As you reflect on your estate plan, you have a unique opportunity to extend your impact beyond your lifetime by leaving the League of Women Voters of Washington a bequest. In fact, there are a number of benefits that leaving a bequest to the LWVWA can have:

• Supporting a Cause: Donations to the LWVWA help ensure the continuation of our work, and a bequest enables you to support that work and the causes you believe in even after you're gone.
  
  
• Legacy Preservation: A bequest to the LWVWA provides an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy through your support of us and our work.
  
  
• Tax Benefits: Any kind of bequest made to the LWVWA Education Fund is tax-deductible, which can reduce the estate tax burden on your heirs.
  
  
• Recognition and Honor: Your bequest can be recognized by the LWVWA, providing a meaningful tribute to your support and commitment.
  
  
• Inspiring Others: Your act of generosity may inspire others to consider similar gifts, thereby perpetuating a culture of philanthropy and sustaining the League of Women Voters of Washington.
  
  
• Ensuring Sustainability: A bequest to the LWVWA can provide long-term financial stability for the League, allowing us to continue our work and impact for years to come!
  
  
• Flexible Giving Options: You can specify how you want your bequest to be used, whether that be for general purposes, to be put toward the LWVWA Endowment, or even toward funding a specific program you're passionate about.
  

Leaving a bequest to the League of Women Voters of Washington can be a powerful way to make a lasting impact. 

Extend Your Impact

The 2024 Legislature began January 8, 2024 and adjourned 60 days later, on March 7. During this period, the Legislature passed 350 bills, from among hundreds more that were introduced. The LWVWA Lobby Team worked hard to keep up with the strenuous and, at times chaotic, legislative process. 

There were some successes among the League’s priority bills; and there were also disappointments for us and our coalition partners. There were too many bills this session to list them all, but some of the bills are listed below. You can read more details in our final Legislative Action Newsletter. In most cases, the titles of the bills below explain the bill itself.

The legislation that passed covers a lot of policy territory. In many cases, the legislation was related to workforce needs. There was also legislation aimed at the protection of citizens, consumers or clients. Important legislation relating to Washington's response to climate change, and much more!

Below is a break down some of the bills that passed, broken down by issue:

Democracy

• HB 1241 Addressing harassment of election workers.
  
• SCR 8414 Creating a joint select committee on civic health.
  
• HB 1541Establishing the 'Nothing About Us, Without Us' Act (lived experience).

Children

• HB 1455 Eliminating child marriage.
• SB 5908 Extended Foster Care (for youths 18-21).
• There were also budget increases for many early childhood programs.

Health and Behavioral Health

•  SB 5986 Protecting consumers from out-of-network health care service charges.
• HB 1969/SB 5811 Expanding the definition of 'family member' for individual providers (home health care).
  
• HB 1889 Allowing persons to receive professional licenses and certifications regardless of immigration or citizenship status. 
  
• SB 5821 Establishing a uniform standard for creating an established relationship for the purposes of coverage of audio-only telemedicine services.
• HB 1946 Creating the Washington Health Corps behavioral health scholarship program.
  
• E2SHB 2247 Addressing behavioral health provider shortages.
  
• E2SSB 6251 Coordinating regional behavioral crisis response and suicide prevention services. (Coordinating regional behavioral crisis response services.)
  

Climate Change, Forests, and Waste Diversion

• HB 1368 Zero emission school buses.
• HB 1012 Creating an extreme weather response grant program.
• HB 1282 Public Building Materials—Buy Clean Buy Fair.
• HB 1589 Clean Energy Progress—Transitioning utilities from natural gas to electricity.
• SB 6039 Geothermal energy resources.
• Funding was appropriated to preserve mature forests and purchase replacement lands for economically impacted rural counties.
• The Trust Land Transfer Program received $10.8 million conserving 9 projects with over 2,200 acres of state trust land.
• Recycling was expanded among a number of new materials.

Housing and Homelessness

• HB 1998 Authorizing Co-living.
• HB 1012 Addressing the response to extreme weather events.
  
• SB 6015 Concerning residential parking configurations (reduces parking requirements in certain areas).
• SB 6175 Concerning housing affordability tax incentives for existing structures (authorizes cities to establish a sales tax deferral program for conversion of underutilized commercial property to affordable housing).

