Washington State Patrol trooper killed on I-5 near Marysville; WA police pursuit, parent rights, income tax initiatives poised for final vote in Olympia

THE CURRENT | A WASHINGTON HOUSE REPUBLICAN EMAIL UPDATE

• The last four days of the 2024 legislative session | March 3

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• OPINION: Small farms in the mountain states are disappearing (Madi Clark, senior policy analyst, Mountain States Policy Center/Capital Press)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Popular bill to expand neighborhood businesses in Washington appears dead (KNKX Radio)
• WA Senate passes bill to allow cities to share sales tax revenue (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Washington lawmakers move to rein in unscrupulous rooftop solar companies (Washington State Standard)
• Starbucks’ labor pivot poised to spur new unionization wave (The Seattle Times)
• World’s 1st carbon-free fertilizer plant seeks $20M property tax break from Richland (Tri-City Herald)

CANNABIS

• The majority of marijuana waste in Washington ends up in the landfill. New legislation aims to redirect it (The Spokesman-Review)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• Washington lawmakers take step to join California on cap-and-trade (Capital Press)
• WA’s carbon pricing system may fund $200M for new electric ferries (Crosscut)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Parents caring for disabled children left waiting for pay, as bill fails in WA Legislature (Washington State Standard)
• Families, foster parents and supporters hold rally for legislative changes for foster children (The Chronicle)
• Where the rich got richer in the Seattle area (Axios – Seattle)
• Eligible Tacoma residents to earn $500/month through GRIT program (MyNorthwest)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Supreme Court restores Trump to ballot, rejecting state attempts to ban him over Capitol attack (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA appellate court upholds document surcharge for homeless/housing funding (The Center Square)
• Transgender employee suing Boeing for harassment, unsafe work environment (MyNorthwest)

CYBERSECURITY

• Some hospital patients may be affected by cyberattack (The Daily World)

DRUG CRISIS

• As an opioids scourge devastates tribes in Washington, lawmakers advance a bill to provide relief (AP)
• Fentanyl crisis in WA needs a turning point, so what is being done? (The Seattle Times)
• The Columbia River Drug Task Force recaps a successful 2023 year (NCW Life Channel)

EDUCATION

• State legislature passes ‘Walking Start to Running Start’ bill (The Wenatchee World)
• ‘Walking to Running Start’ education bill clears state Legislature (The Center Square)
• ‘It’s not enough to just be nice’: WSU study highlights importance of teachers’ mindset (KOMO TV)
• No grades, no teachers: Inside a Bothell school run by student vote (The Everett Herald)
• Puyallup School District to cut budget due to $14 million deficit. Here’s what to expect (The News Tribune)
• EDITORIAL: Toppenish board’s dismissal of Cerna sets an admirable example (Yakima Herald-Republic)

ELECTIONS

• Secretary of State’s ‘misinformation’ program flags factual stories on noncitizens voting (The Center Square)
• County buys beefed-up ballot boxes (The Daily World)
• COLUMN: Ranked choice voting would burden voters (Ann Donnelly/The Columbian)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Oso landslide memorial nearly complete 10 years after the tragedy (KING TV)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• ‘A hot mess’: Lt. Gov. Denny Heck blasts Dems over natural gas ban bill (The Center Square)
• Ybarra energy bill heads to governor after unanimous approval in Senate (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Why do we call a dirty fossil fuel ‘natural’ gas? (The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: Overhaul WA laws so oil companies pay for spills (Lovell Pratt, director of marine protection and policy for Friends of the San Juans, and Rein Attemann, Puget Sound senior campaign manager for Washington Conservation Action/The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: Lewis County is driving the shift to trucking’s green hydrogen future (Dale Lemmons, owner of Interstate Wood Products and Signature Transport/The Chronicle)

GUN RIGHTS

• WA legislators are pushing new gun bills. Here’s what could pass (Crosscut)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Prominent Democrats support over-the-counter birth control (KHQ TV)
• COVID-19 no longer means five days in isolation, CDC says (AP)
• Latest attempt to chip away at ‘Obamacare’ questions preventive health care (AP)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• WSU Tri-Cities Black Student Union honors college’s first Black president (Tri-City Herald)

