The 2022 session of the Washington State Legislature began much like last year’s session—virtually and with a long to-do list! Legislators will consider a variety of issues this year. However, the general focus of the 60-day “short” session is to refine bills passed during the first half of the 2021-2022 biennium. The first day of session was Jan. 10, and it will continue through March 10.
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What does AI (artificial intelligence) think about the prospect of AI? Well, according to an AI text generator, which responded to bits of text from Washington State Bar News Editor Kirsten Abel, our technological future is, at best, ominous:
“In 2015, worldwide spending on AI was $2.2 billion, a staggering sum, but now it’s on the way to $50 billion, predicts IDC (International Data Corporation). Indeed, it’s as if we have already entered an era of omnipresent artificial intelligence. One cannot hope to escape it.”
From a legal standpoint, however, AI will have a hard time getting past patent office red tape on its way to omnipresence. According to Leron Vandsburger’s assessment in the new issue of Bar News, AI systems have reached beyond their rudimentary beginnings “to a creative domain that—if practiced by a human—would be worthy of interpretation, analysis, examination, or critique.” The problem, however, is that copyright laws in many places don’t recognize non-human inventors.
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The 60-day 2022 Washington legislative session began on Jan. 10 and adjourned Sine Die (the final adjournment with no day set to reconvene) on March 10. Legislators passed a number of policy measures, as well as a $17 billion transportation package providing funding for new ferries, roadway maintenance, and public transportation improvements and a $64.1 billion supplemental operating budget that funds raises for state workers, rental assistance, and further support of the state’s mental health system.
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WSBA members may have seen that HB 1788 was pulled from the Rules Committee and placed on third reading, which means that it will receive a floor vote in the House in the next several days.
Read More… The 2020 legislative session is now past the halfway mark. As we move closer to the expected March 12 session end date, here’s an update on the WSBA’s legislative priorities: As predicted, after HB 1788 was pulled for a potential floor vote in the House, the bill failed to receive a vote by the Feb. […]
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The final weeks of the Washington state legislative session are marked by long nights on the chamber floors as legislators vote on bills from the opposite house before the April 17 cutoff and push to pass legislation by April 28, the last day of the scheduled regular session. WSBA’s request legislation—Senate Bill (SB) 5003—was a […]
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Another legislative cycle is upon us! The 2019 session—scheduled to last 105 days—began Jan. 14. The next several weeks in Olympia are likely to be interesting as Democrats have increased their majorities in both the state House of Representatives and the state Senate, leading to talk of ambitious legislative proposals. During most sessions, WSBA supports […]
Read More… The 105-day 2019 regular session, the biennial “long session” in the Washington state Legislature, has come to an end. From the beginning in Jan. 14 through adjournment on April 28, legislators passed a myriad of policy measures, as well as a new 2019-2021 state operating budget (including plans for increased higher-education spending and a rebuild […]
Read More… It’s been a busy first half of the 2018 Washington legislative session! The big news out of Olympia: lawmakers resolved the contentious water rights issue that stalled the budget for months, allowing Gov. Jay Inslee to sign a $4.2 billion capital budget that pays for construction projects across the state.
Read More… Long days and late nights marked this week in Washington’s Legislature. The Feb. 14 house of origin cutoff is in the rear-view mirror and bills are moving quickly in advance of the March 8 session end date! The top remaining priorities for legislators this session include unveiling supplemental budget proposals and finding a state funding […]
Read More… Another legislative cycle is upon us. The 2018 session – scheduled for 60 days – began Monday, Jan. 8, and promises to be interesting. Democrats will enjoy majorities in both the House and the Senate, but margins are thin enough that bipartisan support will be needed on many key issues.
Read More… The 2018 legislative session is over. The 2018 legislative session is over. The Legislature officially adjourned sine die on Thursday, March 8, following a flurry of activity. After passing a capital budget and resolving a contentious water rights issue early in the 60-day session, lawmakers tackled a number of priorities leading up to the Thursday […]
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Happy Law Day! I’m Sanjay Walvekar, the new legal community outreach specialist at the WSBA. I’m excited for this opportunity to introduce myself and to share my thoughts on this important holiday.
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