Latest Jay Inslee News

New Washington law keeps drugs illegal, boosts resources for housing and treatment
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington lawmakers approved and Gov. Jay Inslee quickly signed a major new drug policy Tuesday that keeps controlled substances illegal while boosting resources to help those struggling with addiction. A compromise reached a day earlier by Democratic and...

Washington lawmakers reach deal on drug policy, avoid automatic decriminalization
SEATTLE (AP) — Democratic and Republican leaders in the Washington Statehouse reached a tentative deal on a major new drug policy Monday, one that would avoid making the state the second to decriminalize the possession of controlled substances. Lawmakers will consider the...

Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz announces run for governor
SEATTLE, Wa. (AP) — Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz announced her campaign for governor on Wednesday. “Washington is facing urgent issues – from a rapidly changing climate, to a housing crisis across the entire state, and soaring income inequality pushing...

Trans minors protected from parents under Washington law
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Minors seeking gender-affirming care in Washington will be protected from the intervention of estranged parents under a measure Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law Tuesday. The new law is part of a wave of legislation this year in Democratic-led states intended to...
Washington governor signs law allowing duplexes, fourplexes
SEATTLE, Wa. (AP) — At a time of soaring home prices, rising homelessness and a housing crisis in Washington that will require 1 million homes over the next two-plus decades to keep up with population growth, Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday signed a law legalizing duplexes and fourplexes in most...
Suciasaurus rex named Washington state's official dinosaur
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a bill designating the Suciasaurus rex as the official dinosaur of the state. Inslee signed into law House Bill 1020 on Thursday, local television station KING5 reported. The new law honors a therapod...

Washington governor rolls back limitations on police chases
SEATTLE (AP) — With the stroke of a pen Wednesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee rolled back some requirements for police to chase people in vehicles, a partial reversal of a controversial pursuit policy first enacted in the state at the height of racial injustice protests following George Floyd’s...

Washington state to decriminalize drugs unless lawmakers act
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is calling lawmakers back to work after they rejected a bill setting out a new statewide drug policy — a development that has put the state on the brink of decriminalizing possession of fentanyl and other drugs while also depriving it of much-needed...
Hazing becomes a felony in some cases in Washington state
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a bill that strengthens state laws against hazing. The “Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Law,” was signed Monday, The Seattle Times reported. The Legislature unanimously passed the measure. The law makes hazing...

Washington AG Bob Ferguson announces campaign for governor
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson launched an exploratory campaign for governor on Tuesday, one day after incumbent Jay Inslee announced he won't run again. The Democrat's campaign ad, posted on YouTube, touts his work in an ongoing lawsuit seeking to ease...
