This is the final supplemental budget proposal negotiated by House and Senate Democrats to add some $5 billion to the $59 billion 2021-23 spending plan approved last year. The plan brings the total two-year operating budget to $64.1 billion—the largest in state history. It includes a tax break for small businesses across the state, but provides no general tax relief for Washingtonians, despite a record surplus of tax collections projected by state economic forecasts. Included in the budget is a sizeable pay raise for state employees and spending increases in a broad range of state programs.
Senate Votes on the final bil
This is the revenue bill advanced by majority Democrats to fund their $17 billion, 16-year “Move Ahead Washington” transportation package. The bill does not contain a gas tax increase but would hike the fees drivers and vehicle owners pay. The original proposal contained a 6-cent per gallon fuel export tax that would have impacted Washington energy producers and raised fuel prices in neighboring states.
The proposed tax was dropped from the final bill, and the expected $2 billion in revenues was partially replaced by transfers from the state general fund and Public Works Trust Fund.
Senate votes on the final bill.
This bill would ban the manufacture, distribution, and sale of firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The ban would limit not just high-capacity magazines for rifles, but also for semi-automatic pistols that often hold more than 10 rounds.
The final bill removed a provision in the original bill that would have prohibited the possession of such magazines by persons who already owned them. It would also exempt law enforcement agencies and members of the armed services from the restrictions.
The bill was passed by the Senate last month and is now headed to the governor for his signature.
This bill was a bipartisan effort to correct what was seen by many as an overreach in police-use-of-force legislation signed into law last year. It would change existing law to permit the use of force, if necessary, to detain someone as part of an investigation. It passed the House last month by a broad bipartisan margin of 87-11 votes. In the Senate, passage of the bill was led by 21 votes from the Republican caucus.
The bill has been delivered to the governor for his signature.
This is the supplemental budget proposal by Democrats to add some $5 billion to the $59 billion 2021-23 spending plan approved last year.
This is the House version of the supplemental spending plan with various changes to appropriations proposed in the Senate version. It includes a provision that would make $19 million available to local governments to aid Ukrainian refugees.
House and Senate leaders will now negotiate the differences between the two proposals, with a final version not likely to surface until near the end of session.
This is the revenue bill proposed by majority Democrats to fund their $16 billion, 16-year “Move Ahead Washington” transportation package. The bill does not contain a gas tax increase, but would hike the fees drivers and vehicle owners pay.
As passed by the Senate last month, the bill would have imposed a new 6-cent/gallon fuel export tax that would impact Washington energy producers, and raise fuel prices in neighboring states. After significant push-back from neighboring states last week, House Democrats agreed to drop this controversial tax. Instead, the House version would take $100 million for each of the next 15 years from the public works trust fund. Local governments are likely to oppose that proposal, because they rely on that account to help pay for sewer, water and other infrastructure projects.
House and Senate leaders will now work out the differences between the two versions of the bills.
This bill would prohibit open and concealed carry of weapons at voting centers and local government and school board meetings. It would make violations of these restrictions a misdemeanor for first time offenses while second and subsequent violations would be gross misdemeanor offenses.
The bill now goes back to the House for approval or rejection of House amendments to it.
This bill has now passed both chambers. If signed by the governor, it would restrict the manufacture, assembly, sale, transfer, purchase, possession, transport, and receipt of so-called “Ghost Guns.” These are firearms that are untraceable, because they are assembled from components without serial numbers or other identification, including unfinished frames and receivers.
The bill was delivered to the governor for his signature.
The new provisions would apply statewide, but would leave Seattle’s existing local ordinance that regulate licensing and permitting of rideshare companies and drivers in place.
Opponents say that the proposed legislation would create confusion, inefficiencies, and higher costs for consumers, while threatening the independence of drivers.
The bill was sent to the Senate Transportation Committee which has scheduled a public hearing and committee action for at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 26th.
This bill would put a modest limit on the Governor’s open-ended emergency powers. Under the bill the majority and minority legislative leaders in both chambers would have the authority to cancel a state of emergency after 90 days, if the Legislature is not in session. It would also allow them to cancel emergency orders that prohibit an activity. Unlike the law in most states, however, the measure would not provide a proactive end to the governor’s emergency powers unless explicitly extended by the legislature.
Washington state has now been under the Governor’s emergency orders for 721 days—and counting.
The measure was referred to the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations, which has scheduled a public hearing on it at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, February 21st.