Some of the disappointments of this session include the bills listed below which did not pass. In some cases, the bills had been worked on for several years:

Revenue

• Unfortunately, no changes were made to WA State’s regressive tax structure this session.
  
• SB 5770 Providing state and local property tax reform.
• HB 2276/SB 6191 Increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing (with a permanent funding source).

Healthcare

• SB 5241 Concerning material changes to the materials and operation structure of participants in the health care marketplace (formerly Keep Our Care Act).
• SJM 8006 Requesting that the Federal Government create a Universal Health Care Program.
• HJR 4201 Amending the Constitution to address reproductive freedom.
  

Climate Change

• HJM 4003 Requesting that the United States join in developing a Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty

Education

• HB 1479 Concerning Restraint or Isolation in Public Schools and Educational Programs
  

Housing and Homelessness

• HB 2160 Transit-Oriented Development.
• HB 2270 Creating a Department of Housing for Washington State.
• HB 2114 Rent Stabilization.
  

Additionally, as was widely reported in the news, three of the six Initiatives to the Legislature were passed; and three were not (and no alternatives were offered). The three initiatives that were not passed will be on the ballot in the 2024 November Election.

Initiatives Passed by the Legislature:

• I-2111—Prohibit a state income tax
• I-2113—Loosen restrictions on police vehicle chases
  
• I-2081—Parental Rights 

Initiatives Not Addressed by the Legislature (which will appear on the ballot in November):

• I-2117—Repeal the Climate Commitment Act; prohibit carbon cap and trade
• I-2124—Opt Out of State-run Long Term Care Coverage (WA Cares Act)
  
• I-2109—Repeal the Capital Gains Tax 
  

The Board of Directors for the League of Women Voters of Washington will make decisions at a future meeting to determine whether the LWVWA will support, oppose, or remain silent on the three ballot iniatives that will be on the ballot in November.

As always, the Lobby Team welcomes new advocates and Issue Chairs! If you are interested, please contact our Advocacy Director, Cynthia Stewart.

This month we are bringing you the second in our series of essays from writers with lived experience who are directly impacted by the bills we advocate for. The  essay for this installment is written by incarcerated journalist Chris Blackwell and freelance writer Rachel Zarrow, and was originally published in The Nation. Blackwell and Zarrow's essay, entitled "The Invisible Labor of Women Who Love Incarcerated People," highlights the myriad of costs faced by women with incarcerated loved ones.

Communication costs are one part of the picture—it can cost hundreds of dollars to visit a loved one in prison. And people are frequently moved from prison to prison, making visits difficult, if not impossible. One of the bills we advocated for in the 2024 Legislative Session,  SB 6021, would have required the Department of Corrections to provide free phone calls and other communications services for people who are incarcerated. Unfortunately, that bill did not make it out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

The burdens of incarceration change, but don't end, upon reentry. In addition to difficulties in securing housing and jobs, there are few resources available to address the mental health needs arising from incarceration and reentry. Blackwell concludes by citing an astonishing statistic—94% of  women surveyed reported that the strain of their partner's incarceration has had a "significant or extreme" impact on their emotional and mental health. 

You can read Blackwell and Zarrow's powerful piece here, and learn more about how the bills we advocated for fared during the 2024 Legislative Session on our webpage.

About Christopher Blackwell:

Blackwell, 42, is a Washington-based award-winning journalist currently incarcerated. He is the 2023 Narratively Memoir Grand Prize Winner. The cofounder and Executive Director of Look2Justice.org a grassroots organization of system-impacted organizers working to cultivate justice, fairness, and accountability in Washington State's criminal legal system through research, public education, and advocacy that leads with racial equity. His work has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Huff Post, and many more. He is a contributing writer with Jewish Currents and a contributing editor at The Appeal. He works closely with Empowerment Avenue, a nonprofit organization that uplifts the voices of incarcerated writers and artist. You can read more of his work on his website or follow him on X (formally Twitter).

 

Recently, a team of volunteers for the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County embarked on a project to create an ongoing series of short educational videos about various election topics. These videos will be distributed on the LWVBWC's Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as on their YouTube channel and Civics Education page.

