Category: Politics

In 2017, King County residents will vote on the renewal of the Veterans and Human Services Levy (VHSL), and the County is currently exploring the possibility of including civil legal aid as a part of the strategy for a renewed Veterans and Human Services Levy. The current VHSL, which was renewed by voters in August of […]

By Tarra Simmons, 2016 Goldmark Intern On June 24, 2016 I became the first person in our state to obtain a Certificate of Restoration of Opportunity. The Certificate of Restoration of Opportunity (CROP) became available to persons with a criminal conviction on June 9, 2016 after the unanimous passage of ESHB 1553 in the 2016 […]

On Friday, June 10, 2016 the Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee unanimously approved the Office of Civil Legal Aid’s (OCLA) “Civil Justice Reinvestment Plan.” In an attempt to address the sobering findings of the 2015 Civil Legal Needs Study Update, which found that a full 76% of low-income Washingtonians experiencing a civil legal problem are […]

Each spring, the Equal Justice Coalition travels to Washington, D.C. to advocate for increased federal funding for civil legal aid. From April 19-21, we met with all of Washington state’s representatives and both senators to urge them to fund civil legal aid at the Obama Administration’s requested level of $475 million. Here’s our one-pager about […]

A little after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29th, the Washington State Legislature passed the 2016 Supplemental Budget and adjourned the Supplemental Session later that night.  The budget, which adds $191 million of new spending to the 2015-2017 biennium, passed with a 27-17 vote in the Senate and 78-17 vote in the House.  Thanks to […]