News Releases

The Washington State Legislature voted Tuesday to establish harsher criminal penalties for drug possession, marking a huge step backwards in Washington’s fight against the ever-growing public health crises of substance use disorder and the opioid overdose epidemic.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed a package of bills into law, passed by the Washington state Legislature, that take significant and meaningful steps toward defending and expanding access to abortion and gender-affirming health care.

Early Wednesday, the Washington House passed E2SSB 5536, a bill that reestablishes criminal penalties for drug possession after the state Supreme Court struck down the prior possession statute as unconstitutional.

ACLU-WA is committed to working again next session to achieve retroactivity in regard to juvenile points for all Washingtonians.

A federal judge in Texas issued a ruling earlier Friday blocking the FDA's approval of mifepristone.

Legislators in the Washington Senate advanced ESHB 1155, the Washington My Health, My Data Act, which removes significant barriers reproductive and gender affirming health care by protecting the privacy of people’s health data.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Seattle asked the Court to terminate the consent decree, which would end federal court oversight of discriminatory policing, model use-of-force policies, data-collection and officer early warning system, community participation and civilian oversight., which would end federal court oversight of discriminatory policing, model use-of-force policies, data-collection and officer early warning system, community participation and civilian oversight.

Over 30 labor, tribal, medical groups, and criminal justice organizations joined the ACLU-WA and FAMM in support of a bill that retroactively and prospectively repeals the use of prior juvenile convictions to automatically enhance future sentences in adult courts.

The Washington State House of Representatives passed House Bill 1324, which updates Washington’s sentencing system and stops the practice of automatically punishing people twice for crimes they committed as children.

The ACLU-WA filed a lawsuit against King County in Pierce County Superior Court alleging violations of a Settlement Agreement that governs conditions, including access to medical care and court, for individuals incarcerated in the King County Correctional Facility.