This is a revenue bill proposed by majority Democrats to fund their $16 billion, 16-year “Move Ahead Washington” transportation package. The bill does not contain a gas tax increase, but would hike the fees drivers and vehicle owners pay and would impose a new 6-cent/gallon fuel export tax that would impact Washington energy producers. In an unprecedented move, it would also shift more than $2.0 billion from the state’s operating budget to transportation spending.
A move by Senate Republicans to require that the Senate Ways and Means Committee hold a public hearing on the proposal was rejected by majority Democrats.
The bill was sent to the House Transportation Committee. No public hearing on the measure has been scheduled so far.
This is a controversial measure that would bring back certain workplace regulations the state’s voters had rejected resoundingly in the past. Initiative 841, passed by the voters in 2003, repealed costly and burdensome ergonomic regulations and requirements imposed by the state on businesses. Such regulations prescribed equipment and workplace surroundings for workers who perform their jobs in a mostly sitting position. The initiative also prohibited the state Labor and Industries department from adopting similar regulations or otherwise regulating working practices related to ergonomics.
HB 1837 would repeal the voter-approved ban on these regulations It passed by a narrow 50-48 vote after an all-night debate on 15 amendments to modify and rein in some of the regulations. Most of these amendments were voted down.
The bill was sent to the Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs which has scheduled a public hearing on it at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 23rd.
This bill would ban the manufacture, distribution ,and sale of firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. If passed by the House and signed by Governor Inslee, the proposed ban would limit not just high-capacity magazines for rifles, but also for semi-automatic pistols that often hold more than 10 rounds.
The bill, as passed, removed a provision in the original bill that would have prohibited the possession of such magazines by persons who already owned them. It would also exempt law enforcement agencies and armed services from the restrictions.
Republicans proposed more than a dozen amendments to the bill that were voted down by majority Democrats.
The bill now goes to the House for further consideration.
This measure proposed several dozen small adjustments to the Congressional and Legislative District lines drawn up by the state’s Redistricting Commission. The House passed the measure last week, meaning that, barring any legal challenges, the redistricting process that is required every ten years following the U.S. Census is now complete.
While the House approved HCR 4407 with an 88-7 vote, the Senate passed it by a much closer 35-14 margin, barely meeting the two-thirds majority vote requirement for passage of concurrent resolutions. The closer vote in the Senate followed sharp debate by several Republicans and Democrats who were critical of the way some district lines were drawn.
This bill would require each unit of local government with a governing body elected by districts to redistrict using the last known place of residence of inmates in adult correctional facilities and residents of juvenile justice or involuntary commitment facilities.
Under current Washington state law, persons incarcerated in state adult correctional facilities, committed to involuntary behavioral health treatment, or residing or placed in juvenile justice facilities are considered residents of their last known places of residence when calculating population for congressional and legislative redistricting. No corresponding provision, however, exists for local government redistricting, such as for city or county councilmanic districts.
Proponents of the bill have said that it would correct the use of census data to over-represent areas with prisons—thus incentivizing building more prisons and mass incarceration.
The bill was transmitted and referred to the Senate State Government and Tribal Relations Commitee.
This bill would would exempt voter information on ballot return envelopes, ballot declarations and signature correction forms from public disclosure. Currently, images of election ballot return envelopes can be requested by members of the public under exisiting public records laws. Those images contain voter signatures, phone numbers and emails. The bill would protect such personal voter information from public disclosure.
The bill was transmitted and referred to the Senate State Government and Elections Committee.
This bill would impose a 7% percent tax on income derived from the capital gains resulting from the sale of long-term assets. The tax would exempt some assets, such as real estate, and would be levied on income over $250,000 for all taxpayers required to file for the tax. The tax would be calculated on the basis of a taxpayer’s federal income tax return, which would be required to be included in the state filing. The bill passed the Senate in March by a narrow 25-24 margin, after an emergency clause that would prevent a referendum vote by the people this fall was removed. The House version of the bill contains language stating that the proposed tax is “necessary for the support of state government and its existing public institutions,” which is essentially the wording of an emergency clause. Opponents argued that this constituted a “Stealth Emergency Clause,” and proposed amendments to remove it. The amendments were defeated along party-line votes. (See roll calls below).
The Senate has refused to agree to the changes made in the House, and the bill is currently in dispute. A conference committee will attempt to work out the differences and bring the bill to a final vote before session ends on Sunday.
This amendment was offered by Rep. Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama) to remove language from the bill that would constitute an emergency clause, preventing a referendum vote on the bill by the people. Removing the language would restore the opportunity for the people to vote on the bill this fall.
