OPINION AND COMMENTARY
Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.
We know state legislators are glad to finally be home, but they ended the 105-day session without finishing the job.
They need to get back to it as soon as possible because the loose end they’ve left dangling will unravel a major piece of the criminal justice system if they don’t soon tie it up.
Lawmakers knew at the start that one of their top priorities would be fixing a stop-gap drug possession law set to expire July 1, but they unfortunately let the issue go until the final hours of the legislative session Sunday night.
In the end, the House couldn’t agree to the negotiated Senate version and time ran out.
A legislative fix cannot wait until next year when lawmakers gather again. It is imperative that Gov. Jay Inslee call a special session so legislators can set things right.
Otherwise, Washington state will be left with an unworkable and confusing patchwork of drug laws that are different in every city and county.
Kennewick Police Chief Chris Guerrero told the Tri-City Herald that he and other law enforcement officers encourage a special session. Without a statewide drug possession law, there are too many questions — including how the state would fund treatment for addicts.
“We need something on the books,” he said.
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