Jay Robert Inslee is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012, and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He is the longest-serving current governor in the United States.
The U.S. state of Washington enforced capital punishment until the state's capital punishment statute was declared null and void and abolished in practice by a state Supreme Court ruling on October 11, 2018. The court ruled that it was unconstitutional as applied due to racial bias however it did not render the wider institution of capital punishment unconstitutional and rather required the statute to be amended to eliminate racial biases. From 1904 to 2010, 78 people were executed by the state; the last was Cal Coburn Brown on September 10, 2010. In April 2023, Governor Jay Inslee signed SB5087 which formally abolished capital punishment in Washington State and removed provisions for capital punishment from state law.
Timothy Donald Eyman is an American anti-tax activist and businessman.
Frank Vana Chopp is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 43rd district since 1995. His district covers the neighborhoods of Montlake, Fremont, Wallingford, the University District, Madison Park, and part of Capitol Hill, all of which are in Seattle. Chopp served as Speaker of the House from 2002 to 2019.
The 2009 Washington Referendum 71 (R-71) legalized domestic partnership in Washington state, the first statewide referendum in the United States that extended to LGBT people the rights and responsibility of domestic partnership. The bill had passed State Legislature, and it was signed into law by the Governor in May 2009, but opponents gathered enough signatures to put the measure before the voters, who returned ballots by mail over three weeks ending on November 3, 2009, approving the measure 53% to 47%. The new law went into effect 30 days later, on December 3, 2009.
The state of Washington is seen as one of the most progressive states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights; with jurisprudence having evolved significantly since the late 20th century. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1976. LGBTQ people are fully protected from discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations; the state enacting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in 2006. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2012, and same-sex couples are allowed to adopt. Conversion therapy on minors has also been illegal since 2018.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Virginia enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. LGBT rights in the state are a relatively recent occurrence; with most improvements in LGBT rights occurring in the 2000s and 2010s. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Virginia since October 6, 2014, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal in the case of Bostic v. Rainey. Effective July 1, 2020, there is a state-wide law protecting LGBT persons from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit. The state's hate crime laws also now explicitly include both sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Washington State Redistricting Commission is a decennial body charged with redrawing congressional and legislative districts in the state of Washington after each census. On November 8, 1983, Washington state passed the 74th amendment to its constitution via Senate Joint Resolution 103 to permanently establish the Redistricting Commission. Earlier that year the first commission redrew the state's congressional map after the previous one drawn by the legislature was ruled unconstitutional. Since after the 1990 census, a committee of four appointees of the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate appoint a fifth member as non-voting chair, and meet to redistributes representative seats according to census results.
Drew Derrick Hansen is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as a member of the Washington Senate from the 23rd district since 2023. He previously represented the same district in the Washington House of Representatives.
Washington's 15th legislative district is one of forty-nine districts in Washington state for representation in the state legislature. It includes portions of Adams, Benton, Franklin, Grant, and Yakima counties.
Brady Piñero Walkinshaw is an American businessman and politician who served in the Washington State House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017. Walkinshaw represented the 43rd legislative district, which encompasses much of central Seattle. Since 2017, he has served as CEO of Grist, a Seattle-based online magazine focusing on environmental news.
Andrew Ryan Stokesbary is an American lawyer and politician. He serves in the Washington House of Representatives, where he is currently the ranking Republican member on the House Appropriations Committee. During his second term, he was elected Minority Floor Leader. He also sits on the House Finance Committee.
The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. It followed a top-two primary held on August 4. Incumbent governor Jay Inslee, the Democratic candidate, defeated Loren Culp, the Republican candidate by a wide margin. Inslee, who was eligible to run for a third term due to the lack of gubernatorial term limits, initially launched a campaign for president of the United States in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to extremely low polling numbers, he announced he would seek a third term as governor. Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run, including Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race. Republican Loren Culp, the police chief of Republic, Washington, placed second in the top-two primary and advanced to the general election alongside Inslee.
The Public Records Act (PRA) is a law of the U.S. state of Washington requiring public access to all records and materials from state and local agencies. It was originally passed as a ballot initiative by voters in 1972 and revised several times by the state legislature. The definition of public records, especially concerning the state legislature, was subject to several legal challenges in the decades since the law was passed.
Maia D. Bellon is an American attorney and former government official from the State of Washington. She served as Director of the Washington Department of Ecology from 2013 to 2020. A member of the Mescalero Apache, Bellon was the first Native American to serve as a member of the Washington cabinet.
The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2022 was a bill in the United States Congress intended to prohibit discrimination based on an individual's hair texture or hairstyle by classifying such discrimination illegal under federal law. It applied to federally assisted programs, housing programs, public accommodations, and employment. The act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) on March 19, 2021. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced a companion bill in the Senate on March 22, 2021. The CROWN Act of 2022 marked the second time the legislation was introduced in Congress.
In the U.S. state of Washington, a capital gains tax of 7% is levied on profits from the sale or exchange of personal long-term capital assets such as stocks, bonds, business interests, or other investments and tangible assets over $262,000. Several types of assets are exempt from the tax including real estate, assets held in retirement accounts, livestock, timberlands, commercial fishing privileges, and goodwill from the sale of an auto dealership. The tax differs from capital gains taxes at the federal level and many states which tax broadly tax both tangible assets such as property as well as intangible assets such as stocks and bonds.
Initiative No. 2109 (I-2109) is a ballot initiative in the U.S. State of Washington that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. The initiative was brought to the state legislature by Let's Go Washington, a Redmond-based political action committee founded by businessman and hedge-fund manager Brian Heywood. The initiative would repeal SB 5096, which created a 7% capital gains tax on the sale of long-term capital assets worth more than $262,000 in Washington state since 2021. Real estate sales are already exempt from the tax.
In the United States, a State Voting Rights Act (SVRA) is a state-level provision (either state constitutional amendment or state statute) that addresses racial discrimination in voting and provides protections beyond those offered by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. SVRAs seek to mitigate the impact of court decisions that have weakened the federal VRA, such as the 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder. By implementing preclearance measures and combating racial vote dilution, SVRAs create stronger protections for minority voters at the state level.
