Tag Archives: Gov. Jay Inslee

Holy statement on Senate passage of measure extending Inslee emergency orders

Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, issued the following statement regarding the Senate’s passage today of Senate Concurrent Resolution 8402, which extends many of Gov. Jay Inslee’s emergency orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic:

“SCR 8402 extends 26 of the governor’s current proclamations indefinitely. Over the last 10 months, we have had to explain to constituents, damaged business owners and those negatively affected by the governor’s shutdowns that, even though there was no special session, once we got into regular session lawmakers would represent their best interest and attempt to resolve their issues through the regular legislative process. I’m so disappointed that with a single vote today, the Senate abdicated its authority and responsibility as an equal branch of government. The majority’s decision lets those constituents down and denies them the representative government they have waited so long to see.”

SCR 8402 passed along party lines, 28-19.

Mass release of convicted felons violates state constitution, Senate Republicans warn

Republicans ask Inslee to rethink plan – improper release of more than 1,100 inmates makes state liable for new crimes

To see a copy of this letter, click here.

Senate Republicans today formally asked Gov. Jay Inslee to rethink his plan to deal with the coronavirus crisis by releasing 1,167 prison inmates onto the streets. For one thing, they point out that it’s illegal.

Inslee is responding to a state Supreme Court order that the state take “all necessary steps” to protect prison inmates from the spread of COVID-19. The court didn’t tell Inslee how to do it, however, and the mass release of prisoners is the governor’s idea.

With a formal letter to the governor Friday, Senate Republicans are alerting the governor’s office that the plan violates the state constitution. They warn that the state could be on the hook for any new crimes committed by inmates who are improperly released. They also note that the state has other options that do not threaten public safety. The letter was signed by all 21 members of the Senate Republican Caucus.

“The governor’s office is trying to tell us this public health emergency requires us to throw open the doors of our state prisons,” said Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Spokane, a retired law enforcement officer and attorney. “Of course it doesn’t. In fact, the constitution forbids it.

“The governor’s office no doubt overlooked this constitutional problem when it decided a mass release of convicted felons was a good idea. That’s why we thought it would be helpful to remind the governor of this issue. The governor’s office needs to be aware that the plan violates state law, and that Washington taxpayers could face millions of dollars in liability for new crimes committed by felons who should have been behind bars.”

The letter notes that Inslee is planning to release prisoners without notifying crime victims or their families, meaning that they will have no opportunity to protest. This violates a provision of the Washington constitution passed by an overwhelming 78 percent vote of the people in 1989. Article I, Section 35 of the constitution, known as the “Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights,” requires that crime victims be notified of every proceeding relevant to their case, and that they be given the opportunity to speak when inmate releases are considered.

The letter asks Inslee to explain the legal authority under which he proposes to ignore the requirements of the Washington Constitution.

It also observes that the state has other options that do not require the release of prison inmates. These include the expansion of work-release programs, the use of portable facilities, and the transfer of prisoners to the Maple Lane facility in Thurston County. Maple Lane is particularly well-suited for isolation and quarantine, because it has the capacity, and because Corrections’ central pharmacy is located at the site.

Under ordinary circumstances, a third of inmates are arrested for new felonies within three years of their release from prison. The state already has learned the hard way that it is liable for new crimes committed by felons who are improperly released. In 2015, the inadvertent release of some 3,000 prisoners due to a programming error led to two deaths, numerous other violent crimes, and millions of dollars of lawsuits from crime victims and their families. The letter notes that the earlier releases were accidental. “In this case, the releases will be deliberate, and the state’s responsibility for any new crimes is all the more clear.”

Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, ranking member on the Senate Law and Justice Committee, said Republicans recognize Inslee’s office is under pressure to do something to address concerns about coronavirus in the state’s prison system. “We have many ways to deal with this problem that do not require us to turn inmates loose,” Padden said. “Unfortunately, many in Olympia are pursuing an agenda to relax our laws, shorten sentences and release inmates before their time is up. So these better options are being ignored.

“We appreciate the challenges the governor’s office has faced in dealing with the coronavirus crisis. But we shouldn’t use it as an excuse to turn more than a thousand criminals onto the streets, ignore the state constitution, and create an even more difficult situation for the more than 7 million Washington residents who respect our laws.”

 

Holy hopes Inslee will veto sex-education bill amid angry calls, emails

Three days after joining other Senate Republicans to oppose a bill requiring the teaching of sex education to children as soon as they enter Washington public schools, 6th District Sen. Jeff Holy is calling for Gov. Jay Inslee to veto the controversial legislation.

The Senate voted Saturday along caucus lines, 27-21, to agree to the bill as approved by the House of Representatives following a six-hour debate that ended at 2 a.m. Thursday. Senate Bill 5395 would require every public school to provide “comprehensive” sexual health education to each student by the 2022-23 school year, starting with students in grades 6-12 in the 2021-22 school year.

“In the past week or so, my office received over 500 emails and about 100 phone calls from people who were angry about the sex-education bill and didn’t want the Legislature to pass it,” said Holy, R-Cheney. “Despite strong opposition from every part of the state, our Democratic colleagues still passed a bill that goes much too far and removes local control of our schools.”

Speaking prior to his Saturday vote opposing SB 5395, Holy told his Senate colleagues the bill appeared to be a matter of indoctrination rather than education.

“It appears that the parents’ values are completely ignored, not just at the beginning but all the way through the process,” said Holy. “Over the years, we’ve heard about the distaste over the objectification of women as sex objects. And yet what we’re attempting to do through this type of education is to cause an objectification of sex itself, or a desensitization at a minimum.”

Holy said the bill essentially replaces parents’ values with state government’s values.

“For parents’ values to be ignored is just wrong. This is an overreach of the education system in Washington state and it subordinates and dismisses parental values.”

Holy pointed out that during its coverage of the House floor action on the bill last week, TVW put the following words across the screen: “MATURE SUBJECT MATTER – VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.”

“This type of warning is a clear sign of how inappropriate this bill is and why the Legislature should not have passed it,” Holy said.

The sex-education bill, which was requested by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, has not been scheduled for signing by Inslee.

“The governor’s office probably is being bombarded with calls and emails asking him to veto this bill. I hope he’ll listen to the people and prevent this bad bill from becoming law,” said Holy. “Otherwise, our school districts will be forced to teach sex education in ways that go much too far.”