This week saw the last of the governor’s bill action for the 2018 legislative session. WDA and WACDL requested that he veto a number of bills or portions of bills, but, unfortunately, he did not heed our concerns and we expect legal challenges to follow. Please find our veto letters for these bills bill:
All in all, however, the session saw a number of victories and positive movement forward on a variety of public defense related issues. In addition to the increase of funding for State Office of Public Defense appellate and parents representation contract attorneys, another of our proactive priorities, the Washington Fair Chance Act” passed after several years of advocacy. Other significant legislation that will positively affect our clients include juvenile auto-decline reform, LFO reform, the creation of a DOC Ombudsman Office, the compromise on the deadly force initiative as well as increased funding to meet the needs of the Trueblood settlement. Funding also was included in the budget for the Sentencing Guidelines Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the SRA. Click here for a list of bills that passed this session.