washington legislature

Every new car ferry added to the Washington State Ferries fleet over the past fifty years was built at a Puget Sound shipyard. Now, state lawmakers are considering a break from past policy in order to obtain new vessels faster and cheaper for the troubled state ferry system.

A bill in the Washington Senate could help ease local tensions over new wind and solar projects.

Legislators in Washington are joining more than a dozen other states that are considering whether to restrict or ban foreign entities from buying farmland. The initial hearing on Olympia's version of the foreign ownership restrictions however drew more criticism than support on Tuesday.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources says one thing is missing from the state’s climate policies. Recent laws don’t allow the state agency to sell carbon credits. Department officials are pushing legislation that would change that law.

The Washington Legislature has a lot of prickly problems on its plate. But there's a new one that may be the prickliest of all: Should lawmakers designate an official state cactus? A school class proposed a native cactus for the honor and they now have a sponsor in the Legislature.

Numerous Democrats in the Washington Legislature are backing a new proposal to make voting in elections compulsory. Citizens are required by law to cast ballots in about 25 counties, but in no other U.S. states. Republicans in Olympia described the idea as "un-American."

Everywhere they look, Pacific Northwest scientists find teeny-tiny plastic pollution. Broken down particles are in our water, falling out of the air, in salmon, shellfish and in our own bodies. Scientists, environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers in Olympia and Salem have seen enough to make them seek more regulations.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee emphasized housing construction and homelessness response during his 2023 State of the State address on Tuesday. The issue is a bipartisan priority for the state legislature, but approaches differ among the lawmakers who convened in Olympia this week.

If Washington students get their way, the state soon will have an official dinosaur.

Washington state voters and lawmakers appear to be in close alignment on their top priorities for the incoming Washington Legislature. The 2023 session gavels to order at noon on Monday, January 9.