** Senate Bill 5033, known as Kimberly Bender’s Law, imposes harsher penalties for sexually abusive jail and prison guards. It goes into effect July 23.

** A special session of the Washington State Legislature adjourned in a matter of hours Tuesday as Gov. Jay Inslee signed SB 5536 to settle the matter of appropriate sanction for drug possession in the state.

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** On May 15, Gov. Jay Inslee signed SB 5440 to overhaul the competency system and reduce an impossible volume of referrals. Since a 2015 decision in Trueblood v. DSHS, the state has invested significant effort to serve a rapidly-growing number of patients awaiting competency services. In his State of the State address this past January, Inslee called on legislators to help with further reforms to the broken system.

** HB 1002: Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Law

The “Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Law,” or House Bill 1002, increases penalties for the most serious types of hazing from a misdemeanor to a felony. It goes into effect July 23.

** HB 1020: Washington officially has its first state dinosaur, the Suciasaurus Rex.

Inslee signed the bill into law in May and goes into effect on July 23.

Following the bill signing, Inslee recognized eighth-grader Athena Tauscher as “Washingtonian of the Day” for her work on the bill. Tauscher repeatedly testified in favor of the bill, which came up as a result of a fourth-grade class project.

** HB 1177: Cold case unit for missing and murdered Indigenous women  creates a cold case unit within the state Attorney General’s Office specifically aimed at tackling cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and people (MMIWP). The legislation goes into effect on July 23.

** HB 1051: Robocall Scam Protection Act

House Bill 1051, known as the Robocall Scam Protection Act, would make it illegal to disguise a caller’s identity by using a fake caller ID and would make it a violation for phone providers to enable illegal robocalls knowingly. It prohibits calls to residents on the federal Do Not Call Registry.

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