<em>Blake</em> fix passes Senate, needs your support to advance in the House

After a lengthy floor debate, the Senate successfully passed a bill to permanently address criminality of drug possession in Washington state in the wake of the Washington Supreme Court’s 2021 State v. Blake decision. The path in the House is not clear, and AWC urges cities to reach out to your legislators to express your support for SB 5536.

As the bill stands now, SB 5536 makes knowing possession of drugs a gross misdemeanor with many offramps for treatment and services along the way. It also includes mandatory jail time for individuals who, on multiple occasions, refuse substance use disorder treatment or fail to substantially comply with recommended treatment.

SB 5536 establishes numerous opportunities to divert people with substance use disorders to assessment, treatment, and services at many different stops along the criminal justice pathway, beginning with the initial law enforcement encounter. Both republicans and democrats agreed on the focus of encouraging individuals with substance use disorders to engage in treatment. But the bill was not without significant controversy – some senators said that the bill goes too far while others stated that it doesn’t go far enough. This bill received nearly equal numbers of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ votes from both Republicans and Democrats and is truly a bipartisan piece of legislation.

It’s been a long journey for this Blake bill so far this session, having seen significant amendments to make it the bill it is today.

Several amendments were proposed last week and some changes include:

• Advising defendants that if they are diagnosed with a substance use disorder, they become ineligible to possess a firearm.
• Requiring the Washington State Patrol crime lab to analyze evidence of suspected drugs within 45 days, beginning January 1, 2025.
• Requiring individuals to “substantially comply” rather than “meaningfully engage” with recommended treatment or services in order to successfully complete pretrial diversion.
• Additional technical fixes and timeline clarifications.

The debate regarding the permanent solution for the Blake case now rests with the House. The discussion over the best approach to drug possession will continue as the path in the House is not clear. It is important for cities to continue to express support for this bill with your House Representatives if we are going to see the bill pass. SB 5536 must move out of the House policy committee no later than March 29, 2023.