Biden to sign anti-hazing law inspired by WSU student’s death
President Biden is expected to sign a bill aimed at ending hazing on college campuses.
The Stop Campus Hazing Act creates a national definition of hazing, requires all colleges and universities to publish information about hazing policies and violations, and mandates hazing incidents be disclosed in yearly reports.
Joleyne Houtz and her husband pushed for the bill after their son Sam Martinez died of alcohol poisoning. He was hazed at Washington State University in 2019.
"What I’ve learned is that hazing thrives in darkness, and has for generations,” Houtz told KUOW public radio. “The Stop Campus Hazing Act brings hazing out of the shadows and into the light."
Sam’s family also successfully advocated for an anti-hazing law here in Washington state. They are now partnering with the UW Information School to compile a nationwide database of on-campus hazing incidents.
Inslee budget proposal reduces spending, calls for tax on wealthiest Washingtonians
Washington’s outgoing governor is proposing a budget that both trims spending and raises taxes.
During a press conference in Olympia Tuesday, Jay Inslee said his administration has already begun enacting budget cuts to reduce spending by two billion dollars during the next four years.
Inslee also called for a one-percent tax on earnings for the state’s wealthiest people.
He said his proposal will help the state balance a budget that could be as much as $16 billion short on revenue in four years. The governor said it will maintain and even increase spending for programs that benefit the people who most need help.
“Do I propose a budget that will reduce their ability to get that kind of service? That’s what happened the last time when there was a recession," Inslee said. "Or do I ask and suggest that people with literally billions of dollars in their bank account to chip in a little bit more?”
June Robinson, who chairs the Senate budget writing committee, says the plan is a good starting point for negotiations. But Republicans say it’s irresponsible. They said they hope incoming Gov. Bob Ferguson will be a more reasonable negotiating partner.
Hearing in Colville crisis stabilization center suit set for January
Andy Hydorn, owner of Benny’s Colville Inn, sued Northeast Washington Alliance Counseling Services, also known as NEW Alliance, after the alliance received a $2 million grant from the State Department of Commerce to relocate its crisis stabilization facility just a few feet away from its current location.
The lawsuit was filed July 29 after a Colville Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting earlier that month. In the complaint, Hydorn claims moving the stabilization facility will invite crime.
In the July meeting, NEW Alliance’s executive director, David Nielsen, said the facility has been around since 2001. He said the center served more than 1,300 people and the alliance wants to keep helping those in crisis. That’s why the group applied for the grant in the first place, according to court documents.
The next motion hearing will be January 28. Hydorn told SPR News he can't discuss the lawsuit, other than it is still an ongoing case. Nielsen did not respond to requests for comment.
Washington and Idaho electors cast presidential ballots
The presidential electors for Washington and Idaho officially cast their votes on Tuesday.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs announced that “for the office of president of the United States, Kamala D. Harris, 12 votes. For the office of vice president of the United States, Tim Walz, 12 votes."
One of the 12 was Larry Ludwig, who represented the Fifth Congressional District.
“I ran for the position of elector to publicly help assure that our election process takes place according to the United States Constitution and that the rule of law shall prevail and, above all, to help preserve and advance our nation’s democracy," he said.
One elector noted that three of the state's 12 electors — and two of its alternate electors — are of Native American heritage, a first for the state.
In Boise, four Republicans, including Brent Regan from Coeur d’Alene, marked their ballots for Donald Trump.
Hobbs announced that his office will transmit six copies of each certificate signed by Washington’s electors. One copy goes to the president of the U.S. Senate. Two copies go to the U.S. archivist. The fourth copy goes to the presiding judge of the federal judicial district based in Seattle. Hobbs says the last two copies will be held in his office, as required by law.
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Reporting was contributed by Kim Malcolm, Doug Nadvornick and Monica Carrillo-Casas.