Rep. Jim Walsh reports from Olympia about three key initiatives approved during the 2024 session

Summary

State Representative Jim Walsh discusses the successful passage of three initiatives in Washington State. These include restoring reasonable police pursuits, establishing a Washington Parents Bill of Rights, and solidifying the state's no income tax policy. These legislative wins are seen as significant improvements for law and order, parental rights, and clear tax policy.

Takeaways

• 🌸 The cherry trees around the capital in Olympia are blossoming, making it a beautiful time of year.
• 🏛️ The legislative session has recently ended, and the governor has been signing bills and making vetos.
• 🚔 The passage of three initiatives into law is highlighted as a significant achievement of the legislative session.
• 🔍 The first initiative restores reasonable police pursuits, reestablishing reasonable suspicion as the legal standard for police chases.
• 🏫 The second initiative, known as the Washington Parents Bill of Rights, ensures that parents or guardians are informed about their minor child's activities, particularly in the K-12 school environment.
• 🏥 This initiative also covers health care and mental health services provided to minors, emphasizing the importance of transparency and parental involvement.
• 💼 The third initiative is a tax policy change, prohibiting the state from levying a tax based on personal income.
• 💡 This tax initiative clarifies that Washington State will not have a state income tax, aligning with the state's tradition and providing clarity on tax policy.
• 🤝 All three initiatives received strong bipartisan support in both chambers of the legislature, indicating a consensus on these issues.
• 🏆 These legislative wins are celebrated as improvements in law and order, parental rights, children's rights, and tax policy, reflecting the best traditions of Washington State.
• 🌳 The speaker expresses a sense of pride and satisfaction in being part of the legislative process and fighting for the people of Washington State.

Q & A

What is the current state of the legislative session in Washington State?

The legislative session in Washington State has just ended about a month ago, and the governor was still signing bills and doing vetos recently.

What were the three initiatives that passed into law during the legislative session?

The three initiatives that passed into law are: 1) Restoration of reasonable police pursuits, 2) Creation of the Washington Parents Bill of Rights, and 3) No state tax based on personal income.

What does the initiative to restore reasonable police pursuits entail?

The initiative reestablishes reasonable suspicion as the legal standard for law enforcement officers to chase criminal suspects, reversing a higher legal standard that was implemented after the George Floyd riots.

How does the Washington Parents Bill of Rights affect parents or guardians?

The Washington Parents Bill of Rights requires notifying parents, grandparents, or custodial guardians about what is happening in a minor child's life, particularly in the context of K12 school environment, healthcare services, or mental health services.

What is the significance of the initiative regarding Washington state's tax policy?

The initiative clarifies that there will be no state tax based on personal income in Washington, aligning with the state's tradition of not having a state income tax.

Why was the reasonable suspicion standard changed after the George Floyd riots?

The standard was changed to a higher legal standard, which made it more difficult for police to pursue criminals, leading to a decrease in police pursuits.

How does the Washington Parents Bill of Rights impact the provision of healthcare and mental health services to minors?

While the bill does not change the law on how minors can receive these services, it mandates that parents or custodial guardians must be informed about these services, ensuring transparency.

What is the historical context of Washington state's stance on state income tax?

Although it has been a tradition in Washington state not to have a state income tax, this initiative codifies it into law, making it clear that there will be no tax based on personal income.

What was the impact of the higher legal standard on police pursuits after the George Floyd riots?

The higher legal standard made it more challenging for police to pursue criminals, leading to a situation where most police and deputies did not pursue criminals.

How does the passage of these three initiatives reflect the legislative priorities of Washington state?

The passage of these initiatives shows a focus on law and order, parental rights, children's rights, and clear tax policy, aligning with the best traditions of Washington state.

Outlines

00:00

🌸 Capital's Cherry Blossom Season

State Representative Jim Walsh greets viewers from the capital in Olympia, where the cherry trees are in full bloom, creating a picturesque setting. He reflects on the recently concluded legislative session and the ongoing process of the governor signing bills and issuing vetoes.

