Public safety was one of our biggest priorities in this short session. Your 35th District lawmakers are thrilled we were able to move the needle on this by passing the initiative to the Legislature to restore the ability of law enforcement to pursue criminals.
Our 35th District sheriffs have told us for the past two years what a terrible impact the limitations on pursuits had on public safety and crime in Washington, and we can all see it.
I-2113 is a new law that allows officers to engage in pursuits when they have reasonable suspicion that a suspect has committed any crime, rather than only violent crime, sex offenses, domestic violence assault, and DUI. This will greatly affect our ability to hold criminals accountable in Washington state. In addition to the police pursuit initiative, I-2113, state lawmakers passed two additional initiatives to the legislature, including:
I-2081 (parental rights) – clarifies a set of 15 parental rights related to K-12 education, including ease of access to student health, education, and disciplinary records. It also makes clear parents can opt out of instruction related to sexual activity in accordance with comprehensive sexual health education.
I-2111 (personal income tax) – The people of Washington state have soundly rejected an income tax 10 times over the past several decades. This initiative further solidifies that position by prohibiting state and local personal income taxes.
These three initiatives are the most ever enacted by the legislature and will take effect June 6.
Although the passage of these three initiatives was an enormous victory for Washingtonians,
your 35th district legislators believe the legislature should have taken the time to consider all initiatives before the legislature.
It’s important to note that the initiatives brought before the legislature were made possible by hundreds of thousands of citizens
signing petitions expressing their concerns with previously enacted laws and the current direction of the legislature.
Although the passage of these three initiatives was an enormous victory for Washingtonians, we believe the legislature should have taken the time to consider all six initiatives. It’s important to note that the initiatives brought before the legislature were made possible by hundreds of thousands of citizens signing petitions expressing their concerns with previously enacted laws and the current direction if the state.
The initiatives are:
- I-2117 would repeal the state’s costly climate policy, enacted by the majority party in 2021 and took full effect early last year.
- I-2109 will repeal the state capital gains income tax passed by the majority party in 2021.
- I-2124 would allow individuals to opt out of the mandatory payroll tax for the state-run long-term care program called “WA Cares.”