Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate announced this morning that they will no longer consider taking action on a worker privacy proposal because of an e-mail that linked action on the bills to campaign contributions

Senate Bill 5446, and House Bill 1528, known as "the Worker Privacy Act," would prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to attend a meeting, or listen to, respond to, or participate in any communication relating to political, labor or religious matters. The proposal requires an employer to post a notice of employee rights in a conspicuous place accessible to the employees at the employer's place of business.

Both proposals also would authorize employees whose rights have been violated to bring a civil court action against their employer.

Gregoire, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and House Speaker Frank Chopp issued a joint statement that said the matter has been forwarded to the State Patrol for
investigation.

The Democratic leaders said that "Immediately upon becoming aware of an email linking potential action on the bill to campaign contributions, bringing the bill forward was no longer an option....The email raises serious legal and ethical questions."

The leaders declined to release the e-mail.

The bills are supported by organized labor. Boeing has been working against the proposals.

Neither measure has passed each respective chamber. The proposals would have to pass by 5 p.m Thursday to have a chance this session.

State Patrol spokesmen Sgt. Freddy Williams and Capt. Jeff DeVere, who heads the agency's statewide communications office, said they are unaware of threats connected with the bills.

Here is the text of the Democrats' joint statement:

Joint statement from Gov. Chris Gregoire, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and Speaker of the House Frank Chopp on the Worker Privacy Act

"We are no longer considering action on House Bill 1528 and Senate Bill 5446, also known as the Worker Privacy Act.

"Immediately upon becoming aware of an email linking potential action on the bill to campaign contributions, bringing the bill forward was no longer an option.

"The email raises serious legal and ethical questions.

"The matter has been referred to the Washington State Patrol for investigation."

UPDATE:

The State Patrol has released a statement saying it is looking into "potential criminal allegations" regarding the Worker Privacy Act.

Here is the State Patrol's statement:

The Washington State Patrol has received a request to look into potential criminal allegations surrounding communications pertaining to SB 5446 and HB 1528 - Worker Privacy Act.

As with any on-going investigation, no evidence or further information will be released at this time.

The WSP will be working hand in hand with prosecutors (We don't know who may/may not have jurisdiction yet.) as we progress.

We just received the request and little is known at this time.

The WSP is taking this very seriously as we do with any potential criminal allegations and will work closely with prosecutors to determine a course of action.

UPDATE UPDATE:

The Associated Press reports that the Washington State Labor Council , which was pushing for the measure, scheduled a news conference for noon today in Olympia.

The AP also says that House Democrats released a timeline of events that led to the decision to kill the bill. Here's what the AP says:

The timeline said that Chopp, D-Seattle, was shown the e-mail in Brown's office Tuesday afternoon, after which he consulted with House attorneys and canceled a scheduled meeting with groups interested in the bill.

Tuesday evening, Gregoire, Chopp and Brown, D-Spokane, met and decided to kill both the House and Senate versions of the bill, and refer the incident to the Thurston County sheriff's office. The sheriff's office referred the case to the State Patrol, which then instructed lawmakers to not distribute the e-mail.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE:

The state Labor Council just told our reporter Andrew Garber that it decided not to have a news conference at noon today. As of now, the council isn't commenting on the matter.

That's enough UPDATES!

See full coverage here.