Washington Legislature fails to pass <em>Blake</em> fix before end of session

On the final day of the legislative session, the House voted against the conference committee report on SB 5536, the Blake fix, 43-55. AWC expects the legislature will continue to discuss this issue and attempt to reach a resolution prior to the expiration of current law on July 1. If they are able to reach consensus on a Blake fix that can pass both chambers, the Governor has indicated he will call a special session prior to July 1. City officials are invited to join AWC staff this Thursday, April 27 at 8:30am for an update on what happened and what might happen next. Register now.

How did we get here?

The Senate passed a version of the bill at the beginning of March that made possession of counterfeit and controlled substances a gross misdemeanor with a set process for diverting or vacating those sentences for individuals who completed substance use treatment (read more about the Senate version of the bill).

The Senate then sent the bill, which AWC supported, to the House of Representatives. The House, over the past month and a half, have made significant changes to the bill including making possession a simple misdemeanor, added possession and use in a public place to the list of criminal charges, and changed the process by which an individual is diverted into treatment or a sentence can be vacated (read more about the House changes). The bill then went back to the Senate for concurrence and the Senate members refused to accept the changes made by the House, sending the bill into a conference committee.

The conference committee version was largely similar to the House-enacted version, though it made knowing possession, and knowing possession and use, of a controlled substance or counterfeit substance a gross misdemeanor. While AWC had concerns about the conference committee report, we did not oppose the bill. However, the conference committee report ultimately did not have enough support within the legislature to be enacted.

Overall, the version of the bill that the conference committee developed was consistent with AWC’s policy position of a clear criminal penalty for drug possession with a focus on diverting people into treatment in lieu of criminal penalties. Where our concerns arise was in the technical construct of the bill and ability to implement the bill in a functional way. We had heard concerns from city attorneys as well as county prosecutors that the way the bill was drafted could make it too difficult to successfully implement, effectively making it impossible to bring a criminal case and use the diversion process to get people to accept treatment. Unfortunately, negotiators refused to address these technical issues over the final week of session.

In the end, the bill faced opposition from some Democrats who didn’t support criminalization of drug possession (or at least not making it a gross misdemeanor) and from Republicans who felt the bill was unworkable. The result was a bill that couldn’t pass the House and not enough time left Sunday night to come back and try again.

Join AWC staff on Thursday, April 27 at 8:30am for an update. Register now!