Liberty and Justice for All
As a first-generation American Latina, Independence Day has always been special to me. Both of my parents were born in Mexico, before meeting as migrants in California. After my brother was born, they decided to move to Washington because they heard there were more jobs here. Thanks to that decision,...
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Torres-sponsored bills signed into law by the governor
Today Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres that is aimed at making Washington safer and supporting access to criminal justice. The new law joins three additional Torres-sponsored measures signed by Inslee since the 2024 session ended earlier this month. “I am pleased to see these...
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Torres’ criminal-justice bills unanimously approved by state Senate
Today the Senate approved two measures sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres that are aimed at making Washington safer and supporting access to criminal justice. Senate Bill 5160 would further define the crime of organized retail theft, a step the central Washington lawmaker says is crucial to protecting retailers and consumers,...
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Torres bill to expand farm-internship program signed into law
Thanks to a measure sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres, more young people will soon be on their way to becoming the next generation of Washington farmers. Senate Bill 5156, which was signed by the governor on Thursday in a ceremony at the Capitol, expands the state’s successful farm-internship program statewide...
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Torres crop-protection bill signed by governor
Today Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill sponsored by first-year Sen. Nikki Torres to help with the administration of rules related to crop-protection products. The measure, which passed both the House and Senate with unanimous support, is Torres’ first bill to make it through the legislative process to the governor’s...
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Torres ‘stunned’ by House failure to advance bill regarding missing and murdered Indigenous people bill
Today state Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, released the following comments in response to reports that House Democrats are preparing to kill her bill to implement recommendations from the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) task force. Torres’ bill is part of the Legislature’s efforts to identify the...
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Torres bill on missing and murdered Indigenous people passes Senate
Today the state Senate passed Sen. Nikki Torres’ measure implementing the recommendations of the Washington state Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People task force. The bill is part of the Legislature’s efforts to identify the root causes of the shockingly large number of Native Americans who have turned up...
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Senate unanimously approves Torres bill improving irrigation-district elections
Today the Senate voted 47-0 to approved state Sen. Nikki Torres’s bill to modernize irrigation-district elections by permitting the use of mail-in ballots in place of exclusively polling places and absentee ballots. Senate Bill 5709 deals with the election of directors for irrigation districts, which construct, operate and maintain the...
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Deadlines and debate
On Friday, the 2023 legislative session hit the first of several deadlines intended to keep the Legislature on track and whittle down the total number of bills to only those measures with broad enough support among members. The first of these deadlines is known as “policy cutoff.” It’s the last...
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