Washington Legislature

Earlier this month, the memorial plaque and cherry tree honoring the late Cal Anderson — a champion for LGBTQ civil rights in Washington and the state's first openly gay lawmaker — were unexpectedly removed.

The new bill makes it a gross misdemeanor to use drugs in public or possess small amounts of drugs. The bill also creates new options to divert people from the courts and into addiction treatment.

Washington state lawmakers failed to pass a new drug possession law in the final hours of the 2023 legislative session. The state has a temporary law passed after the Washington Supreme Court declared the state's drug law unconstitutional in 2021, but that law is set to expire in June.

Proposals in Oregon and Washington to regulate carbon emissions tied to crypto mining and data centers took opposite paths during the 2023 legislative session. In Washington, House Bill 1416 sailed through the House and Senate with relative ease and was signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on May 3. Similar legislation in Oregon, meanwhile, was met with stiff opposition.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday he's calling for a special legislative session to begin on May 16, so lawmakers can finalize new drug possession penalties and addiction treatment options.

Housing, health care and public safety topped the agenda for Washington lawmakers during the first in-person session since the pandemic hit.

Some lawmakers from Southwest Washington attempted in vain to tweak the bill, such as exempting people who commute to work in Oregon.

Key debates remain unsettled in Olympia, on bills focused on public safety and health policies, as well as how much new funding the state will put toward affordable housing.

A controversial effort to find a solution to Washington's growing air travel demands would get a do-over under a bill making its way through the Statehouse, but some critics remain dissatisfied.

As changes to Oregon's gun rules make their way through the courts, new restrictions on gun sales, including training requirements, are making their way through the Washington Legislature.