🏢 Legislative Session Outcomes

Walsh discusses the aftermath of the legislative session, highlighting the successful passage of three initiatives. These initiatives received hearings, were voted on, and were enacted into law, marking significant legislative achievements.

🚓 Restoring Reasonable Police Pursuits

One of the key initiatives passed into law restores reasonable suspicion as the standard for police pursuits in Washington state. This change reverses a previous increase in the legal standard post-George Floyd riots, allowing law enforcement to pursue criminal suspects more effectively, enhancing public safety.

📜 Washington Parents Bill of Rights

The second initiative creates the Washington Parents Bill of Rights, which ensures that parents or guardians are informed about their minor child's activities, particularly in educational and healthcare contexts. This law does not alter the ability of minors to receive services but mandates transparency with parents.

💼 No State Income Tax Initiative

The third initiative solidifies Washington state's stance on not imposing a state tax based on personal income. Although it has been a tradition in the state, this initiative formally establishes it in law, providing clarity and consistency with Washington's tax policy.

🏆 Victories for Law, Order, and Families

Walsh concludes by emphasizing the significance of the passed initiatives as wins for law and order, parental and children's rights, and clear tax policy. He celebrates these achievements as being in line with Washington state's best traditions and expresses his commitment to fighting for the people.

Keywords

💡Legislative Session

A legislative session refers to a period during which a legislative body convenes to discuss, debate, and pass laws. In the video, the legislative session is a central theme as it has just ended, and the speaker is reflecting on the outcomes and the 'dust settling' from the actions taken during this period.

💡Governor

The governor is the chief executive of a state or territory, often with the power to sign bills into law or veto them. In the context of the video, the governor's actions post-legislative session are highlighted, emphasizing the ongoing process of bill signing and vetoing as part of the legislative aftermath.

💡Initiative

An initiative in the context of the video refers to a proposed law or policy change that is put before the legislature or people for consideration. The speaker mentions three initiatives that were passed into law, indicating significant legislative achievements.

💡Reasonable Suspicion

Reasonable suspicion is a legal standard used by law enforcement to justify an action such as a search or pursuit. The video discusses the reestablishment of this standard in Washington State, which allows police to pursue criminal suspects based on this lower threshold, as opposed to a higher legal standard that was previously in place.

💡Police Pursuits

Police pursuits refer to the act of law enforcement officers chasing suspects, typically by vehicle. The video highlights the restoration of reasonable suspicion as a legal standard, which directly impacts how and when police pursuits can occur, emphasizing the importance of this change for public safety.

💡Washington Parents Bill of Rights

This is a new law mentioned in the video that focuses on the rights of parents or guardians to be informed about what happens in their minor child's life, particularly in educational and healthcare contexts. It does not change the law regarding minors' access to services but mandates that parents must be notified, ensuring transparency and involvement.

💡Custodial Guardians

Custodial guardians are individuals who have been granted legal custody of a child, often in cases where the biological parents are unable to care for the child. In the video, the Washington Parents Bill of Rights ensures that custodial guardians are kept informed about the child's educational and healthcare services.

💡Tax Policy

Tax policy refers to the government's decisions and regulations concerning taxation. The video discusses an initiative that has become law, which explicitly states there will be no state tax based on personal income in Washington State, clarifying the state's stance on income taxation.

💡Bipartisan Support

Bipartisan support indicates that a decision or piece of legislation is supported by members of both major political parties. The video mentions that the three initiatives passed with large bipartisan support, suggesting broad agreement and cooperation among legislators.

💡Public Safety

Public safety encompasses the protection of the public from harm, often through law enforcement and other protective measures. The video discusses the restoration of reasonable suspicion as a legal standard, which is portrayed as a significant win for public safety by enabling law enforcement to more effectively pursue criminals.

💡State Capital

The state capital is the location where the government of a state conducts its business. In the video, the speaker is at the state capital in Olympia, Washington, discussing the legislative achievements and the environment of the capital, which is currently experiencing the blooming of cherry trees.

