Two nights after the State Legislature adjourned, a few major bills are dominating post-session discussion. One of them is SB 5536, which was touted as a compromise for a new state law regarding drug possession. Legislators needed to pass one in order to avoid outright decriminalization as of July 1st, expiration date for a stopgap law enacted after the state Supreme Court threw out the previous state law. But in the waning hours of the legislative session, the “compromise” went down to defeat, with State House members voting 43 yes, 55 no. Though some Republicans had voted for earlier versions of the bill, none voted for the final version, and some Democrats voted against it too. We checked today to see how our area’s two State House Representatives voted – and discovered that the two, both Democrats from West Seattle, were split. Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, who is the House Majority Leader, voted yes. First-term Rep. Emily Alvarado voted no. We asked her why, via email. Her response:
I voted against SB 5536 because I don’t believe we need to criminalize drug possession to connect people to services. We need proven public health responses to substance use disorder.
The proposal that came to the House floor on Sunday escalated criminal penalties for drug possession and public use to a gross misdemeanor, meaning people could be sentenced to up to 364 days in jail. It gave prosecutors discretion in whether to refer a person to diversion and treatment. It made important investments in behavioral health care, which I support, but those investments were not sufficient.
I agree that a state framework is better than a patchwork of local laws, but SB 5536 was not the right framework. It enshrined harsh criminal penalties for drug possession and failed to make evidence-based treatment and services readily available for people who need it.
(Our area’s State Senator Joe Nguyen voted against the version of the bill that cleared the Senate 28-21 in early March.) So what happens now? Governor Inslee inferred he might call a special session, declaring that the House vote “was unacceptable,” adding, “Decriminalization is not an option for me and it is not an option for the state of Washington. I expect legislators to deliver a solution.” Otherwise, it’ll be up to local governments to make their own rules – or not.
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