WALeg Special Session

Governor Jay Inslee called a Special Session of the Washington State Legislature, beginning May 16th, to address our state’s expiring drug possession law. 

In accordance with the State Constitution, the Washington State Legislature meets annually every January in regular sessions. The Legislature alternates between longer sessions of 105 days and shorter sessions of 60 days depending on the development of the two-year budgets. The Constitution allows the governor to call special sessions of the Legislature at any time. Each special session can last no more than 30 days.

In 2021, the State Supreme Court’s Blake Decision struck down Washington’s felony drug possession statute as unconstitutional. This court case involved a woman who had been arrested for possession of illegal drugs in her pant pockets, which she said she did not knowingly possess because the pants were borrowed from a friend. In rapid response to this decision and to provide some statewide clarity related to drug possession, legislators approved a temporary measure within weeks to classify drug possession as a misdemeanor while working toward a more comprehensive solution. The temporary law approved in 2021 expires this July. A major focus of the 2023 Legislative Session was to update and replace the temporary law. 

During this year’s session, the Washington State Senate approved Senate Bill 5536, sponsored by  Sen. June Robinson (D-Everett). It represented the first major step to address and clarify our state’s drug possession law since the temporary law was enacted. Senate Bill 5536 was approved by a Senate vote of 28 to 21 and included a classification of drug possession offenses, steps offenders can take toward pretrial diversion and prosecution, and a collection of state investments toward facilitating treatment and local resources.

Senate Bill 5536 was developed throughout the session, approved by Senate committees, and actively negotiated and debated. The Senate vote was bipartisan but also somewhat unusual because a collection of Republicans and Democrats voted for the bill while others joined together to vote against the measure. Generally speaking, very conservative Republicans favored stiffer penalties for drug offenders while very progressive Democrats argued for no punishments. 

In the end, the compromise included tiered classifications of drug possession offenses, steps offenders can take toward pretrial diversion, and penalty options for prosecutors. The bill also included substantial new state investments to support treatment. 

While the bipartisan Senate bill appear to balance treatment options with accountability measures and to be the blueprint for full Legislative passage, the House of Representatives later adjusted the bill. That version received only a party-line vote by Democrats on April 11th. House and Senate negotiators attempted to develop a Conference Committee solution between the two versions, but that vote failed in the House on April 23rd on the final day of session by a vote of 43 'yes' to 55 'no.'

A small number of progressive House Democrats had refused to support the Senate’s bipartisan compromise, eventually leaving the legislature with nothing at the end of session. Having no statewide framework related to drug possession would be terrible for cities and counties across Washington who would then need to implement a patchwork of their own local drug possession regulations.

So we have a special session. 

Source: State Sen. Brad Hawkins