Washington in Focus

Washington is now the 11th state in the country to ban child marriages via a new law that went into effect on June 6 that makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to get married. House Bill 1455, passed by the Legislature this session and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in March, took effect on June 6. Prior to the new law, Washington was one of five states with no age requirement to marry. In those other states, children of any age can be legally married with permission from a judge, and 17-year-olds only need parental permission.

Beginning Thursday, June 6, law enforcement officers in Washington can once again pursue someone if they have reasonable suspicion that person has violated any law. Lawmakers amended the stricter policy after a voter initiative was submitted to the legislature and was adopted into law earlier this year. The 2021 law that significantly restricted police came as part of a package of reforms which Republicans and law enforcement say gave criminals the upper hand and led to huge spikes in crime. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full stories: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_279992a2-2364-11ef-80c1-07e8aec81eab.html https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_19955b46-229c-11ef-b8f9-6771a16e5e05.html https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_15580482-229e-11ef-bca5-3f85f7254ca5.html https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_ead41ec4-21d7-11ef-ae01-3705cdd938b9.html

Police Chief Adrian Diaz is stepping down from his role as head of the Seattle Police Department amid an increasing number of issues within the department. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the move on Wednesday, stating that Diaz “will be stepping aside to work on special assignments.”

An investigation by a law firm on behalf of the Washington State Department of Transportation found no merit to most of a former employee’s claims he was pressured to lie about the impact of the Climate Commitment Act on gas prices – and forced out of his job because of it. Scott Smith, a former economist with WSDOT, claims he faced hostility and retaliation after refusing to keep quiet about his calculations last year showing Washington’s cap-and-trade program under the CCA, which went into effect last year, would increase gas prices by 45 to 50 cents per gallon.

Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_9e06a308-1162-11ef-9c04-07a36db3699b.html

With hundreds of millions of tax dollars spent, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority is facing calls for accountability from city officials who look to the semi-governmental organization to get the area's chronic homelessness crisis under control. A senior KCRHA policy director says their efforts are working. KCRHA has served as the organization responsible for coordinating funding and services for unhoused people across all of King County since 2019. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

There seems to be some confusion among certain state agencies about workers who received exemptions from WA Cares, Washington’s mandatory long-term care benefit program. The program is paid for by 58 cents out of every $100 earned deducted from workers' paychecks. WA Cares provided a one-time opportunity for people to opt out, if they could show they had private long-term care insurance in place before Nov. 1, 2021. This opt-out provision is no longer available to new applicants. Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_1af6325a-0661-11ef-a5b6-2f675ac19705.html Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

More than nine months since Washington state workers started paying into the state-mandated long-term care insurance program known as WA Cares, most working Washingtonians have contributed at least a few hundred dollars to the program. But if voters approve Initiative 2124 this November, workers can opt out of having 58 cents out of every $100 earned deducted from their paychecks. WA Cares opponents argue the maximum $36,500 benefit, not available until July 2026, is not adequate and may give someone a false sense of security about future long-term care needs. Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_a7275f6c-01c8-11ef-beaa-af7f77c014c2.html Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

There was no decision from the bench Wednesday afternoon in the Gators Custom Guns case regarding the state ban on high-capacity magazines for firearms. State Supreme Court Commissioner Mike Johnston opened the hearing with remarks for what he said was, “the importance of a number of people watching this case.” “Personal side note, I’m a gun enthusiast. I know a lot about guns,” he said. Johnston is the court commissioner who last week granted a temporary stay of a ruling from Cowlitz County that found the high-capacity magazine ban unconstitutional – that is, a violation of the Second Amendment. Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_c6ddde08-fd18-11ee-89eb-3f0437925545.html Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

There is ongoing debate over a newly-enacted law and its effect on natural gas in Washington state. The state's largest utility provider says it does not affect natural gas for new or future customers, but others argue that the new provisions set the stage for turning the shut-off valve for good. House Bill 1589 signed by Gov. Jay Inslee last month consolidates Puget Sound Energy’s planning for both electrical and natural gas. While opponents claim it bans natural gas, PSE recently put out a fact sheet arguing that it does not. At the same time, it references provisions of a separate bill enacted in 2019, Senate Bill 5116, which requires all utilities meet various energy portfolio requirements. Under the Clean Energy Transformation Act, utilities must have 80% non-emitting energy sources by 2030 and 100% non-emitting by 2045. Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_297d6c46-f69c-11ee-93ab-f3947ebf1a46.html Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

