Nearly all restrictions imposed on police pursuits by previous state lawmakers were removed as Initiative 2113 finally became state law on June 6. The legislature passed the citizen Initiative (along with parental notification initiative and a ban on future state income tax) after Let’s Go Washington collected more than 400,000 signatures (around 325K were needed).

I-2113 repealed the police pursuit constraints the 2021 legislature passed in SB 1054, which nearly all local law enforcement agencies blamed for the steep increase in crime, especially car theft.

Passage of the police pursuit initiative is the latest actions that have taken place to reverse a few of the extreme measures the 2021 legislature passed when all legislative business took place remotely as the Washington State Legislative Building was closed due to Covid and protective fencing was installed on Capital Grounds.

With the public’s voice muted through strict rules on remote testimony, the majority Democrats were fueled by the protests/riots of Seattle progressive activists to pass many controversial measures (such as capital gains income tax, Governor Inslee’s carbon tax, and multiple bills in their anti-police package).  The laws passed during this unique session continue to be challenged by Washington citizens through lawsuits and multiple initiative campaigns.

Drug possession laws resumed

One of the 2021 legislature’s most controversial actions was actually an “inaction” by the legislature to respond to an important Washington State Supreme Court ruling.

On February 25, 2021, the state’s top court negated the state’s drug possession laws in its Blake Decision. The state legislature was in session at the time and could have immediately solved the issue. Yet Democrat leaders refused to allow any new drug possession law from even being discussed.

After two years of record breaking drug overdose deaths, frustrated citizens joined numerous local law enforcement agencies in voicing their belief that it was not acceptable to have thousands of people die every year due to drug overdoses. A special session of the legislature was needed in May 2023 to pass SB 5536 which allowed local jurisdictions to resume prosecution of those who possess such illegal drugs as methamphetamines, heroin, and fentanyl.

Local jurisdictions around the state immediately passed ordinances to be inline with the new state law. Even progressive Seattle finally passed new possession laws which almost immediately saw positive results.

Police Pursuit restrictions lifted

The story behind the reversal of the reckless restrictions on police pursuit reveals how citizens fought to take back control of their public safety after 2021 legislative anti-police measures resulted in skyrocketing crime rates.

One of the most controversial measures passed was SB 1054 which prohibited police from pursuing suspected criminals under nearly all circumstances.

Almost instantly, criminals learned that the no-pursuit law allowed them to flee from police. The Washington State Patrol revealed that 7,941 suspects fled its officers during the first 32 months of the restrictions. Untold tens of thousands more fled from local law enforcement around the state.

Both Republican and Democrat legislators came to the 2023 legislative session prepared to fix the pursuit laws, yet powerful Senate Committee on Law & Justice Chair Manka Dhingra killed the bi-partisan effort by stating the bill (SB 5536) would not receive a hearing or a vote in her committee.

Since elected officials failed to pass meaningful pursuit reform measures, Let’s Go Washington collected signatures for a citizen initiative (I-2113) to the legislature. The initiative returned pursuit decision making back to the local jurisdiction to decide how and when police pursuits are conducted.

 After the measures collected the necessary signatures, the House and Senate could either pass it or allow it to go to the voters.  Fortunately, because of the large public response, Senator Dhingra could not block this legislation as a total of 41 House and Senate members who voted for the restrictions in 2021 now voted to overturn the failed social experiment which made Washington State a very comfortable place to be a criminal. The final bill passed the House 86-12 and the Senate 31-18.

Three years after the public was essentially removed from the legislative process, Washington State citizens continue to fix the mistakes they believe were made during the controversial 2021 legislative session. Repairs to the state’s drug possession laws and removing most of the police pursuit restrictions has been the direct result of citizens’ demands.

This November’s general election ballot will contain three taxes/pocketbook issues stemming from the controversial 2021 legislative session – the capital gains income tax, the Long-Term Care payroll tax, and the gas/carbon tax.