Inslee named to inaugural Forbes Sustainability Leaders list, Reentry 2030, WA closes execution chamber for good



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Inslee named to inaugural Forbes Sustainability Leaders list

Photo of kids holding placards that say WA leads on climate

A crowd of climate allies gathered at a media event last year to support the governor's climate policy proposals

Forbes Magazine named Gov. Jay Inslee to their inaugural list of sustainability leaders this week. Editors hailed Gov. Inslee's leadership in Washington and his implementation of numerous reforms to reduce pollution during his three terms in office.

Gov. Inslee’s administration has driven nation leading policies to slash pollution and build a clean energy economy, including:


* A landmark 100% clean electricity policy [ [link removed] ] that puts Washington on the nation’s most ambitious pathway to 100% clean electricity by 2045
* A nation-leading clean buildings policy [ [link removed] ] to phase fossil fuels out of new building construction
* The Climate Commitment Act, a market-based cap-and-invest program [ [link removed] ] with robust environmental justice provisions that is helping fund new climate-friendly transportation options [ [link removed] ] and community investments [ [link removed] ] that help businesses and families to transition away from fossil fuels
* Rapid electric vehicle adoption [ [link removed] ] that has earned Washington the second highest rate of electric and plug-in hybrid sales in the nation.
* Launching the state's Clean Energy Fund [ [link removed] ], the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures [ [link removed] ] at Washington State University, and the Clean Energy Institute [ [link removed] ] at University of Washington, programs that have created and supported dozens of new technologies and business ventures.

The result of all of these policies is not only protecting clean air and water for Washingtonians. It's also fostering a booming clean energy economy. The growing economic sector now employs more than 80,000 Washingtonians. 

"Humility is often a virtue, but I've never been humble when sharing the incredible work of legislators, Tribes, labor, businesses, community groups and so many others who have made Washington a leading state for climate action," said Inslee. "We're creating jobs, spurring innovation and reducing climate change. Let's keep it going. Our children are depending on us."

WA joins initiative to curb recidivism

Gov Inslee and First Spouse Trudi Inslee in front of a table and banner

Dozens of state and federal agency leaders, advocates, legislators and formerly incarcerated people joined Gov. Jay Inslee in Tacoma on Monday to sign Executive Order 24–03.




The best prison, in the view of Gov. Jay Inslee, is one where people leave and don’t come back. On Monday he signed an executive order [ [link removed] ] updating Washington’s reentry efforts and formalizing Washington state’s commitment to Reentry 2030, a national initiative to reduce recidivism by removing barriers for individuals leaving prison.

Inslee’s executive order makes Washington the sixth state to join Reentry 2030. The EO involves nine state agencies. 

While the Reentry 2030 commitment is new, the state’s commitment to restorative justice is not.

In 2016, Inslee signed the state’s first reentry executive order directing agencies to work together on several reentry-focused services and planning. The Washington State Reentry Council was formed that same year to bolster efforts to smooth the transition from prison to life after incarceration.

State efforts are paying off. In 2015, about 34% of people released from prison committed a felony within three years. By 2020, state leaders reported that number had dropped to 22%.

*Read the full story on Gov. Jay Inslee's Medium [ [link removed] ]*

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WA closes execution chamber for good

Group of people standing behind now-closed execution chamber glass wall.

Gov. Inslee and First Lady Trudi Inslee with Department of Corrections officials standing outside of the state's now closed execution chamber

Washington state executed 78 people by hanging or lethal injection at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary between 1904 and 2010. This week, Gov. Inslee and First Spouse Trudi Inslee attended a ceremony to officially close the chamber. The ceremony marked the end of a long legal process that ultimately saw Washington become the 21st state to abolish the death penalty. 

That process began in 2014, when the governor announced a moratorium on the death penalty, following a year-long review of the state's execution law.

"When the ultimate decision is death, there is too much at stake to accept an imperfect system," said Inslee when he announced the decision to halt executions in the state. 

In the years that followed, Katherine Beckett, a professor at the University of Washington, conducted further research [ [link removed] ] on the death penalty in Washington. She and her team uncovered a pattern of racial bias stretching back decades. Data showed that Black defendants were four times more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants of other races. 

Thanks in part to her research, in 2017 Washington's Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty violated the state constitution because it had been disproportionately applied to Black defendants. In 2023, the Legislature voted to strike the unconstitutional penalty from the state's books entirely. Inslee's temporary moratorium on capital punishment became a permanent fixture of state law.  

"Fairness is foundational to all our public institutions, none more so than our justice system," said Inslee at the closing ceremony this week. "When people commit a heinous crime, sentencing shouldn’t be a fatal lottery based on zip code or race. This closure brings us one step closer to equal justice, for all."

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News you might have missed

*Washington's education system ranked best on the West Coast, top five in U.S.*

The Olympian reported [ [link removed] ] that a new study from Consumer Affairs ranked Washington as having the best public education system on the West Coast and top five in the nation. The report highlighted Washington's high salaries for teachers, best in the nation need-based financial aid program for higher education, above-average student test scores on reading proficiency tests and the ACT college entrance exam. The report also ranked Washington's higher education system number four in the country.

Federal government boosts funding for advanced battery development in Washington

The federal government is providing a huge boost to the advanced battery manufacturing industry in Washington. Today, Group14 announced [ [link removed] ] that they won a $200 million grant to build a factory in Moses Lake to make silane, key ingredient for battery materials. 

Washington based company wins CHIPS R&D award

Hummingbird Precision Machine Co, a small business based in Lacey, won an award from the federal government [ [link removed] ] to continue developing an advanced electron microscope. The technology is essential to research for the tiny components of semiconductors. 

WA launches "Simple as That" campaign to combat littering

Every year, nearly 38 million pounds of litter accumulates on Washington roadways, on-off ramps and public areas. Litter isn’t just ugly — it’s dangerous and expensive. Roadside litter causes hundreds of car crashes every year. Many types of litter, like cigarette butts, leach harmful chemicals into the environment. Even though litter is a big problem, there’s a simple solution. Use a litter bag in your car and throw your trash in a bin.  Your small daily actions make a big difference. This week, the Department of Ecology launched a campaign [ [link removed] ] to reduce littering in Washington and to provide free litter bags to Washingtonians. 




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