The team members working on this project include a researcher, a script writer, a tech person who edits the videos and creates graphics, a presenter—who stars in the videos—and a social media advisor.

The first topic covered in these videos is the Electoral College. Currently, these videos can be viewed on the LWVBWC Civics Education page.

by Lyn Whitley, LWVWA Local News and Democracy Committee and Delegate to the national League of Women Voters Convention

This June, delegates from state and local Leagues across the country will gather at the nation's capitol for the national convention of the League of Women Voters. At this convention, many delegates will work to gain national concurrence for the LWVWA’s Local News and Democracy position. 

The delegates from each League in our state can, and likely will, voice their own perspective. A delegate need not be in favor of concurrence to attend the national convention. The final number of delegates that can be sent from Washington Leagues to the national convention is determined by the official number of members in the state. This information will be available in a few weeks. Our goal is to send as many League members from Washington as possible—not just the members of the Local News and Democracy Committee. 

In the meantime, work toward national concurrence of our Local News position is underway. Here’s a brief update: 

• Each state and local League across the country have been asked by LWVUS to respond to a Program Planning Survey by March 10. Part of this survey is to indicate if that League supports the LWVWA bid for national concurrence on our Local News position. At least 13 local Leagues in Washington have already indicated their support.
  
  
• At some point, likely in April, we will learn if the LWVUS Board of Directors will recommend the position for concurrence at the national League convention.
  
  
• To spread awareness on the importance of national concurrence on our Local News position, the members of the LWVWA Local News Committee have been available to present workshops on how national concurrence on our position would enable Leagues across the country—including LWVUS—to advocate for legislation or other efforts that support local news and media literacy. A number of states and communities have proposed such legislation, including New York and Colorado. 

We recognize that attending convention is costly for individuals, which is why local Leagues are encouraged to host fundraising events to help offset a portion of the delegate costs. The LWVWA is also looking at possible grants from corporations and interested organizations to help offset a portion of the costs for delegates.

Updates on the LWVWA's bid to secure concurrence at the national League convention can be found on our Local News and Democracy page. The updates will also be shared with local League presidents, so you can contact your local League to learn more. 

The League of Women Voters of Washington is pleased to announce that we will be working with KIRO TV to present Senatorial and Gubernatorial debates for the 2024 Election. These debates will be held in October.

The LWVWA will be holding other statewide debates as well. Currently, there are also plans for primary forums for Attorney General, Commissioner for Public Lands, and the Superintendent of Public Schools.

If you would like to be part of the LWVWA Debates Committee, please contact the LWVWA Debates Coordinator Shelley Kneip or LWVWA President Mary Coltrane.

You can find more information in our press release.

In November 2023, the LWVWA Board approved a request to pay writers with lived experience to republish their work in The Evergreen Voter. We will be highlighting issues that are or will be before the legislature. We are pleased to be able to share the perspectives of those who are most affected by these issues.

Our first in the series is an essay by Kevin Light-Roth, originally published in The Stranger, and entitled “Bill to Reduce Solitary Confinement Stalls.”

Light-Roth's essay discusses the challenges faced by the solitary confinement reform bill, HB 1087 during the 2023 legislative session. The bill aims to mandate the reduction of solitary confinement, expand education and therapeutic programming for individuals in solitary, and eventually phase out its use. Despite strong initial support and a diverse coalition, the bill faced opposition based on high projected costs—estimated to be $78 million in the next fiscal period and $98 million in the following two periods. Critics question the accuracy of the above fiscal note and argue that reducing solitary should result in cost savings. The bill was not voted down but stalled in the House Appropriations Committee.

Light-Roth’s essay highlights the psychological impact of solitary and ongoing efforts by advocates to reform the practice. The Department of Corrections proposes reducing solitary by 90% over five years, but critics argue that this falls short of addressing the torture of solitary confinement. The push for reform continues, with the hope that the bill will move forward during the 2024 legislative session. 

You can follow the progress of this legislation, and all of our criminal justice work, on the Criminal Justice issue webpage.

