After Spokane passed city drug laws, other local governments look to craft their own

Other local jurisdictions are following suit after the Spokane City Council acted Monday to pass its own drug laws, following the unexpected collapse of a compromise in the state Legislature to maintain drug possession as a crime.

The Spokane County Commission is expected to have a hearing of a similar ordinance Tuesday, and Spokane Valley’s city council will examine a staff-prepared draft proposal during a Tuesday study session, with a hearing slated for the following week.

While the state Legislature will get a second chance to pass a statewide law during a special session called by Gov. Jay Inslee that begins Tuesday, there’s no guarantee that state lawmakers will find the compromise that eluded them earlier this year.

On Monday, the Spokane City Council unanimously passed a local law criminalizing public drug use and ensuring that drug possession will remain illegal when the state’s stopgap measure expires July 1.

Under current state law that will expire in less than two months, drug possession is a simple misdemeanor, which has a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail.

For the first two offenses, however, those found in possession of drugs are diverted to treatment instead of jail.

The law passed Monday by the Spokane City Council maintains the status quo on drug possession until July 1, at which point the penalty will be elevated to a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of nearly one year in jail. The delay in implementation is meant to prevent a conflict with state law, which Council President Breean Beggs has warned could result in costly appeals.

The city’s ordinance immediately makes the open, public use of illegal drugs a gross misdemeanor, which state law is silent about, said Councilman Jonathan Bingle. Traditionally, public use of illegal drugs was prosecuted under drug possession laws, but city leaders have argued the issue has become enough of a public safety issue to warrant separate penalties.

Under state law regarding the enforcement of gross misdemeanors, however, a law enforcement officer would have to directly witness public drug use to make an arrest, Bingle said.

A report to law enforcement would not be sufficient, he added.

Though county and Spokane Valley leaders said they weren’t focused on Spokane’s new ordinance, it appears that both jurisdictions are headed in similar directions.

County Commissioner Al French on Wednesday said he expects the board to move forward with an ordinance to address possession and the public use of illegal drugs. He anticipated the ordinance will be discussed by the commission on Tuesday, with a vote likely by the end of the month.

“We are pursuing a gross misdemeanor with access to therapy,” French said. “It’s very similar to the Senate’s proposal that had the broadest amount of bipartisan support.”

Spokane Valley has been in close communication with the county about the parameters of its own drug use law, out of a desire for both jurisdictions to have similar laws, city spokesperson Emily Estes-Cross said. The city of Spokane Valley contracts with the county for law enforcement and prosecutorial services.

Though staff will present an ordinance similar to the city of Spokane’s at the upcoming Tuesday study session, Estes-Cross emphasized that the contours of the local law will be determined by Spokane Valley City Council members.

Councilwoman Laura Padden noted the reasoning for having a similar law as the county but added that it was possible there would be differences. Though she believes the penalty should be at least a gross misdemeanor, she said the Spokane Valley City Council asked the state Legislature to make the penalty a felony. Padden is married to state Sen. Mike Padden who voted against a version would have made possession a gross misdemeanor and that passed the Senate on March 3.

“If we don’t agree, we’ll go our own way,” she said.