A news release from the Washington House Republicans last week claimed Washington is among the most dangerous states in the nation.
The state is one of the most impacted by retail theft and has the lowest law enforcement-to-citizen ratio in the country, House Republicans stated.
In an effort to change that, 35th Legislative District state Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, proposed a package of public safety bills. He highlighted them in the news release.
• House Bill 1452 would increase the penalties for repeat vehicle theft and organized retail theft.
• House Bill 1456 would help attract and retain police officers in Washington state by limiting their personal liability for reasonable use of force and creating a law enforcement appreciation campaign to show officers that they matter.
• House Bill 1455 would increase staff at the state toxicology labs to process drug and alcohol impairment tests more rapidly.
• House Bill 1454 would fully fund multijurisdictional drug task forces.
“These proposals will help address the real safety concerns of Washington families and the high cost of goods due to out-of-control retail theft,” Griffey said in the release. “Theft is costing Washington retailers billions of dollars a year, which is being passed onto families already struggling with our state's affordability crisis. That means families are paying more for groceries and insurance, and more because of crimes our state holds no one accountable for.”
"Unfortunately, none of these bills have received a hearing yet," Griffey said. “I am hopeful the majority party will act on these policies as we approach the halfway point of session and various deadlines to move bills. The people of Washington state deserve safe and affordable lives, and these proposals are real solutions that will help provide that."
The deadline to pass policy bills out of committee was Friday, Feb. 21. The deadline to pass bills with a fiscal impact out of committee is Friday, Feb. 28. The deadline to move House bills out of the chamber is March 12.