Puget Sound Energy is challenging claims that a recent bill signed into law restricts or eliminates natural gas service, calling it "misinformation." This session, the Washington State Legislature enacted Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589, which was signed last week by Gov. Jay Inslee. The bill was proposed during last year’s session, but failed to clear both chambers. Among its provisions are the consolidation of PSE’s planning process for both electric and natural gas services. Initially, the bill also removed PSE’s legal obligation to provide existing natural gas service to customers, while banning future natural gas hookups to new commercial or residential construction. Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_4496751c-f071-11ee-8146-73fac6fee36b.html Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

A new law signed by Gov. Jay Inslee allows illegal foreign nationals to obtain professional and commercial licenses to work a variety of jobs if they otherwise qualify or meet requirements. Under existing state law, a commercial vehicle license is needed from the state Department of Licensing to legally work certain careers, whereas other professions are regulated by a board of commission that determine the qualifications. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

(The Center Square) – Passing the the bar exam will no longer be a requirement for becoming a lawyer in Washington, the state Supreme Court ruled in a pair of orders Friday. Washington becomes only the second state to officially approve alternatives to the bar, following its southern neighbor, Oregon, which is set to make the change in May. The state Supreme Court appointed a Bar Licensure Task Force to study alternative ways to show competency in 2020, after COVID-19-related modifications resulting in many questioning the efficacy of the current exam. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

One of the most controversial bills passed by the Washington State Legislature this session has yet to be signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589, dubbed by critics as the "natural gas ban bill," would allow utilities – that is, Puget Sound Energy – to start planning how to move away from natural gas. Inslee is expected to sign the bill, a cornerstone of Inslee's agenda to fight climate change, into law. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

Scott Smith, a former economist with the Washington State Department of Transportation, spoke out Wednesday morning about the hostility and retaliation he says he faced after refusing to keep quiet about his calculations last year showing Washington’s cap-and-trade program would increase gas prices by 45 to 50 cents per gallon. “When I was preparing the estimates, the facts were so obvious that it was a matter of sixth-grade math,” he said during a virtual news conference the day after the Citizen Action Defense Fund filed a lawsuit on his behalf. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

Proponents of Initiative 2113 to reduce requirements for law enforcement to engage in vehicle pursuits expressed frustration at how a Wednesday morning legislative public hearing on the initiative was conducted. Testimony before both the Senate Law & Justice Committee and the House Community Safety, Justice & Reentry Committee did not begin until 30 minutes into the one-hour hearing due to majority party Democrats asking questions of committee staff members. One of the questions asked of staff came from Rep. Tara Simmons, D-Bremerton, who suggested recent studies prove that when police pursuit restrictions are loosened, it increases racial profiling. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said that he would not look at new revenue streams to address the city’s $229 million budget gap. Harrell gave his State of the City address with an emphasis on improving public safety, increasing the city’s affordable housing stock, addressing the drug epidemic and replacing aging infrastructure. “The size of this deficit means that we will have difficult financial decisions ahead,” Harrel said. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

The executive director of the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council says the overall revenue picture for the state is “pretty good.” But the elephants in the room as Dave Reich began his revenue forecast presentation Wednesday morning were the state Department of Revenue's Tuesday announcement that it had made a series of errors in tallying the state's new capital gains tax and the recent departure of a billionaire to live in another state. The errors, he said came from "a double booking of about $50 million in tax receipts from the capital gains tax." Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

Initiative 2117 to repeal Washington state's cap-and-trade law under the Climate Commitment Act could already be impacting the CCA's carbon credit futures market that is meant to reduce overall carbon emissions. Via forums like the Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, traders can buy and sell Washington carbon credit futures. Closing prices have steadily declined since I-2117 was certified last month, though the December 2024 CCA contracts were dropping slightly in the months before the measure was certified. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

A group of Washingtonians turned out Wednesday afternoon at the steps of the Capitol building in Olympia to demand lawmakers follow the state's constitution and act on six certified initiatives. In December, the Let’s Go Washington voter advocacy group turned in 2.6 million signatures on initiatives to loosen restrictions on allowing police to pursue dangerous criminals, repeal the carbon tax, establish parental rights in public schools, abolish the capital gains tax, allow people who are employed to opt out of the state’s long-term care program, and ban further efforts to pass income taxes. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support