Today's headlines:
- A Washington Senate committee is scheduled to vote this week on whether police officers are allowed to wear masks when interacting with the public.
- The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability call for stricter regulations on license plate readers.
- Ferguson says he plans to sell bonds to fund infrastructure and tax millionaires to ease burdens on small businesses and public education.
- Spokane grapples with whether requirements attached to a Department of Justice grant would override the Keep Washington Working Act.
- More than 1,200 students at high schools across Spokane walked out of class to call for "humane" immigration enforcement.
- New JFAC co-chair calls Little's budget unbalanced as revenues rise
- Thomas Webster is appointed to Superior Court for Stevens, Pend Oreille and Ferry Counties.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Amy Radil, Eliza Billingham, Owen Henderson and James Dawson.
The show is hosted and produced by Owen Henderson.
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TRANSCRIPT:
[THEME MUSIC]
OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s January 14, 2026.
On today’s show, Washington state may face a new controversy over face masks. This time, policymakers aren’t asking residents to cover up—they’re asking law enforcement to take face coverings off when dealing with the public.
Plus, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson gave his first State of the State address yesterday. We’ll look at his policy priorities for the coming year.
And city leaders in Spokane are considering whether to accept a grant from the US Department of Justice. On the one hand, many would like the money to hire more police officers. On the other, they’re not sure exactly what strings are attached—and if those conditions violate state law.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
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A Washington Senate committee is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a bill that would prohibit police officers from wearing face masks while interacting with the public.
Paula Sardinas from the Washington Build Back Black Alliance testified in support of the bill before the Senate Law and Justice Committee yesterday.
PAULA SARDINAS: “We have the right to know who is exercising their authority over us. Our communities are deeply familiar with the systemic and structural harm that masked authority can cause. The use of opaque face coverings during routine police interactions invokes fear, it invokes trauma.”
OH: Current state law requires officers from state and local agencies to wear visible I-Ds.
Police organizations, including the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, represented by James McMahan, spoke against the bill.
JAMES McMAHAN: “We have signed in opposed to Senate Bill 5855, not because we want our officers to be some sort of secret police, but because this bill doesn’t just require the officers be identifiable. It prohibits any device that covers or conceals the person’s face.”
There are a few exceptions in the bill, including in times of poor air quality or extreme cold.
Spokane State Senator Jeff Holy urged the committee to hold off on advancing the bill.
He wants to wait until a California court rules on the federal government’s challenge to a similar law in that state.
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Washington lawmakers are also set to consider new restrictions on police use of “automated license plate readers.”
Fred Thomas is a member of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, which supports the restrictions.
He says law enforcement’s use of these cameras to track vehicles could suppress lawful activities—like going to protests or other sensitive locations.
FRED THOMAS: “This technology needs to be clearly regulated, with common sense data protections, limits on how long data can be retained and penalties for those who violate these regulations.”
OH: Dozens of Washington cities have contracts with Flock and other providers for cameras that record a vehicle’s license plate information.
A court ruling has found that the images are subject to public disclosure – raising concerns around stalking.
Some cities stopped using the cameras over privacy concerns.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs declined to comment on this story.
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Washington Governor Bob Ferguson talked transportation and taxes during his first State of the State address yesterday in Olympia.
He laid out his plans to sell more than two billion dollars in bonds to pave roads, fix bridges most in need of repair and replace old ferries.
BOB FERGUSON: “We rank first in the country for potholes, and that's not the kind of first we want. This matters to Washingtonians. The average cost for pothole related repairs on a car is 400 bucks. My budget invests 164 million dollars to pave hundreds of miles this summer.”
OH: He also gave support to what he calls a “millionaire’s tax”—an income tax on people who make more than a million dollars a year.
BF: “We must also use a significant portion of the revenue to lower taxes on small business companies back in their pockets. Second, we must also use a significant portion of the revenue to lower taxes on small business owners. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.”
OH: Plus, he wants to direct some of the revenue to public schools.
Ferguson also proposes spending almost 250 million to increase the supply of housing around the state.
Republican leaders say Ferguson’s proposals are business as usual from the Democrats—more taxes and more spending.
Washington’s legislative session is scheduled to last 60 days.
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Spokane City leaders are trying to understand the strings attached if they accept a grant from the Department of Justice.
SPR’s Eliza Billingham reports.
ELIZA BILLINGHAM: Spokane’s Community Oriented Policing Services wants to accept a DOJ grant to hire eight more police officers.
The grant comes with 39 conditions, some of which raise flags with citizens and city council members.
City officials are asking if one of the conditions prohibits the Spokane Police Department from following the Keep Washington Working Act.
That’s the state law that forbids local officers from asking about immigration status.
Council member Kitty Klitzke says that these conundrums are becoming more common for city and state governments.
KITTY KLITZKE: “There's a lot of grants out there from housing funding to transportation funding where these qualifications are being put in and so all of us as smaller governments, local governments—we are having to figure out how we can still stand up for our values and protect our democracy and not cut our own citizens off from federal funding. These are your tax dollars.”
EB: Other conditions raise other concerns. One says the grant recipient will be closely monitored by the DOJ to ensure compliance during the five year grant life and three years after.
Another says the grant recipient may be required to modify its community policing plan to include priorities it didn’t initially identify, including homeland and border security.
City Council deferred deciding whether to accept the grant. It will hold a special meeting on Thursday to get more of its questions answered.
I’m Eliza Billingham, reporting.
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[Students chanting: "We want justice! We want rights! We want ICE out of sight!"]
OH: High school students across Spokane walked out of class yesterday to protest actions by federal immigration agents.
As the Trump administration’s deportation efforts continue, leaders of Spokane Students for Human Decency say they want more humane immigration enforcement.
The Deportation Data Project shows that from January to mid-October of 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested about 2,000 people in Washington.
Fewer than a third of those arrested this fall had criminal convictions.
Organizers estimate more than 1,200 students participated in yesterday’s walkout.
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Idaho tax collections are on the upswing after a bountiful return last month.
But as James Dawson reports, at least one key lawmaker wants to forge ahead with more budget cuts.
JAMES DAWSON: Corporate income tax collections in December completely rebounded after state officials projected budget deficits due to poor returns.
Idaho has now collected about $100 million more in taxes than expected this fiscal year.
Despite that, Republican Rep. Josh Tanner, the new co-chair for the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, said the governor’s proposed budget was too optimistic.
JOSH TANNER: “We should plan accordingly to a recession and I don’t think this budget actually went into some of the areas, in a way, to actually make sure that we were protecting ourselves if that’s where we are actually going.”
JD: Gov. Little’s budget chief, Lori Wolff, says additional cuts are counterproductive after a certain point.
LORI WOLFF: “If we start cutting too deep into these budgets, we will not have the opportunity for continued growth and meeting some of the needs that we have around the state.”
JD: JFAC will begin diving into the numbers this morning.
James Dawson, Boise State Public Radio News.
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OH: Northeastern Washington is getting a new Superior Court judge.
Governor Bob Ferguson yesterday appointed Thomas Webster to the seat left empty by the retirement of Judge Jessica Reeves.
Webster currently works as an attorney in Colville.
In his new post, he’ll serve Stevens, Pend Oreille and Ferry Counties.
[THEME MUSIC]
SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Amy Radil, Eliza Billingham, James Dawson and me, Owen Henderson. I’m also the host and producer.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
