Washington lawmakers have approved a flurry of bills -- and killed a bunch too -- as they crossed a key deadline in the 105-day session.
The cut-off to vote bills out of their house of origin came and went at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
In recent days, the Washington House and Senate have approved measures dealing with college tuition, payday lending, distracted driving, oil trains and human trafficking. Bills that did not survive the deadline include: proposals for a training wage for teenage workers, a restriction on strip searches in juvenile detention facilities, and a bill to give the governor the power to declare a state of emergency in the event of a cyber-attack.
Other bills that didn’t pass before the deadline included a ban on marijuana in the passenger compartments of vehicles and a parental notification requirement for abortion.
Many more bills will no doubt be killed off in the weeks ahead. That’s because next up the Washington House and Senate swap bills -- and each chamber is controlled by a different political party.