This amendment was offered by Rep. Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama) to remove the section of the bill that states the tax levied is necessary for the support of state government and its existing institutions. Instead, it would add a specific referendum clause to the bill, requiring the Secretary of State to submit the bill to a vote of the people in next November’s election.
This is a so-called “8th Order of Business” motion made by minority Republicans to bring back a bill that had not survived an earlier legislative cut-off deadline. The motion aimed to bring HB 1557, a bi-partisan measure to limit the governor’s emergency proclamations to 60 days unless an extension is approved by the Legislature, to a recorded vote in the House.
Under House rules, the motion was not debatable, but proponents in announcing the move said that such limitations are standard in other states. They said this legislature should re-assume its proper role as an equal branch of government, pointing out that Governor Inslee has governed the state by executive order for over 400 days under his sole emergency powers. Moreover, under current law, only he will decide when a public emergency is over, they said.
This bill would add equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism to existing cultural competency standards and training for school board directors, district staff, and school staff. It would direct school districts to prioritize one of three professional learning days to focus first on these topics. The curriculum would require each of Washington 295 school districts to adopt the training. None of the bill’s proposed mandates would apply to private schools, homeschooling or non-public online education programs.The bill was passed in the Senate by a 30-19 vote in January. Because the House adopted a striking amendment by the House Appropriations Committee, the bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence.
The proposed amendment would change the bill by specifying that the governance training programs, programs of courses, requirements, and other activities leading to educator certification, and the school district staff opportunities for training, professional development, and professional learning may not contain, or instruct on, any of nine listed topics, for example: one race or sex is inherently superior to another, the United States is fundamentally racist or sexist, and any other form of race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating. Defines the terms "race or sex stereotyping" and "race or sex scapegoating." The amendment was not adopted.
As passed, the bill would reduce the criminal penalty for possession of a controlled substance from a felony to a gross misdemeanor. The bill was introduced by majority Democrats as a response to the state Supreme Court’s “Blake” decision in February that struck down Washington’s existing felony drug possession law.
The original bill provided for outright decriminalization of drug possession for personal use, allowing for possession of specified amounts of drugs, including narcotics like oxycodone, heroin, and methamphetamine. A striking amendment that would bring back penalties for possession was adopted, however, and the bill passed by a divided vote, with 15 Democrats and 13 Republicans voting in favor. Eleven Democrats, including sponsors of the original bill voted against it.
The bill was sent to the House Appropriations Committee where a pubic hearing is scheduled for April 19th.
As amended and passed by the Senate, this bill would establish a goal that all publicly and privately owned passenger and light duty vehicles of model year 2030 or later sold, purchased, or registered in Washington state be electric vehicles, contingent upon vehicle participation in a new road usage charge or equivalent tax or fee policy.
The original bill was aimed only at preparing the state for an all-electric-vehicle future by requiring the Washington State Department of Transportation’ to create tools for mapping charging and refueling infrastructure to support forecasted levels of electric vehicle adoption, travel, and use. It also required electric utilities to analyze how their resource plans account for anticipated levels of zero-emission vehicle use and information from the utilities' transportation electrification plans. These requirements are also provided for in the bill as passed in the Senate.
The House concurred in the Senate amendment that set a target for all model year 2030 or later passenger and light-duty vehicles sold in Washington State to be electric vehicles. With final passage by both chambers, the bill is now headed for the governor’s desk for his signature or veto.
This is the House version of the proposed spending plan for the 2021-23 biennium. It replaces the $59.2 billion plan passed by the Senate last week with a proposal for $58.4 billion in spending.
As passed by both chambers, the proposed plans depend on passage of a state income tax on capital gains and would nearly empty the state’s “rainy day” reserve fund. They also assume passage of cap-and-trade and low-carbon fuel standards bills.
Both proposals exceed the $53.7 billion plan proposed by Gov. Inslee last December and the current 2019-21 $51.5 billion operating budget.
The bill must now go back to the Senate for approval of the House changes, which is unlikely. Instead, lead budget writers from both houses normally meet behind closed doors to work out their differences and craft a unified plan before another vote by both chambers as a whole. After final passage, the agreed-upon budget plan would then go to Governor Inslee for his consideration and approval before it is enacted into law.
This bill would establish a “cap-and-trade” program for greenhouse gas emissions to be implemented by the Department of Ecology. The program would enable businesses to buy allowances from the state to offset greenhouse gas emissions in excess of set limits to be determined by the State Department of Ecology.
Money from these allowances would go to the Forward Flexible Account to be spent for specified purposes, including clean transportation, natural climate resiliency, clean energy transition and assistance, and energy efficiency projects.