Highlights

State Representative Jim Walsh discusses the legislative session in Olympia.

Cherry blossoms around the capital campus mark a beautiful time of year.

Legislative session ended a month ago, with ongoing effects and bill signings by the governor.

Three initiatives passed into law during the legislative session.

Initiative to restore reasonable police pursuits passed, reestablishing reasonable suspicion as the legal standard.

The change in pursuit standards was a response to the George Floyd riots, which raised the legal bar for police pursuits.

Restoration of traditional pursuit standards is seen as a win for public safety and crime fighting.

Washington Parents Bill of Rights initiative passed, focusing on informing parents about their minor child's life.

The bill does not change the law but mandates informing parents about services received by minors.

Third initiative passed relates to Washington state's tax policy, prohibiting a state tax based on personal income.

The no income tax initiative clarifies that Washington state will not impose personal income tax.

These initiatives were supported by large bipartisan majorities in both legislative chambers.

The initiatives do not require a public vote and are seen as significant improvements to state law.

The initiatives address law and order, family and parental rights, and clear tax policy.

Walsh emphasizes the importance of these wins in line with Washington state's best traditions.

Walsh concludes by expressing the pleasure of being in Washington and fighting for the people.

Transcripts

[Music]

hi state representative Jim Walsh here

at the capital in Olympia as you can see

over my shoulder the cherry trees around

the campus are just blossoming and

blooming and the little blossoms are

dropping off it really is a beautiful

time of year to be here at the capital

now of course our legislative session

just ended about a month ago and we're

still kind of watching the Dust settle

from the actions that took place during

that session the governor until just

recently was still signing bills and

doing little vetos on bills that were

all kind of the after effects of our

legislative session the real high point

of this legislative session and it's

more true than ever now that we see kind

of the aftermath of all the work we did

was the passage of the three initiatives

to the legislature which got hearings

and votes on the leg ative floor and

passed into law and those three

initiatives are the initiative to

restore reasonable police Pursuits in

this state that's the initiative that

passed into law that

reestablishes Reasonable Suspicion as

the legal standard by which a law

enforcement officer can chase a criminal

suspect that's the way the state law had

been for decades it was changed slightly

after the George Floyd riots for for the

worse it became a much higher legal

standard and so most police and D

deputies just didn't pursue criminals

now we fixed it it's back to that

traditional standard and the police in

this state law enforcement officers can

chase criminals and criminal suspects

that's a huge win for public safety for

fighting crime and for everyone living

in Washington state one of the other

initiatives that passed into law was the

initiative that creates the so-call

Washington parents Bill of Rights this

new law taking effect right now really

is about information it's about

notifying parents or grandparents or

custodial guardians of a minor child

what's going on in that child's life

most of the contexts have to do with K12

school environment but some have to do

with health care services or mental

health services being provided to the

minor child the parents Bill of Rights

doesn't change the law on how minors can

receive these kinds of services but it

does say that parents or custodial

Guardians must be informed nobody can

hide information about what's happening

to a minor child from the custodial

parents and then the third initiative

that was passed into law has to do with

this state's tax policy this initiative

says that in Washington state there will

be no state tax based on personal income

it's it's the no income tax initiative

that passed into law now some people

think well isn't that already law in

Washington no actually it's not while it

is the tradition of the state that we

don't have uh state income tax here it's

never been in blackl law and so this

initiative does State clearly that in

Washington there will be no tax based on

personal income these three initiatives

which both houses of the legislature

both Chambers passed with very very

large bipartisan support will become law

now they do not go to the people for a

vote and they are three significant

improvements on issues and and lack of

clarity in our state law so these were

great wins for Law and Order for

families and parents' rights and kids

rights and for coherent and clear tax

policy in line with the best traditions

of Washington state and they're part of

the reason that on a beautiful day like

today it's great to be in Washington and

it's great to be fighting for you here

at the state capital that's it for this

week I'll talk to you again soon but for

now stay strong and be

[Music]

well