Working for the 35th Legislative District in the Washington State Senate
Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Drew MacEwen’s subscribers Jan. 27, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. MacEwen’s e-newsletter, click here.
I was honored to take my seat in the state Senate Jan. 9 after a decade representing you and the 35th Legislative District in the state House.
Dear friends and neighbors,
The biggest news for our district as I take office in the state Senate is the public uproar over a proposed group home for sex predators in the Tenino area. Neighbors, law enforcement agencies and elected officials were kept in the dark until the last possible moment, and the case demonstrates serious shortcomings in state policies and state law. In this newsletter, I’ll tell you what we’re doing about it.
At the same time, I have taken on a new role as the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. This is a focal point for the sweeping policies on electricity and gas prices the Legislature has launched over the last few years. I think we take a realistic view of these issues in the 35th District, and I am proud to bring that to the table. Other committee assignments are Business and Financial Service, Labor and Commerce and Transportation.
My most important duty is to serve you. If you have a problem with a state agency, or a comment or concern about the direction of state government, I hope you will contact my office. You can reach me and my legislative assistant Rob Barnes at (360) 786-7668. You can send me an email at Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, or a letter at P.O. Box 40435. And you can stay in touch by visiting my website, at https://drewmacewen.src.wastateleg.org/.
I want to thank the people of the 35th District for the faith they have placed in me, and I will repay it by putting our district first.
Drew MacEwen
Senator, 35th Legislative District
Sex-predator housing in Tenino forces Olympia to take action
Marker shows location of planned adult group home for sex predators at 2813 140th Ave SW in rural Thurston County. Under current state law, there is no requirement for advance public notice when the Department of Social and Health Services arranges to place violent sex predators in low-security group homes operated by private/for-profit vendors. SB 5544 would change that.
Residents of the Tenino area were shocked this month when they learned the state was planning to house sex predators right in their community, and that the first arrival was due Feb. 1.
The incident shows how government should never work. While Thurston County officials do their best to head this off, I am working with my fellow 35th District lawmakers to make sure communities like Tenino are never blindsided again.
It is hard to imagine a worse place for sex-predator housing than the three-bedroom home at 2813 140th Ave SW. This is a quiet, rural area near Millersylvania State Park, where law enforcement response times are long. The home fronts a lake where children’s camps are held in summer. The sex criminals the state is planning to send here have been thoroughly evaluated and found to be a high risk for reoffense. Yet the only security measures contemplated are ankle bracelets. What could possibly go wrong?
How a bad idea like this one could get this far is a great question.
A loophole in state law
Until recently, Washington kept all its high-risk sex criminals under confinement at McNeil Island on Puget Sound, using a “civil commitment” process to keep them in custody after their prison terms end. Over the last few years, state agencies have embarked on a program to place them in neighborhoods and communities across the state. When the state places sexually violent predators (SVPs) in secure facilities designed specifically for them, heightened public notice requirements apply, and neighbors and law enforcement are able to weigh in before any final decisions are made.
But when the state places sex predators in less-secure adult group homes, no extensive public notice requirements apply. These homes aren’t run by the state, but rather by private/for-profit operators who face only routine scrutiny from local-government building and zoning departments.
That’s how south Thurston County was caught off-guard when private operator Supreme Living proposed an adult group home. The fact that it was planning to house sex predators triggered no special requirements. The vendor attempted to configure its proposal so that no special county permit would be required. The public didn’t have a chance to raise an objection because no special public comment or approval process was required.
No wonder the community went into an uproar when it found out. For now, it appears this rush to house sex predators in rural Thurston County has been slowed down. Thurston County health department officials have told Supreme Living that it must apply for new permits for drinking water and septic tanks. This should buy enough time for commissioners to consider changes to zoning rules.
Meanwhile, I have introduced legislation to require the Department of Social and Health Services to take responsibility for public notification. Senate Bill 5544 would require DSHS to hold public meetings before it contracts with private vendors to place violent sex predators in neighborhood group homes – and these meetings would have to be publicized widely, with newspaper, radio and TV advertising. My 35th District seatmates Dan Griffey and Travis Couture will introduce similar legislation in the House.
We are hoping this bill will be fast-tracked for passage in the 2023 legislative session. Other communities are being affected by this offshoring of sex predators from McNeil Island, and some may not even know it. A similar public uproar occurred in Lakewood in 2021. Legislation to require public notice will help correct this major oversight, and ensure communities have a voice when the state sends sex predators their way.
Taking the lead on energy
As new rules promote green energy, let’s protect affordability and the free market
Last week, I was delighted to appear on TVW’s Inside Olympia program, to talk about my new role in the state Senate as ranking Republican member on the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. You can see this interview here.
I drew one of the most interesting assignments in Olympia when I joined the state Senate this year, as the lead Republican on the Senate committee that deals with energy and environmental issues. Our colleagues are driving the agenda, with efforts to promote “green energy” and phase out fossil fuel usage in Washington state. We need to make sure their plans are carried out responsibly, without disrupting our economy and forcing huge costs on people like you and me.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen plenty of sweeping new initiatives from Olympia that leave the nitty-gritty details for later. The Climate Commitment Act is forcing the shutdown of coal plants throughout the Pacific Northwest and the phaseout of natural gas, without much thought as to what comes next. Another political effort aims to tear down the Snake River dams. Experts tell us the chance of a catastrophic blackout is rapidly increasing, and by 2050, we’ll have to count on other states for most of our power. Meanwhile, cap and trade and low carbon fuel standards are driving up the price of gas and diesel — exactly how much is a matter of debate.
Amid the upheaval these governmental efforts are causing, we need to make sure we’re not going too far too fast – we can’t pass laws that mandate technological miracles. We need to leave a role for the free market, our best tool to drive creativity and keep costs low. And we need to avoid locking ourselves into approaches and technologies, when the only thing we can be sure of is that things will change. I have watched energy markets for years in my day job. Now that I am involved at the policy level, I see how important it is to make sound decisions today that will help assure a better future.
Contact me!
My most important duty is to serve you. I hope you will contact me or my legislative assistant, Rob Barnes, if you have any concerns about state government, or a problem with a state agency.
Phone: (360) 786-7668
Email: Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov
Mail: P.O. Box 40435, Olympia, Wash. 98501