The bill would require that an Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Panel be convened to provide recommendations on the development and implementation of the cap-and-trade program.
Proponents say this bill will lead toward climate level emission reductions in an economically sound way, while placing environmental justice at the forefront. Critics argue that the program will result in large increases in fuel costs, especially when coupled with low-carbon fuel standards and other proposed gas tax increases. Washington already has one of the highest gas taxes in the nation, burdening consumers and businesses, they say.
The bill must now go to the House for consideration.
This bill would direct the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) to adopt rules establishing a Clean Fuels Program (CFP) to limit the aggregate, overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of transportation fuel energy to 10 percent below 2017 levels by 2028 and 20 percent below 2017 levels by 2035.
It would also direct Ecology to update, prior to 2032, CFP rules to further reduce GHG emissions from each unit of transportation fuel for each year through 2050, consistent with statutory state emission reduction limits.
Thursday’s Senate action on HB 1091, after lengthy debate on more than a dozen amendments, marks the first time a low-carbon fuel standard bill has passed the Senate. Previous measures were passed by the House over the last three years, but failed to advance in the Senate.
HB 1091 passed the House in February by a 56-42 vote. Because the Senate amended HB 1091, it must now go back to the House for consideration. If the Senate amendments are approved, the bill would be sent to the governor for his signature.
The bill would prohibit the open carry of a firearm or other weapons at or near public demonstrations, the west state capitol grounds, capitol grounds buildings, and other legislative locations. It provides an exception for federal, state,and local law enforcement officers, and would not apply to persons with a valid concealed pistol license. It would make violation of these prohibitions a gross misdemeanor.
The bill passed after a five-hour debate during which more than a dozen amendments were voted down. An amendment by Rep. Drew Hansen (D-Kitsap) to add an emergency clause to the bill was adopted by voice vote.
Critics of the bill said it violates the federal and state constitutional rights of citizens, and that the emergency clause is designed to prevent a referendum vote by the people on this new restrictive measure.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) said that the Washington State Patrol (WSP) asked for the emergency clause to be added to the bill due to “the violence that has been seen on or around the Capitol campus over the course of the last year.”
However, the WSP issued a statement that it “did not make, and was not planning to make any such request.” The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue) later said that the claim about a WSP request for the emergency clause was a misunderstanding due to the virtual nature of this year’s session.
The bill passed the Senate a month ago, but because the House added amendments, it must now return to the Senate for approval or rejection of the amendments before final passage.
This is the Senate Democrats’ proposal for the 2021-23 state operating budget. The plan would spend a record $59.2 billion on state programs in the next two years, nearly $8 billion more than the $51.5 billion budget for the current 2019-21 biennium.
As passed by the Senate, the plan assumes passage of a constitutionally questionable capital gains state income tax and would significantly reduce the state’s “rainy day” reserve funds.
Senate Republicans offered a floor amendment to replace the proposal with a plan that would spend $55.2 billion over the next two years, saying it would pay for needed state programs without new or increased taxes. It would also keep more than $1.8 billion in the state’s reserve fund, compared to the $400 million the bill as proposed by Democrats would leave. The amendment was rejected by an unrecorded voice vote.
Senate Democrats said their spending plan would “respond to the needs that the pandemic highlighted, and include millions for the state’s public health system, child care and early learning and efforts on affordable housing and efforts to reduce homelessness.”
Republicans argued that lawmakers should not impose new taxes in the midst of a pandemic, and that the capital gains income tax is illegal under state law and litigation is certain if the legislature ultimately approves the tax.
The House is expected to vote on the $58.3 billion plan proposed by House Democrats (HB 1094) on Saturday, April 3rd. Thereafter, legislative leaders will work to iron out the differences between the versions passed in each chamber before sending a final version to the governor’s desk.
This bill would add a $100 surcharge on fees collected by county auditors when a document is recorded. All of the money collected would go to the state to help pay for various housing programs, including the Affordable Housing for All Account, the Landlord Mitigation Program Account, and the Eviction Prevention Rental Assistance Account.
In addition, funds may be used for project-based vouchers for nonprofit housing providers, foreclosure prevention services, rental assistance for people experiencing homelessness, and tenant education and legal assistance.
Proponents said the bill would provide needed assistance to renters affected by the COVID epidemic and help ease homelessness and affordable housing concerns.
Opponents said the surcharges would impose millions of dollars in added costs to housing providers already struggling with restrictions on their businesses, such as ongoing eviction moratoriums.
The bill was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee and is scheduled for a public hearing on April 5, 2021.