HOMELESSNESS

• Jaywalking debate pits safety concerns against unnecessary stops of homeless people (The Seattle Times)
• Three new homeless shelters could open in Pierce County this year. Here’s what we know (The News Tribune)
• An encampment in Silverdale was working. Then garbage piled up, and it fell apart (Kitsap Sun)

HOUSING

• Washington Legislature approves tax break for affordable housing built on state land (Washington State Standard)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Washington State Patrol trooper killed on I-5 near Marysville (The Seattle Times)
• WSP trooper killed in three-vehicle I-5 crash identified, Lynnwood man in custody (KOMO TV)
• ‘We will never forget’: WSP identifies trooper struck, killed on I-5 (KING TV)
• Memorial for Washington State Patrol trooper killed in line of duty growing (KING TV)
• Good Samaritan tried to help state trooper struck, killed by ‘speeding SUV’ (KIRO TV)
• Marysville mourns loss of trooper killed in I-5 crash (FOX 13)
• WSP trooper killed in weekend I-5 Crash originally from Pasco (KONA Radio)
• Seattle officer who struck, killed pedestrian issued traffic infraction (The Seattle Times)

LEGISLATURE

• WA police pursuit, parent rights, income tax initiatives poised for final vote in Olympia (NW News Network)
• Committee votes on ballot initiatives (The Washington Observer)
• Initiative to loosen police pursuit rules clears another hurdle in Olympia (The Center Square)
• Parents’ bill of rights initiative moves ahead in Washington State Legislature (The Center Square)
• Income tax ban initiative passes out of House and Senate committees (The Center Square)
• Two victims and a survivor at opposite-house cutoff (The Washington Observer)
• After 14 years, J.T. Wilcox to retire from legislature: ‘We need a new generation to put our government back together’ (The Chronicle)
• Longtime State Rep. J.T. Wilcox retiring from Olympia (KNWN Radio)
• Senate approves bipartisan legislation from Harris to assist semiconductor manufacturers (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• Washington State Senate passes three bipartisan bills from Rep. Kevin Waters (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• Area bills are awaiting Inslee’s signature (KWHT Radio)
• Bill to transition all of Washington’s buses to zero-emission clears state Senate (KNDO/KNDU)
• OPINION: Lawmakers should listen to the people on all six of their initiatives, then vote (Sen. John Braun/The Chronicle)

MEDIA

• The Olympian to change print days as digital transition evolves (The Olympian)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Three key updates on King County’s crisis care centers (The Seattle Times)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Washington legislature unanimously passes bill to help over 35,000 veterans (KIRO TV)
• Washington Legislature passes bill expanding veteran’s benefits (KHQ TV)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

• Fentanyl, unions and Chinese American history — what records are lawmakers hiding? (The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon lawmakers race to pass bills before legislative session ends this week (The Oregonian)
• Oregon lawmakers pass bill to recriminalize drug possession (AP)
• Oregon’s drug decriminalization experiment appears dead (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Bill to protect Idaho counselors’ right to deny clients for religious beliefs passes Senate (KREM TV)

PARKS

• Washington’s first state park in nearly 40 years is closer to completion (The News Tribune)
• Unique state/tribal partnership helps create new park in Washington state (The Olympian)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Livid parent accuses police of using kids as ‘bait’ to catch sex offender near school (Tri-City Herald)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• State Attorney General’s Office will implement state hate crimes hotline (The Chronicle)

TRANSPORTATION

• Gas prices on the rise in Washington State (KHQ TV)
• Interstate 82 back open in both directions near Wapato (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Tri-Cities Intermodal steams ahead to move cargo across US, the globe (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• EDITORIAL: Sound Transit must make public safety a top priority (The Seattle Times)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Wildfires don’t just threaten lives and property. They can also impact a person’s mental health (KUOW Radio)