Washington in Focus

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Bill That Would Levy ‘Excess Compensation Tax’ on Hospitals Introduced in Washington Senate Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

Two Washington State Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation this week that would fund access to health care by imposing an income tax on the annual pay of certain highly compensated hospital employees.

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Bill Making Drug Possession a Misdemeanor Passes Out of House Executive Session Apr 02, 2023

Show notes

A Washington State House of Representatives committee gave a do-pass recommendation on a 6-3 vote during executive session to an amended version of legislation that would reclassify possession of a controlled substance as a misdemeanor rather than a gross misdemeanor. A misdemeanor is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, while the maximum punishment for a gross misdemeanor is 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.

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‘Death of Our Justice System’: Critics Object to WA Bill on Clemency and Pardons Apr 01, 2023

Show notes

Washington is among 14 states that doesn’t have a parole system for releasing convicted felons prior to the end of their sentence. Under House Bill 1189 sponsored by Rep. David Hackney, D-Tukwila, that authority to commute sentences would still remain in the hands of the governor, though it would reshape the Clemency and Pardons Board, or CPB, in an effort to make the process more “equitable." Some critics say that will result in violent felons being released early and further erode public safety, with Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, telling colleagues on the House floor on March 4 that "this could very easily be the death of our justice system."

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Seattle Police Lose Officers Despite New $5 Million Recruitment, Retention Plan Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

The Seattle Police Department is seeing small improvements in its recruitment compared to last year, but there is still a net loss of officers so far in 2023. From the beginning of 2023 through March 16, Seattle Police have hired 19 officers, which is nine more than last year’s year-to-date total of 10 hires. Notably, during the department’s presentation to the Public Safety and Human Services Committee on March 28, officer separation statistics were left out. However, a version of the presentation available online reveals that there was a net loss of 6 officers through March 16, 2023. That is an improvement over the 2022 year-to-date net loss of 28, but is not on pace to reach the city’s goal of a net gain of 500 officers in the next five years.

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‘Industrious Monsters’: Washington Bill Targets Fentanyl Pill Production Mar 26, 2023

Show notes

As Washington state continues to experience a fentanyl epidemic, a House bill aims to crack down on the mass production of fentanyl pills through the use of tableting machines. House Bill 1209 sponsored by Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-Lakewood, would make it a Class C felony for a person to misuse sell, buy, or use those machines for the purposes of producing illegal drugs. Unlike other potential legislation surrounding the prosecution of drug offenses, there’s little argument over this proposal, which cleared the House unanimously 95-0 on March 7. The number of drug overdose deaths has risen in Washington in recent years, especially in King County. In 2019, there were 422 drug overdose deaths. By 2022, that number had reached 1,033, with roughly 70% of them attributed to fentanyl. Three months into 2023, there have been almost 300 drug overdose deaths.

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Proposed Tree Canopy Bills Could Hinder Tree Cutting Services in Seattle Mar 25, 2023

Show notes

The City of Seattle is working to address a loss of tree canopy by proposing bills that would increase regulations, potentially affecting tree cutting services in the city. Seattle’s goal is to achieve 30% canopy coverage across the city by 2037. This goal is a result of a finding that from 2016 to 2021, the region had a relative decline in canopy cover of 1.7%, or 255 acres. Neighborhood residential areas had a net loss of 87 acres from 2016 to 2021, the most out of all Seattle land areas. Notably, neighborhood residential areas make up 39% of the city’s land area.

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Washington Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Capital Gains Tax Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

The Washington State Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the state’s capital gains tax. The court released its 7-2 ruling on Friday morning. The state Legislature passed the capital gains tax in 2021, and Gov. Jay Inslee signed it into law. It creates a 7% tax on profits of more than $250,000 from the sale of some assets, such as stocks and bonds. Last March, Douglas County Superior Court Judge Brian Huber ruled the tax was “properly characterized as an income tax…rather than as an excise tax as argued by the State” and struck it down. The state constitution’s uniformity clause does not allow income to be taxed at different rates.

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Seattle City Prosecutor Salary Increase Ordinance Passed by City Council Mar 19, 2023

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The Seattle City Council is addressing a staffing shortage within the Seattle City Attorney’s Office by approving a memorandum of agreement that increases the pay of assistant city prosecutors by 20%. The city council voted 8-0 in favor of the ordinance on March 14. Earlier that day, staff members of the Seattle City Attorney’s Office said they were still working to fill staffing as it lost 12 prosecutors over the last two years. One of the biggest impacts the office cites is its ability to pay prosecutors a competitive salary. According to the report presented to councilmembers, the salary range for a city prosecutor is approximately $81,000 to $110,000 – lower than six other Western Washington cities. This includes Tacoma, Auburn, Bellevue, Renton, SeaTac and Redmond. Between city prosecutors, public defenders and county prosecutors, Seattle city attorneys remain competitive with their salaries up until five years of experience where the average is around $100,000, according to the office’s report.

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‘Very Unbalanced’: Crime Victim Supporters Rally at Capitol Building in Olympia Mar 18, 2023

Show notes

Angie Dowell’s fight to keep the man who murdered her father behind bars epitomized the spirit of Wednesday afternoon’s “Crime Victims’ Call to Action” on the north steps of the Capitol building in Olympia, Washington. Her father, Loran Dowell, was murdered in a 1980 robbery of the Red Barn Tavern in South King County that claimed two other lives as well. The man convicted of the crime, Timothy Pauley, was sentenced to three life sentences, but after laws were changed in 1984, he became eligible for parole. Pauley was scheduled to be set free last July, but Gov. Jay Inslee blocked it.

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Bill Would Ban Sale of 90% Of Firearms in Washington, Gun Group Warns Mar 17, 2023

Show notes

The Washington Senate Law & Justice Committee is scheduled to vote next week on House Bill 1240 creating a state definition of “assault weapon,” which the Gun Owners of America, or GOA, says would apply to most firearms. One of the reasons is due to the definition of assault weapons in the bill. Although the bill specifically lists 62 rifles by name "regardless of which company produced and manufactured the firearm," the ban also applies to any semi-automatic rifle with a barrel length less than 30 inches. The gun barrel is the section of a firearm between the action and the muzzle.

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