This bill would require health care professionals to complete health equity education training at least once every four years. It would require these courses to teach skills that enable a health care professional to care effectively for patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities, varying in race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, religion, age, ability, and socioeconomic status.
During the public hearing on the measure, proponents said the bill is needed, because “the health system is not equitable.” They said that health professionals should be aware of their own biases, and learn to be more sensitive to the health needs of different communities. No testimony in opposition to the bill was offered.
The bill passed by a 35-14 vote in the Senate last month. Proposed amendments in the Senate to allow health care professionals to opt out and to limit the cost of such courses were rejected. The House amended the bill to move the date on which information must be provided about available courses from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023.
The bill must now return to the Senate for approval or rejection of the House amendment.
This bill would automatically restore voting rights to felons immediately upon their release from state prison. Under current law, released felons must wait until they finish all conditions of their release, including community supervision before they can re-register to vote.
In committee testimony, proponents estimated that some 26,000 felons would immediately regain their right to vote under this bill, even though they may still be serving their sentences outside of total confinement on probation or community supervision. They said the bill “is about restoring the right to vote. People with felony convictions who have been released into the community, or who are on work release, are working and paying taxes just like everyone else.”
Opponents said that the right to vote should not be restored to felons “until they have fully paid their debt to society.”
The bill passed in the House last month by a 57-41 vote and is now on its way to the governor for his signature.
In October 2020, Congress passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, The act designates the number 988 as the universal telephone number within the United States for accessing the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline system maintained by Lifeline and the Veterans Crisis Line.
HB 1477 would require the state Department of Health and state Health Care Authority to establish state crisis call center hubs and an enhanced crisis response system to implement the national 988 system in this state. It would create a 988 Implementation Team and Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee to plan for crisis response system enhancements.
The bill would impose new taxes and fees on commercial mobile services or Internet protocol-enabled voice services to pay for activities related to an enhanced crisis response.
As passed by the Senate, this bill would impose a 7% percent tax on income derived from the capital gains resulting from the sale of long-term assets. The tax would exempt some assets, such as real estate, and would be levied on income over $250,000 for all taxpayers required to file for the tax. The tax would be calculated on the basis of a taxpayer’s federal income tax return, which would be required to be included in the state filing.
The bill is controversial, because Washington’s state constitution prohibits the kind of graduated tax on income the bill would impose.
Proponents have maintained that the tax would not be on income but would be an excise, or “transaction” tax, despite clear findings by the IRS and all 50 states that show that capital gains are income. Much of the debate and some of the proposed amendments centered on this issue, with some Senators questioning, for example, why taxpayers would have to submit a federal income tax return to file a state capital gains tax return if it is not, in fact, an income tax.
Opponents, including some Democrats, also argued that the new tax is not needed right now, because expected revenue projections, to be released on March 17th, anticipate a greater than expected increase in state tax collections for this biennium.
The bill was sent to the House Finance Committee, which has scheduled a public hearing on the bill for March 15, 2021.
This bill would revise the state’s Residential Landlord Tenant Act to require landlords to provide valid reasons for evicting a tenant as specified in the bill, including failure to pay rent, unlawful activity and nuisance issues, Current law allows landlords to end month-to-month leases after 20-days notice without providing a reason. If tenants don’t leave, landlords could evict them.
The bill provides that tenants could not be evicted for failure to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic, extending the moratorium on evictions Governor Inslee imposed last year until the end of the public health emergency is declared by federal and state authorities.
Supporters said the proposal would cut down on arbitrary or biased lease terminations and evictions even after the public health emergency ends. Opponents said the bill would force rental property owners to renew a tenant’s expiring lease and allow occupants to stay on the property even if they damage the property. This would increase burdens on landlords struggling to cover their costs during the pandemic and make it harder to remove problem tenants, they said.
The bill was sent to the Senate Housing and Local Government Committee for further consideration.
Called the “Fair Start for Kids Act” by its sponsors, the bill would increase subsidies for licensed child care providers, reduce co-pays, and expand eligibility for programs like the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.
The cost for this expansion would be about $720 million over the next four years. Supporters said much of this cost could be covered by federal funds to be made available to the state by the COVID Relief bill passed by Congress.
Opponents argued against the expanded mandates and entitlements proposed by the bill, saying they would result in new taxes. The best way to expand access to child care, they said, would be to reduce regulations on child care providers.
The bill was sent to the House Committee on Children, Youth andFamilies, which has scheduled a public hearing for March 18, 2021.
