Afleveringen
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A number of Washington cities have approved declarations publicly opposing ballot initiatives on next month's ballot, with at least initiative supporter hinting that money is playing a key role in these decisions by various city councils. The four initiatives are as follows: Business Industry Association of Washington-sponsored Initiative 2066 would repeal provisions of a new state law aimed at hastening Puget Sound Energy’s transition away from natural gas by prohibiting the state and all local governments from banning, restricting or discouraging the use of natural gas in new or existing homes or commercial buildings.
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A Washington-based surgery center ranked by a nonprofit among the top in the state for minor gender reassignment surgeries was recently fined $5 million as part of a lawsuit in which the State Attorney General’s Office accused them of deceptive business practices. Within Washington, Lynnwood-based Alderwood Surgical Center performed more than twice as many gender reassignment surgeries on minors than Seattle Children’s Hospital Gender Clinic (50), making it the number one gender reassignment surgery center in the state in terms of total patients. That data is according to the nonprofit Do No Harm and confined to 2019-2023.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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It’s unclear how many people watched, but there was another contentious election debate Tuesday night in addition to the one between the U.S. vice presidential candidates. The candidates for Washington Secretary of State took part in a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters. Duties of the Secretary of State include supervising state and local elections, filing and verifying initiatives and referendums, registering nonprofits, collecting and preserving the historical records of the state, among others. Incumbent Steve Hobbs is running against challenger Dale Whitaker.
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A new report published by Greenline Insights, along with proponents of the Climate Commitment Act, claims that if Initiative 2117 is approved by voters and repeals the law, it would deprive the state of state revenue by $3.9 billion through 2029. According to a press release statement citing the study’s conclusions, the No 2117 campaign argued the initiative “would cut billions in investments in transportation - slashing transit and putting road and bridge projects at risk.” However, CCA revenue is restricted in what kind of transportation projects it can go toward.
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The Climate Commitment Act’s focus on environmental justice may be complicating efforts to link Washington state’s carbon market with the California-Quebec carbon market, a move supporters say will ensure the durability of the cap-and-trade program in the Evergreen State. California and Quebec have expressed interest in linking to Washington’s carbon market. “Linking California’s, Quebec’s and Washington’s carbon markets would enable deeper and faster cuts in climate pollution while creating a more stable, predictable market for all,” said Katelyn Roedner Sutter, the Environmental Defense Fund’s California director. “Three major climate leaders joining forces would create a huge momentum boost for climate action.” One factor complicating linkage efforts is the requirement that CCA funding go to individuals from communities facing environmental harm or health impacts and the organizations serving those communities in what is termed “environmental justice.”
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The two candidates to be Washington state's next governor faced off in their first televised debate Tuesday night, trading jabs on a variety of topics, including public safety, the drug crisis, climate change and abortion. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, and Republican Dave Reichert, a former congressman and the former King County Sheriff wasted no time going at each other from the confines of KING 5 television's studio in Seattle. Both candidates agreed on one thing: that public safety is the top issue this election cycle.
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Members and supporters of the organization Workers Strike Back are calling on the Seattle City Council to oppose a proposed bill to extend the city’s $2.72 tip credit. Seattle’s current minimum wage is $19.97 per hour, but businesses that employ fewer than 500 employees can pay $17.25 per hour if they pay $2.72 per hour toward medical benefits, or if the employee earns $2.72 per hour in tips. That tip credit is set to expire at the end of this year if the city does not act to extend it. Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth proposed legislation to amend the city’s minimum wage ordinance to permanently establish the current minimum compensation as the pay standard for small employers.
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Members of the King County Council are pleased with proposed changes to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, but note more needs to be done. The King County Council, the City of Seattle and the Sound Cities Association are set to vote on a new five-year interlocal agreement with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, or KCRHA. The proposed agreement would create a single governing board within KCRHA that is responsible for providing fiscal oversight, setting strategic policy direction, monitoring performance, and ensuring the agency is making progress to fulfill its mission.
