(The Center Square) – In an interview with KVI’s John Carlson that aired Monday morning, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said he is open to legislation reforming drug laws and police pursuits. But Inslee defended his decision to make getting a COVID-19 vaccination a condition of employment with the state.
The governor spoke to the legislative “fix” – Senate Bill 5476 – he signed into law in May 2021 making simple drug possession a misdemeanor, funding development of a statewide framework for treatment and recovery, and requiring police to steer those with substance abuse disorders away from jail and toward those new services.
SB 5476 was passed as a temporary response to the state Supreme Court’s February 2021 “Blake” decision that threw out existing felony drug laws because they did not require the state to prove intent.
The effect of SB 5476 has been a de facto legalization of hard drugs, Carlson said, pointing out other problems influenced by hard drugs such as overdose deaths, soaring crime rates, and homelessness.
“Well, you’ve pointed out this system is not working and it needs change,” Inslee said, calling the Supreme Court’s decision a “grenade dropped into the system.”
The key to solving the drug problem, according to the governor, is making more treatment and recovery facilities available.
“And I think that what they proposed in response to that court decision is not working in our state and needs substantial revision for exactly the reasons you’ve talked about, that we are not getting enough people into chemical addiction treatment to break this addiction, and that ought to be the goal because that’s in fact what works,” Inslee said.
Some people need to be forced into getting treatment for substance abuse, he noted.
“That’s why I am against the legalization of hard drugs,” Inslee said. “We’ve got to have an adequate incentive for people to get into treatment. Now, whether that’s a felony – I’m not sure because frankly we haven’t been meting out felonies in any event. There’s talk in the Legislature at the moment of making it a gross misdemeanor. That’s probably more something that prosecutors would actually use frankly.”
The governor predicted the Legislature would end up crafting a bill that increases the availability of treatment and recovery centers, while also maintaining a criminal sanction that incentivizes substance abusers to get help.
“I am relatively confident you’re going to see a much better program coming out,” Inslee said.
The governor also said he is willing to consider legislative revisions to a state law concerning police pursuits.
House Bill 1054 – also passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Inslee in 2021 – limits vehicular pursuits by police unless there is a reasonable suspicion a driver is impaired, an escaped felon, or has committed a violent crime or sex crime. The previous standard was probable cause.
Between 2014 and 2020, the Washington State Patrol reported an average of about 1,200 suspects who refused to pull over for troopers, Carlson said, noting that 3,100 people failed to stop for troopers in 2022.
Auto thefts also skyrocketed after HB 1054 went into effect, according to Carlson, who said that last year 45,000 motor vehicles were stolen, a marked increase from the previous record of approximately 30,000.
“I think there are some reasonable things that could be done in that regard,” Inslee responded, although he didn’t offer any specific suggestions.
Legislation has been introduced during this session to restore the reasonable suspicion threshold.
Inslee noted HB 1054 was an attempt to reduce the deaths of innocent bystanders in police chases, referencing a 23-year-old woman who was hit and killed on Jan. 23 by a marked Seattle Police Department vehicle. The officer driving the vehicle was responding to a high-priority call.
“So I think the general thrust to try to reduce those risks and find a balance between the risk of injury during a high-speed chase and otherwise is, you know, you’re trying to hit the right mark on the dial,” the governor said. “I think it’s not a perfect mark on the dial, and that’s why I’m open to some changes in this regard.”
Inslee seemed less open to changes regarding the state’s vaccine mandate.
Carlson pointed out that last summer the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued COVID-19 guidelines that essentially removed the distinction between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, while also mentioning the Pentagon dropped its vaccine mandate earlier this month.
Washington is facing a shortage of workers on a variety of fronts – ferries, road work crews, health care workers, law enforcement, and firefighting – the “Commute with Carlson” host said in asking Inslee why not just hire back those who lost their jobs due to the vaccine mandate.
Inslee responded by saying private sector industries like airlines and retail outlets are also facing workforce shortages.
“People are welcome to come back and work for us,” Inslee continued. “Simply, they need to comply with our existing rules. And we do believe in our Department of Health this [COVID-19] remains a threat, and that getting the vaccination is still very, very important.”
Getting vaccinated reduces the risk of hospitalization and death, the governor continued.
“This vaccinations still saves lives a plenty,” Inslee said.
Carlson said the virus is now less virulent and many people are vaccinated, asking again about the possibility of lifting the mandate.
The governor was unmoved.
“Because we do not want people leaving state service while they get COVID and get sick and aren’t coming to work,” Inslee said. “It’s both a health risk to them individually – we care about our state employees – but it is also a good management practice so you don’t have people getting sick and having outages. We have had outages because people are sick getting COVID.”