This is the companion measure to SB 5237 with essentially the same provisions. It would increase eligibility and decrease copayments in the Working Connections Child Care Program and expand eligibility in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. It would also
provide for increased rates, training, grants, and services for child care and early learning providers.
The bill was sent to the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee for further consideration.
This bill would establish a statewide standard for the permissible use of force by law enforcement and corrections officers. Under the bill, a peace officer may use physical force against another person when necessary to effect an arrest, prevent an escape, or otherwise protect against an imminent threat of bodily injury to the peace officer or another person. A peace officer may use deadly force against another person only when necessary to protect against an imminent threat of serious physical injury or death to the officer or another person.
The bill was sent to the Senate Law and Justice Committee, which has scheduled a public hearing for March 16, 2021.
This bill would direct the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) to adopt rules establishing a Clean Fuels Program (CFP) to limit the aggregate, overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of transportation fuel energy to 10 percent below 2017 levels by 2028 and 20 percent below 2017 levels by 2035.
It would also direct Ecology to update, prior to 2032, CFP rules to further reduce GHG emissions from each unit of transportation fuel for each year through 2050, consistent with statutory state emission reduction limits.
This is the third time the House has passed low-carbon fuels legislation in three years. Previous measures failed to advance in the Senate. The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Joe Fitzgibbons (D-Seattle) said that the move to limit carbon emissions is long overdue, and that “let this be the year we can say we took action.”
Republicans said that, if passed, the bill would raise raise the price of gasoline and diesel for Washington’s consumers and businesses. Agriculture would be especially hard-hit, according to Rep. Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy), who said during the floor debate that the bill would impact most of the agricultural producers in this state. Rep. Dye proposed an amendment to exclude diesel fuel from the bill, saying that diesel provides the energy needed to do most agricultural work, like vehicles that help growers plant and harvest crops. The amendment to help farmers was not adopted.
This bill is a sweeping proposal that would ban or restrict a wide range of police tactics, from chokeholds and neck restraints to use of military gear. It would also establish new statewide policies on vehicle pursuits and create a task force to develop policies for the use of police dogs.
More than a dozen amendments to the bill were proposed during the floor debate last Saturday, including amendments that were adopted to remove several provisions in the original bill— such as banning tear gas, and the use of police dogs. The bill, as passed, would allow law enforcement agencies to use tear gas, but only as “necessary to alleviate a present risk of serious harm posed by a riot, barricaded subject, or hostage situation.”
The bill was sent to the Senate Law and Justice Committee, which has scheduled a public hearing on the measure for March 11th.
This bill would require law enforcement officers to intervene and try to stop excessive force by fellow officers. Police officers who witness excessive or attempted excessive force by a fellow officer would need to step in, or face suspension or decertification. The bill would also require that officers report any wrongdoing by another officer to that officer’s supervisor.
During debate, some opponents of the measure said they supported the broader intent of the bill regarding police accountability, but said parts of the bill were too subjective. Senate Republicans proposed nine amendments to clarify the bill’s language and to more precisely define terms like “excessive force” or “intervention.” The amendments were rejected by voice vote.
The bill was sent to the House Public Safety Committee, which has scheduled a public hearing on the measure for March 12th.
Washington’s Death with Dignity Act, which was approved by the state’s voters as Initiative 1000 in 2008, allows adult residents of Washington who have a terminal illness with six months or less to live to request medication to end their life. The patient is allowed to self-administer such medication. The patient's attending physician is responsible for determining that the patient has a terminal condition. This determination must be confirmed by a consulting physician.
This bill would change the provisions of the voter-approved law to allow advanced registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and osteopathic physician assistants to perform the duties of an attending or consulting medical provider under the Death with Dignity Act. It would also reduce the currently required 15-day waiting period between the first and second requests for medications to 72 hours.
Proponents said that there are many people who have wanted to use the law, but have been frustrated by time delays and the inability to find participating physicians. Opponents argued that the bill would remove the protections in the original law and would go far beyond what the voters approved, which was for only physicians to authorize assisted suicide after a 15-day waiting period.
The bill was sent to the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee for further consideration.
This bill would exempt certain election security information from disclosure under the Public Records Act that requires all state and local governmental entities to make public records available to the public. The bill would exempt:
• continuity of operations plans for elections.
• security audits.
• security risk assessments.
• security test results that relate to physical security or cybersecurity of election operations or infrastructure
Proponents said the bill is needed to keep critical election security information from people who might seek to harm elections. Opponents voiced concern that it would reduce government transparency and erode public trust in the election process.
