Governor Bob Ferguson signs a dozen bills, issues narrow vetoes on unfunded or emergency provisions

Governor Bob Ferguson held a bill-signing event and signed roughly a dozen measures into law, praising legislative work on criminal investigations, tribal consultation, energy infrastructure, tax code fixes and retirement benefits. "For those watching on TBW, I'm governor Bob Ferguson, and we are signing, I think, this afternoon," he said as he opened the session.

The bills signed include a package of measures requested by the attorney general, changes to tribal consultation and codification of an Office of Indian Affairs, limits and rules for sports betting involving in-state college teams, and climate- and energy-related statutes. On House Bill 21-56, Ferguson said the bill "makes it easier for the attorney general's office to gain access to these records to better investigate and solve these important cases," describing the change as removing the requirement that certain warrants be served by law enforcement while holding AG investigations to established standards.

The governor also signed legislation aimed at improving government-to-government consultation with tribes and establishing a governor-level Governor's Office of Indian Affairs in…