dan Evans' time in office in the 1960s and 70s.

Jenkins says it's too early to tell whether lawmakers will endorse the bonding measures.

"On the one hand, lawmakers could view this as an elegant solution," he says, "but I will say that increasing the state's debt without a funding mechanism is something that will make a lot of lawmakers think twice."

Gov. Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson are also pushing a ban on so-called assault weapons, a requirement that you have a license or permit to purchase a firearm, and potentially allowing liability lawsuits for negligence against gun manufacturers.

The state Legislature will also need to figure out a replacement for felony drug possessions charges. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled the state's drug possession laws were unconstitutional in the Blake decision last year. Lawmakers put in place a temporary fix that made drug possession a misdemeanor. That measure expires in July.

Many of these issues are partisan and Republicans are the minority party in Olympia, which leaves them a few options.

"They can look for ways to work with Democrats," Jenkins says, "they can offer up sort of an alternative view of what the budget and other priorities should be, you know, if we were in charge, here's what we would do, or they can fight Democrats tooth and nail and I think you'll probably see all three approaches depending on the topic."