Latest Washington state government News
All Washington students can be learning in-person Monday
SEATTLE (AP) — Students in Washington who have have not already begun in-person learning and want to will do so on Monday. Gov. Jay Inslee signed an emergency proclamation in March requiring all public K-12 schools to provide an in-person learning option for all...
Eyman ordered to pay $2.9M for Washington AG's legal costs
SEATTLE (AP) — Anti-tax initiative promoter Tim Eyman must pay almost $2.9 million to cover the legal fees and costs of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s long-running lawsuit against Eyman for campaign finance violations, a Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled Friday. ...
Inslee signs measure addressing health provider PPE costs
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Health benefit plans would have to reimburse health care providers a set amount for personal protective equipment for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic under a measure signed Friday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Some providers in the state,...
WA Senate OKs bill to reinstate durg possession penalties
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would reinstate criminal penalties for drug possession. The Seattle Times reports that lawmakers approved Senate Bill 5476, in response to the state Supreme Court’s ruling that struck...

Inslee warns of 4th COVID-19 wave in Washington state
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday warned that Washington state was on the cusp of a fourth COVID-19 wave with case numbers and hospitalizations rising. He urged people to get vaccinated and to socialize and conduct business outside as much as...
Legislature approves expansion of low-income tax credit
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A bill that would expand a tax credit for low-income workers and families that would start paying out benefits for the first time in 2023 was approved by the Washington Legislature Thursday. The House, on a 93-3 vote, concurred with changes made in...
Washington state governor OKs bill banning for-profit jails
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — One of the country’s largest for-profit, privately run immigration jails would be shut down by 2025 under a bill signed Wednesday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The measure approved by the Washington Legislature bans for-profit detention centers...

Statue of Native American leader step closer to U.S. Capitol
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed a measure that starts the process of honoring the late Billy Frank Jr — a Nisqually tribal member who championed treaty rights and protecting the environment — with a statue at the U.S. Capitol. ...
Washington state proposal targets Boeing plant’s pollution
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Boeing will spend millions of dollars and decades cleaning up pollutants that have seeped into the soil and groundwater beneath one of their plants in Washington state, a state-mandated draft proposal said. TCE, or Trichloroethylene, is one of many...

Slew of police reform bills headed to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk
SEATTLE (AP) — As Washington lawmakers began wrapping up their work on an ambitious package of police accountability legislation in the past week, reminders of the cause were not hard to come by. In Minneapolis, prosecutors were concluding their murder case against...