The bill was sent to the Senate State Government and Elections Committee for further consideration.
This bill would require student health plans to provide coverage for the abortion of a pregnancy. Under current law, health plans that provide coverage for maternity care or services must also provide coverage to permit abortions. Student health plans are generally exempt from this requirement.
The bill would extend the requirement to cover abortions to student health plans deemed by the Insurance Commissioner to have a short-term limited purpose or duration, or to be guaranteed renewable while the covered person is enrolled as a regular full-time undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited higher education institution.
The bill was sent to the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee for further consideration.
This bill would ban open-carry of weapons within 250 feet of permitted public demonstrations and at the state capitol. Current Washington law affirms citizen rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to openly carry firearms, except in certain locations such as courthouses and jails.
Proponents said the bill would not infringe on those rights, because it only adds the Capitol to the list of places where open-carry of firearms is prohibited. Opponents argued that the bill would take away legal gun owners’ ability to protect themselves if they feel unsafe at or near a public demonstration. They also said the language in the bill is too vague, making it difficult to enforce.
The bill is on its way to the House for further consideration.
This bill would greatly expand the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission’s (CJTC) authority and capability to investigate police misconduct and revoke or suspend a police officer’s professional certification. It would increase the number of reasons for which officers could lose their badge, adding use of force in violation of law or department policy to those reasons.
Under the bill, the CJTC would be allowed to add investigators to pursue more cases against officers, and to suspend an officer for a broader range of alleged misconduct. The CJTC, and other boards and panels that review misconduct cases would be made up by a majority of civilians unaffiliated with law enforcement. The CJTC would also be authorized to begin decertification processes against officers accused of wrongdoing without waiting for a local sheriff or police chief to discipline such officers.
Proponents said the bill’s intent is to restore public confidence that law enforcement officers, who are given the power of a badge and a gun to enforce the law, are appropriately exercising those powers.
Opponents said the bill would give the state too much control over local police decisions, and demonstrate a lack of support for law enforcement officers who put their lives in danger to protect the public.
The bill is headed to the House for further consideration.
The legislature in 2005 established the Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) as an independent judicial branch agency to administer and oversee state funds appropriated by the legislature for the provision of civil legal aid services to eligible low-income people in Washington. This law imposed a number of restrictions, including that moneys distributed to qualified legal aid programs by the OCLA may not be used directly or indirectly for representation of individuals who are in the United States without legal authority.
This bill would remove this prohibition, and make legal aid funds provided by taxpayers available for representation of undocumented persons.
Current Washington law allows adolescents to make health care decisions on their own behalf at age 13 related to behavioral health treatment, at age 14 related to testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and allows decisions related to personal reproductive health care, including abortions, to be made at any age. This bill would clarify language to affirm that a person is presumed to have the capacity to make health care decisions under current laws, unless subject to a guardianship that includes health care decision making. A proposed amendment that would remove the capacity of a minor to provide informed consent for abortion services was rejected by voice vote.
This bill would require health care professionals to complete health equity education training at least once every four years. It would require these courses to teach skills that enable a health care professional to care effectively for patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities, varying in race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, religion, age, ability, and socioeconomic status.
During the public hearing on the measure, proponents said the bill is needed, because the health system is not equitable. They said that health professionals should be aware of their own biases, and learn to be more sensitive to the health needs of different communities. No testimony in opposition to the bill was offered. Proposed amendments to allow health care professionals to opt out and to limit the cost of such courses were rejected by voice vote.
This bill would change regulatory requirements relating to background checks and training for long-term care workers in the event of a pandemic, natural disaster, or other declared state of emergency.
It would permit a long-term care worker who has not been disqualified by the state background check to continue to work and have unsupervised access to vulnerable adults, pending completion of the FBI fingerprint check. The current requirement that the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) check a long-term care worker against the National Sex Offender Registry would be eliminated
If a pandemic, natural disaster, or other declared state of emergency impacts the ability of long-term care workers to complete required training, the bill would enable the DSHS to adopt rules allowing the workers additional time to complete the training.
Proponents of the bills said that long-term care facilities were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The facilities, therefore, could not operate as usual. This caused challenges relating to training, staff retention, inspections, and background checks. They said this bill would provide long-term care facilities with the flexibility they need to meet the needs of residents.
Opponents of the bill said that a large proportion of COVID-19 infections and deaths are linked to nursing homes. They said that this exposes deficiencies in the staffing and design of these facilities, and that there is need for reform across the system. This bill is not the solution, they said.
