OLYMPIA - July 23 marked the date when several laws went into effect this year.
Four of these new laws are based on bills prime-sponsored by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden.
A law given the title ‘Kimberly Bender’s law’ was created through Senate Bill 5033 and reclassifies the crime of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct.
This law is effective in situations in which a corrections officer has sexual intercourse with the victim.
“We really need to make sure that our correctional officers and guards are fulfilling their duties responsibly first of all,” Padden said. “But when they offend they need to be held accountable just like any other offender.”
This moves the offense from a class C to a class B felony.
The classification calls for a minimum sentence of 15 to 20 months and a high-end sentence between 7.25 years and 9.6 years.
The new law also reclassifies second-degree custodial sexual misconduct, or when a corrections officer has sexual contact with a victim.
That has been reclassified as a class C felony rather than a gross misdemeanor as it had been classified.
This would bring a sentencing range of six to 12 months up to six to eight years for offenders with the highest offender score.
“Officers who work in jails and state correctional facilities are part of the law-enforcement community just as much as the officers who patrol our communities and investigate crimes,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody.”
The bill was unanimously passed by both the House and Senate earlier this year and was inspired by an investigation last year according to Padden.
The investigation surrounded a Clallam County Jail guard, John Gray, who served just over a year in prison after sexually assaulting four women under his watch according to records.
Records show Gray was convicted in 2021 of two felony and two misdemeanor counts of custodial sexual misconduct and served 13 months of his 20-month sentence.
The law is called “Kimberly Bender’s law,” in honor of the 23-year-old Quileute woman who died by suicide in her Forks jail cell in 2019.
Bender’s mother, Dawn Reid, asked Padden to name the bill after her daughter.
Senate Bill 5058
The next bill is a bill to help fill a housing need according to Senator Padden.
Senate Bill 5058 was also approved unanimously in both the Senate and House.
According to Padden, this law will help encourage home ownership in Washington by making it easier for smaller condominium buildings to be constructed.
“Washington has one of the lower homeownership rates in the nation, and this bill will help our state address this problem,” said Padden.
The measure exempts buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building.”
“These smaller condominiums will still have the same building requirements that a townhouse or single-family house has,” added Padden. “The reduction of additional inspections beyond requirements for a townhouse or a single-family house will reduce the cost of these condominiums, making them more affordable to more buyers.”
Many developers are on board to see how this bill will reform new condominium development.
“SB 5058 is a Condominium Act reform bill that will help encourage the development of new, small in-fill condominium units and provides a critically important first step in attainable home ownership for middle-income families,” said Jim Frank, founder of Greenstone Homes. “The bill helps open the door to the ‘missing middle’ housing needed in cities across the state.”
Employee-owned businesses
Senate Bill 5096 is a bipartisan measure that will aid businesses looking to adopt an employee stock ownership plan corporate structure. This bill was also unanimously passed by the House and Senate.
The measure was backed by a diverse group, including the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.
“Employee ownership is great for our employee owners, our customers, and our communities and is a key part of our culture,” said Joey Nestegard, chief business officer at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. “SEL is proud to be 100% employee owned and we are thankful to Senator Padden for encouraging more businesses to consider this great model.”
Padden said he sponsored this bill because there are a lot of success stories that are born from the employee ownership model. He noted Yoke’s as a major example seen in our region.
“This new law will help promote employee ownership, which is valuable not only for employees but for our society,” said Padden. “Studies have shown that when employees are happier, they stay in their job longer and they retire in a much better financial position. The companies are more likely to remain in the local area.”
Padden added that the measure will help maintain local businesses after a business founder retires.
“Many current business owners do not have a plan for when they transition out of the business, and employee ownership provides a valuable option,” Padden said.
The law will specifically create the Washington Employee Ownership Program at the state Department of Commerce offering services to certain businesses considering certain employee ownership structures.
The Washington Employee Ownership Commission will then oversee the program; and provide a business-and-occupation tax credit for costs related to converting a qualifying business to an employee ownership structure.
A win for patients
People buying motorized wheelchairs or other mobility-improving equipment will save money thanks to Senate Bill 5218.
This bill was written to make that equipment tax-exempt. The Senate and House unanimously approved SB 5218.
“This law will help people with disabilities by removing the sales tax from motorized wheelchairs or other technological equipment,” said Padden. “Which will help them save money while also helping maintain their independence.”
One of the people who provided written testimony in support of SB 5218 is Steve Gleason, who lives with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Gleason is a former football player for the New Orleans Saints.
“This is a huge win for both patients, and companies that sell mobility-enhancing equipment, as it removes a barrier that a lot of times made it impossible for patients to get equipment,” said Don Whitney, chief operating officer of Inland Medical and Rehab. “Most insurances, including Medicare, did not pay for the sales tax, leaving either the patient or our company to pay the tax to the state Department of Revenue.”
Whitney went on to explain that sometimes the company would have to absorb part or all of the tax costs in order to simply serve their patients.
“In Spokane that is equivalent to 9 percent. So, a $40,000 high-end CRT wheelchair would have a tax of $3,600 that needed to be collected from the patient or our company just absorbed the tax and paid it,” said Whitney. “We absorbed the cost just so we could service our patients, who are also our friends. In the last decade, over 60 independent companies in Washington state went out of business as they could not maintain paying sales tax and not being reimbursed it.”
Whitney and Padden agree that this will allow the equipment to become more readily accessible to those who need it.
“My hope is this will help the bottom line for all companies providing services in Washington, leading to patients having more access to service and to receive better equipment. Most patients are on limited incomes, and without this equipment may be hospitalized or put into long-term care,” said Whitney. “The passage of SB 5218 has opened the door for people so they can stay in their homes and has helped companies improve their bottom lines to remain in business and provide quality product and access to service to its patients.”
Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.
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