AG Brown sues central WA county over immigration enforcement
The Washington Attorney General is suing Adams County for cooperating with federal immigration efforts.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Attorney General Nick Brown said the Adams County Sheriff’s Office violated the “Keep Washington Working Act,” which prohibits local law enforcement from helping federal officials with immigration enforcement.
"They don’t deny that they’re violating state law," Brown said.
Previously the county had worked with the attorney general’s office to comply with Washington’s law.
"But after Trump took office in January of this year, they asserted for the first time that coming into compliance with state law would violate federal law," Brown told SPR News.
According to court filings, the Sheriff’s office claimed in a letter to the Attorney General's office last month that following the Keep Washington Working Act would result in breaking federal immigration code. Brown disagrees.
"The Ninth Circuit and many other courts across the country have affirmed that state laws like the Keep Washington Working Act do not violate Section 1373," Brown said. "We feel confident that we'll prevail going forward."
The Washington State Republican Party issued statement, calling the suit a waste of taxpayer dollars and "a craven argument that ignores long-standing traditions of constitutional law — and fails to protect the people of Washington."
In his own statement, Sheriff Dale Wagner said the law prioritizes ideology over public safety and that the attorney general’s lawsuit is “disappointing.”
The Sheriff’s office has now retained attorneys from the conservative group America First Legal, which told SPR in a statement that the suit was “outrageous” and called the Brown’s actions “bullying.”
Anti-marijuana constitutional amendment clears Senate committee
A proposed constitutional amendment giving state lawmakers sole discretion over legalizing marijuana is heading to the state senate.
If approved, Idahoans could no longer legalize marijuana or any other drug through a ballot initiative – something long feared by Republican legislators, law enforcement and the state’s farm bureau organization.
Sen. Scott Grow (R-Eagle) said the state needs these restrictions to keep families safe from marijuana.
“The drugs that we’re dealing with today aren’t the Cheech and Chong stuff of my era back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. These are high potency drugs,” Grow said.
He’s sponsored similar failed constitutional amendments in recent years.
Alex Joye Grenier from Star was one of many people who supported the measure.
He said crime rates have exploded in the border town of Ontario, Oregon since it allowed retail sales of marijuana in 2018 compared to the nearby town of Payette.
“High crime in Idaho is only one bad ballot initiative and six miles away,” Joye Grenier said.
Joseph Evans, a former Libertarian congressional candidate in Idaho and supporter of a medical marijuana ballot initiative, was the only person who opposed the amendment.
Evans said medical marijuana has significant benefits for patients, like veterans with PTSD.
“What we’re offering here is a natural remedy and creating the opportunity for people to continue to seek help,” he said.
Evans said other illegal hallucinogens and stimulants, like psilocybin, MDMA and ayahuasca, could benefit patients if they were legalized.
The legislation easily cleared the committee. It needs support from two-thirds of state senators before it could appear on the 2026 ballot.
Traffic penalties could increase for repeated infractions in WA
Tougher penalties may be coming for repeat offenders of basic highway traffic safety laws in Washington.
The state Senate voted 48-1 Monday to allow doubling the penalties for drivers who commit offenses like speeding and following too closely more than once every two years.
"This is one small step towards trying to provide accountability for folks who are not following the rules, particularly if you violate the law twice or more within a two-year period," Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds), the bill's lead sponsor, said. "You will pay a higher penalty and hopefully that will help change behavior and help us reduce fatalities on our highways.”
Liias said the bill is supported by the Washington State Patrol. It also allows for double penalties for drivers caught using electronic devices while in reduced speed school or playground zones. The measure now moves to the state House.
Conscience bill for health care workers advances through ID legislature
Idaho senators say health care workers, including frontline clinic staff, should not have to violate their personal beliefs when treating patients.
A bill giving health care workers that right easily passed along party lines Monday.
Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Wintrow argued the measure will give doctors or pharmacists veto power over family planning decisions.
"We are opening the door now for somebody to get their prescription denied, an IUD not placed or taken out," Wintrow said.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Carl Bjerke countered that it gives patients a choice.
"It’s providing an opportunity for patients to decide who their doctors are — who are they going to trust, who are they going to believe," he said.
Lawmakers gave similar consciousness rights to mental health therapists last July.
House lawmakers already passed this year’s bill, but they need to agree to some technical amendments before it gets to Gov. Brad Little’s desk.
Juvenile detention population control bills move through WA Senate
The Washington Senate has approved three bills designed to reduce overcrowding and danger levels in the state’s juvenile detention facilities.
One, sponsored by Sen. Claire Wilson (D-Federal Way), aims to steer more young offenders into community-based rehabilitation options.
"By investing in upstream approaches to youth incarceration, we can increase public safety, we lower recidivism, we save tax dollars and we improve outcomes for youth who are facing our legal system," Wilson said.
Wilson’s bill passed 26-23 with four Democrats joining Republicans in voting against.
"How does this make my community safer to put these people back on the streets who have committed crimes, many times violent crimes, and back in the neighborhoods where they have committed the crimes for the community to somehow rehabilitate them," Sen. Leonard Christian (R-Spokane Valley) said. "Doesn’t make sense to me.”
Christian didn’t support that bill, but he co-sponsored one of the other bills.
It would give the agency that oversees juvenile detention more tools to manage the populations in its facilities.
That includes transferring young offenders who feel unsafe in overcrowded juvenile facilities to adult prisons.
Those bills now go to the state House for consideration.
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Reporting contributed by Owen Henderson, James Dawson and Doug Nadvornick.