Torres bill on missing and murdered Indigenous people passes Senate
March 03, 2023
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... Read More...
Senate unanimously approves Torres bill improving irrigation-district elections
February 28, 2023
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... Read More...
Deadlines and debate
February 20, 2023
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... Read More...
Torres legislation continues to advance as session deadlines approach
February 15, 2023
Several bills from first-year lawmaker moving forward, with solid bipartisan support from key committees State Sen. Nikki Torres has taken on quite an uphill battle in tackling several key problems facing Washingtonians through a large and varied collection of bills she has introduced this session. First off, she is in... Read More...
Senate panel hears Republican bill to accelerate broadband in rural areas
February 09, 2023
On Wednesday, the state Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee held a public hearing on a proposal from Sen. Nikki Torres that would invest $200 million to expand broadband capacity in underserved rural areas of Washington and allow the private sector to help. “During the pandemic, it was an eye-opener... Read More...
Torres introduces duo of DACA-related bills to help ‘Dreamers’
February 02, 2023
First-term Latina legislator continues legacy of Washington Republicans fighting for Dreamers Nearly a decade after the Republican-led Senate Majority Coalition Caucus unveiled its REAL Hope Act to support education opportunities for Washington’s “Dreamers” – people who were brought into the United States illegally as minors – state Sen. Nikki Torres... Read More...
Senate panel advances Torres bill combating organized retail theft
January 26, 2023
The state Senate Law and Justice Committee today voted to advance Sen. Nikki Torres’ legislation to further define the crime of organized retail to theft, a step the central Washington lawmaker says is crucial to protecting retailers, consumers and black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities, which are disproportionally... Read More...