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The state trucking industry is calling on the Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee to detach Washington state from a California-based electric vehicle program due to a variety of practical and logistical factors that they argue threaten the supply chain system. Under California’s Advanced Clean Trucks program, the trucking industry must progressively transition to zero emissions for medium and heavy-duty trucks. Starting next year, zero emission vehicles must make up 7% of all Class 2b-3 truck and Class 7-8 tractor sales, while Class 4-8 truck sales must be 11% zero emission vehicles.
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Supporters of several citizen initiatives, some already adopted into Washington law, and others to appear on the November ballot are not buying Attorney General Bob Ferguson's transparency claims following last week’s surprise ruling from the State Supreme Court. The ruling went in the favor of initiative supporters, but the surprising part came in the fact those supporters had no idea there was a legal challenge. Brian Heywood with Let’s Go Washington, the group behind the initiatives, and supporters held a protest rally Wednesday in front of the Seattle office of the attorney general, demanding to know why they were not notified of legal challenges that could have invalidated every single one of the initiatives.
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Washington state’s long-time attorney general and a former county sheriff will face off to be Washington’s next governor this November. Based on Tuesday night’s initial returns, Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson will face former King County Sheriff and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, a Republican, in the general election. Initial primary returns showed Ferguson way out in the lead with 49.5% of the vote, with Reichert garnering 27.92% of the vote.
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It’s been nearly two months since Initiative 2113 was implemented, restoring vehicular pursuit options for law enforcement agencies across Washington state. I-2113 was passed by the Legislature this session and went into effect on June. 6. The law allows police officers to pursue vehicles when they have reasonable suspicion that the driver has committed a crime and is a threat to public safety. The change came at the urging of police agencies and citizens who raised concerns about community safety with criminals feeling emboldened to flee, knowing officers were prevented from giving chase in many circumstances.
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The Washington state agency tasked with overseeing tort claim investigations and determining whether individuals should be compensated as a result is defending its decision to assign an investigation to the state Attorney General’s Office in which the AGO and its client, Washington State University, are named defendants.
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A potential subcontractor for a state police use of force database project who has had a long-running feud with the state Attorney General’s Office and Washington State University has now filed a $42 million tort claim that includes accusations of racketeering. Police Strategies CEO Bob Scales was among potential bidders on a request for proposal put out in 2022 by the AGO via Senate Bill 5259. A former King County prosecutor, Scales was also consulted by legislators as the bill advanced through the Legislature, and advised them on similar bills introduced in prior sessions.
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The annual Crime in Washington 2023 report found that overall violent crime went down, but hate crimes and vehicle thefts increased. The report, with data from 225 law enforcement agencies across the state, was presented Tuesday by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. The numbers of murders, other violent crimes and property crimes went down compared by 2022, but in many areas of the state, residents are still victimized at alarmingly high rates compared to other states.
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Backers of Initiative 2066 turned in more than 431,000 signatures Tuesday afternoon to the Secretary of State’s Office in Tumwater with the hope of getting the measure to protect energy choices like natural gas and propane on this November's ballot.
The Building Industry Association of Washington, Let’s Go Washington and other partners held two news conferences on Tuesday, one at noon in Redmond and another at 3 p.m. at SOS headquarters to deliver signatures. -
A choice available to voters on the November ballot could already be saving them money at the pump. This November, voters in Washington state will have the final say on Initiative 2117, which would repeal the Climate Commitment Act and prohibit state agencies from implementing a cap-and-trade program. However, there is some evidence that I-2117 may already be impacting the price of carbon credits, given a major decrease in the price of carbon credits during this year’s first two auctions as compared to last year’s auctions.
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The Washington State Attorney General’s Office has drawn criticism for providing legal advice to the Secretary of State’s Office regarding a request by Attorney General Bob Ferguson through his campaign attorney to alter the order of candidates on the November election ballot. Last month, two men also named Robert Ferguson filed to run for governor. State election laws has the order of candidates listed on the ballot to be chosen at random. Both Robert Fergusons would have appeared above Attorney General Ferguson on the ballot.
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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.
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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.
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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
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