Coming up at the King County Council, May 3-7

Next week, councilmembers will weigh a comprehensive countywide climate action plan, a proposal to ban government use of facial recognition software and legislation to create a unit within KCSO dedicated to pursuing hate crimes.

This is what’s coming up at the King County Council:

On Tuesday morning, a council committee will consider creating a dedicated Hate and Bias Crimes Unit within the King County Sheriff’s Office. The legislation would dedicate four deputies and one support staff person to the unit, who would together focus on pursuing and encouraging reporting of such crimes and collecting and categorizing data on the crimes in King County. The Law and Justice Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 4.

At full council, members are expected to vote on final passage of the comprehensive five-year Strategic Climate Action Plan. This updated plan, building off the 2015 plan, includes aggressive goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilient frontline communities, and preparing the region for the impacts of climate change. Full council meets at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4.

On Wednesday, the Committee of the Whole will consider legislation to ban government use of facial recognition technology in King County. The proposal would not prohibit use that is required to meet the National Child Search Assistance Act, but would prohibit other uses, including by the King County Sheriff’s Office. The committee meets at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 5.

All meetings continue to be held virtually to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Meetings can be livestreamed on KCTV unless otherwise stated. View meeting agendas and legislation here

Rod Dembowski is the council representative for north end cities, including Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, and Kenmore.