News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A controversial gun control bill to ban bump stocks was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. SB 5922 passed both chambers in the Washington state legislature by slim margins and largely along party lines. The vote was 29-20 in the Senate and 56-41 in the House of Representatives. Gov. Inslee signed the bill on Tuesday, March 6. Starting July 1, 2018, bump stocks will be illegal to manufacture or sell, and starting July 1, 2019, the accessory will be illegal to possess. The bill also allows po...
With less than two weeks left in the session, state lawmakers introduced a new bill in response to the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. SB 6620, and its companion in the House, HB 3004, introduced Friday, Feb. 23, would create a mechanism for students to report dangerous behavior and would require the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to allocate grants to school districts to implement emergency response systems. It also raises the age to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21. The Parkland shooter was reported to be...
University of Washington students from the Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma campuses met with lawmakers in support of higher education bills during the annual Huskies on the Hill lobby day, Monday, Jan. 29. The Associated Students of the University of Washington from all three UW campuses asked their legislators to fully fund the State Need Grant which, they said, is underfunded by $85 million. But diversity and undocumented students' rights were at issue too. Kendra Canton, director of diversity...
Nearly 1,000 people from law enforcement, gun rights groups, gun violence prevention groups, veterans, and Washington residents signed in to support or oppose contested firearm bills heard on Monday, Jan. 15 at the state capitol. Hundreds lined up along the corridors of the capitol's Cherberg Building, where Senate bills are heard, and along exterior sidewalks to get into the hearing. Packed into three filled hearing rooms, activists, lawmakers, and citizens heard five bills. Those under...
A far-reaching package of laws aimed at clean water, orca whale protection, and phasing out fish farms in the Salish Sea could come before state legislators this year. Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island plans to introduce the Salish Sea Protection Act that would fund oil spill prevention, update response plans if an oil spill happens, establish rescue tug boat efforts, and coordinate emergency efforts with Canadian officials. His proposed Orca Whale Protection Act is threefold. The bills would focus on restoring the lack of salmon as a food...
A bill to be introduced this session would eliminate the death penalty in Washington state and require people convicted of first degree murder to serve life sentences without the possibility of parole. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson requested Senate bill 6052 after Senate bills proposing the same legislation did not pass through a committee hearing last year. “I’m reasonably optimistic that this could be the year,” Ferguson said mentioning the bill’s bipartisan sponsorship. “The votes are there.” Despite other legislative...
Climate activists erected tents and teepees Monday in front of the Washington State Capitol building, on the opening day of the Legislature's 60-day session. "We are here today in prayer," member of Protectors of the Salish Sea Paul Che Oketen Wagner of the Saanich First Nation of Canada said. Wagner claims under the Medicine Creek treaty of 1854, the legislative grounds are native lands. He said the group hoped to occupy the space between the legislative building and the Washington State...