This bill would require law enforcement agencies to report to prosecuting authorities an officer's misconduct affecting credibility or any act of an officer that may potentially support a defendant’s not-guilty plea. It would also requires law enforcement agencies, prior to hiring an officer with previous law enforcement experience, to inquire whether the officer has ever been subject to removal procedures.
Supporters of the bill said it is about whether you can rely on an officer for the truth. The bill would create best standards and online training opportunities, and would require law enforcement agencies to inquire about this issue before hiring.
Opponents said the bill does not go far enough. They said a better approach would be to create a working group to report back, so that the legislature could put these standards in statute. They pointed out that there is a lack of uniformity on how potential impeachment disclosure is handled in counties across the state.
This bill would authorize the State Auditor to review a deadly force investigation to determine whether those involved complied with all applicable rules and procedures. It would also authorize the State Auditor, upon request by the Criminal Justice Training Commission, to review a law enforcement agency to ensure compliance with all applicable rules and procedures governing the training and certification of the agency's peace officers.
Proponents of the bill said that audits of deadly force investigations would ensure quality, objective, non-biased investigations. The purpose of auditing deadly force investigations would be to review whether the relevant statutory and administrative rules are being followed. Audits would not be used to judge the decisions made at the end of investigations, they said.
Opponents of the bill said that the intent of the bill is good, but the scope of the proposed audits should be clarified and narrowed. They said a deadly force investigation audit should only review whether the investigation was conducted in compliance with the relevant statutory and administrative rules, not all rules and procedures generally.
This bill would provide unemployment insurance tax relief by not charging rate increases to employers for unemployment benefits during a public health emergency for high-risk individuals unable to work from home and shared work benefits paid or reimbursed by the federal government.
For workers, the bill would expand eligibility for those in high-risk households and waive the waiting period when federally reimbursed. It would also increase the minimum benefit from 15 to 20 percent of the average weekly wage and limit benefits to a person's weekly wage.
This bill would distribute $2.2 billion in federal COVID relief funds made available to the state. It includes $668 million for school funding, and $618 for a Public Health Response account for programs such as COVID testing and contact tracing. A further $68 million is earmarked for vaccine distribution and administration.
The bill would also provide $365 million for housing and rental assistance, and $240 million in grants for Washington’s small businesses. Also, $65 million would be allocated for the Washington Immigrant Relief fund, and $50 million in financial help for child care providers.
The bill would expand eligibility for the Graduated Reentry Program in the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) that allows incarcerated persons to serve part of their sentence in the community rather than in prison.
Under current law, which was created in 2018, individuals must have served at least 12 months in confinement at a state prison before becoming eligible to serve up to the last six months of their sentence in the community with electronic home monitoring under the jurisdiction of the DOC.
SB 5121 would reduce the required confinement time a person must serve in prison before eligibility for the reentry program to six months for most offenders who are not under a deportation order or civil commitment. It would further reduce the required confinement time to four months for those who are not currently serving a sentence for a sex, violent, or crime-against-a-person offense. The bill would also allow eligible inmates to serve the entire remaining term of their sentence at home, with electronic monitoring supervised by the DOC.
This bill would add equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism to existing cultural competency standards and training for school board directors, district staff, and school staff. It would direct school districts to prioritize one of three professional learning days to focus first on these topics. The curriculum would require each of Washington 295 school districts to adopt the training. None of the bill’s proposed mandates would apply to private schools, homeschooling or non-public online education programs.
Amendments to make such training voluntary and to expand it beyond race to students with disabilities failed by voice vote.
This bill would provide unemployment insurance tax relief by not charging rate increases to employers for unemployment benefits during a public health emergency for high-risk individuals unable to work from home and shared work benefits paid or reimbursed by the federal government.
For workers, the bill would expand eligibility for those in high-risk households and waive the waiting period when federally reimbursed. It would also increase the minimum benefit from 15 to 20 percent of the average weekly wage and limit benefits to a person's weekly wage.
This bill would authorize the State Board of Education to permit public and private schools to grant individual student emergency waivers from credit and subject area graduation requirements, graduation pathway requirements, or both, due to a significant disruption from a local, state, or national emergency. Students in the graduating class of 2020 and subsequent classes would be eligible for the emergency waiver program.
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Contact my lawmakers
Rep. Gerry Pollet (Seattle), District 46. (360) 786-7886. gerry.pollet@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Javier Valdez (Seattle), District 46. (360) 786 - 7818 . javier.valdez@leg.wa.gov
Sen. David Frockt (Seattle), District 46. (360) 786-7690. david.frockt@leg.wa.gov
