Dahlquist Celebrates First Bill Signed into Law

Reps. Cathy Dahlquist and Christopher Hurst of the 31st Legislative District celebrated the signing of House Bill 1206, which is Dahlquist’s first bill approved by Gov. Christine Gregoire. The first bill signing is an important milestone for new lawmakers.

House Bill 1206 is an important piece of criminal justice and public safety legislation. It adds criminal justice workers, including police officers, prosecutors and other correctional staff, to the list of those workers protected from harassment while performing their jobs. Judges and juries already have this protection to ensure they do not come under undue pressure that may stop them from imposing the law in a fair and impartial way.

The two legislators worked together on the bill that was co-sponsored by Hurst and brought to Dahlquist as the top priority of the Washington State Association of Prosecuting Attorneys for this year’s legislative session. The bill received public hearings in the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee where Hurst serves as chairman.

“It was fun to have Cathy bring her first bill before my committee. She did a very good job working it through the process in both the House and Senate,” said Hurst, D-Enumclaw. “It is a lot of work to get a bill from the idea stage to the governor’s desk, and then signed into law. I applaud her hard work to protect those who put their lives on the line for us every day.”

“We heard some compelling testimony in favor of the bill by Kennewick Detective Mary Buchan that made it clear our criminal justice staff need greater protections while doing their jobs. Living in fear that a person lawfully arrested or in court will make good on his or her threats isn’t fair to those attempting to deliver justice. If people are afraid to do their jobs in the justice system, there will be no justice,” said Dahlquist, R-Enumclaw. “I am pleased to have had the help of my seatmate and others to move this important public safety measure forward. It’s a good day for the hard-working men and women working in our criminal justice system.”

"This is an important piece of criminal justice legislation and was a priority of my committee this year." said Hurst.

Editor's Note: The item above is a press release issued by the office of Rep. Cathy Dahlquist.