The week’s major votes included House passage of a Republican bill to make horrific cuts to America’s essential public services and Senate passage of a resolution to void another EPA rule.
Monthly Archives: April 2023
Posted inElections
King County voters saying yes to crisis care centers levy in April 2023 special election
54.43% of the votes tallied and reported out as part of King County’s April 2023 Special Election Night drop favor King County Proposition 1, the official name of the crisis care centers levy, which has also been the moniker of other levies in years past, including as recently as last November. 45.57% were opposed.
Posted inElections
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris formally announce 2024 reelection bids
“Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy, stand up for our personal freedoms and stand up for our right to vote and our civil rights: Let’s finish the job,” Biden told his polarized country.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
DONE! Governor Inslee signs assault weapons ban and two more gun safety bills into law
On April 25th, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law three pivotal new gun safety laws: a ban on assault weapons, a permit-to-purchase requirement, and a duty to impose reasonable controls law that gun manufacturers, distributors, and sellers must abide by.
Posted inElections
Undecided about how to vote on King County Proposition 1, the crisis care centers levy? Read the case for voting yes from Macklemore
Read a transcript of Macklemore’s comments in support of the April 2023 King County Proposition 1, delivered at King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay’s Hometown Heroes luncheon on March 30th, 2023.
Posted inPolicy Topics
“Blake fix” bill fails in State House, prompting calls for special session on drug policy
Several Democrats joined the chamber’s forty Republicans in casting nay votes, creating a potent obstacle to the bill’s passage that leadership determined could not be surmounted before the clock ran out on the 2023 legislative session.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
Legislature agrees on operating budget for 2023–2025 and sends it to Governor Inslee
ESSB 5187 is the vehicle for this year’s operating budget. Its title is making 2023–2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. It is prime sponsored by Senator Christine Rolfes (D‑23rd District: Kitsap Peninsula), the Chair of the Ways & Means Committee, which has budget writing responsibility in the Senate.
Posted inSeries & Special Reports
Last Week In Congress: How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted (April 17th-21st)
The week’s major votes included passage of an immoral House Republican scheme targeting young trans people and Senate
Posted inElections
DONE! Governor Jay Inslee signs into law NPI’s bill to get rid of Tim Eyman’s push polls
The governor’s endorsement of SB 5082 was the final step in its journey from proposed voting justice legislation to session law. Five years of work by NPI and allies to replace Eyman’s push polls with truthful, accurate fiscal information that is continuously updated for voters has now reached a successful conclusion.
Posted inMedia & Culture
Fox settles with Dominion, averting anxiously awaited trial in landmark defamation case
The pricetag for sparing the witness stand, and escaping accountability, came to $787.50 million. “The truth matters: Lies have consequences,” Dominion’s lawyer Justin Nelson said outside the courtroom. “Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country.”
Posted inPolicy Topics
VICTORY! Assault weapons ban clears Legislature, heads to Governor Inslee’s desk
On April 19th, the state House of Representatives and Senate came to an agreement on mutually acceptable final language for House Bill 1240, which prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution, selling, and offering for sale of assault weapons.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
VICTORY! My Health, My Data Act heads to Governor Inslee after House concurrence vote
By a vote of 57–40, the House voted to concur in the Senate amendments to House Bill 1155, prime sponsored by Representative Vandana Slatter (D‑48th District: Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Medina, the Points communities).
Posted inElections
Ruben Gallego makes Kyrsten Sinema’s support for the filibuster an issue in Arizona’s 2024 contest for United States Senate
Sinema has not declared if she is running for reelection, but raised $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2023. She has tapped Republican sources. A total of $280,000 came from employees of the Blackstone Group, the investment colossus, with $196,000 from the Carlyle Group, which enriched former President George H.W. Bush.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
VICTORY! Firearm Industry Responsibility & Gun Violence Victims’ Access to Justice Act heads to Governor Inslee’s desk
SB 5078 received a concurrence vote on April 14th, 2023. That means the Senate agreed with the changes that the House made to the bill, completing its journey through the bicameral legislative process.