The 2024 legislative session is well underway, completing three weeks in session as of this publication. Our League Lobby Team of Issue Chairs has been very busy reviewing bills, researching, preparing testimony, and writing the Legislative Action Newsletter. The 13 Issue Chairs are supported by 14 Advocates, who are League members with a passion about specific issues and who have the time and talent to help with research and writing. Additionally, Issue Chairs rely on support from the League’s contract lobbyist, Nancy Sapiro, and issue-specific coalitions for background and prioritizing which legislation is most important to support (or oppose).

Here's what goes on behind the scenes. Issue Chairs work in teams of related issues, including Making Democracy Work, Environment and Social and Economic Policy. They begin in the summer, during the legislative interim, recruiting new volunteers and meeting in a retreat to debrief the previous session and determine how to approach the upcoming one.

Early in the term of the new Board (some Board members are elected each year, most at Convention and some at Council), there is a discussion of how the Lobby Team is organized, as background for upcoming issues.  In early fall, each Issue Chair—both current and proposed new ones—submits an application to be appointed to that role. Issue Chairs are authorized to speak for the League and must be approved by the Board. Advocates, in contrast, do not speak for the League and do not need Board approval. They work with Issue Chairs according to interests and the needs of the Issue Chairs.

In later fall, the Lobby Team submits proposed legislative priorities and requests for coalition memberships for Board approval. Then the Team begins organizing the Action Workshop(s) for late November/early December and Democracy Lobby Week in conjunction with Fix Democracy First, typically in late January. (Note, the 2024 Lobby Week is having its celebration as this is published). These activities are organized to provide you—our members and interested readers—with background on the issues and opportunities to meet with your legislators during session.

The week ahead is critical for the legislature. January 31 is the cut-off of bills in the policy committees of the chamber of origin. In other words, if a bill is initiated by a Representative, then the relevant House policy committee must have passed it on to the next stage or the bill has died; and the same in the Senate. Our Lobby Team is working hard to help get priority bills passed by then. This means tracking progress, testifying in committees, meeting with legislators to discuss the bills, and coordinating with relevant coalitions.

The next phases are consideration of fiscal bills—those that generate revenue and those that appropriate, or spend the funds—and working on legislation going through the process in the opposite chamber. Throughout this process, both Chambers meet “on the floor” in session where they vote on what to pass for the other chamber to consider. By February 13, any bill that has not been passed by its chamber of origin dies.

The last day of session is March 7, only three weeks after the above cut-off. During that final period, the opposite chamber is considering bills passed by the first chamber and gets into final budget negotiations. Our Lobby Team works hard to continue to press for legislation and budgets we support, right up to the end.

This is a continuous learning experience for everyone. Even Issue Chairs who have been in that role for a decade or more learn something new each session. If you are interested in joining this team, starting as an Advocate and perhaps moving into an Issue Chair role, please know that we need your help! You will be provided with training and mentoring throughout. Those interested can contact Cynthia Stewart to learn how to get involved.

The Election Credibility Committee (ECC) of the League of Women Voters of Washington is proud to announce a compelling initiative aimed at fostering civic education among high school students—the Student Video Contest. This project presents a unique opportunity for young folks to create impactful 30-60 second videos, engaging their peers in understanding and advocating for election credibility in an informative and persuasive manner. The goal is to empower students to gain accurate information about voting and elections in Washington state, building a culture of knowledge-sharing with friends, family, and the broader public.

Washington high school students are invited to participate in the creation of videos focused on election protection and credibility within the state. The judging process, slated for the summer, will evaluate entries for both content and technical excellence, with winners to be announced in September. The winning videos will gain visibility on social media, various voting websites, and potentially even television. Notably, the student producers behind the winning entries will be rewarded with prize money.

Registration and submission for the contest began in November and will conclude on May 1, 2024. Interested participants can find detailed information and register here.

In a press release from December, the League of Women Voters of Washington, led by President Mary Coltrane, emphasized the significance of this initiative as an opportunity for high school students to deepen their understanding of election credibility. With the inclusion of 17-year-olds in the presidential primary voting process in March, the contest aims to inspire students to learn and share accurate information about Washington state voting and elections, building a sense of active civic engagement.

To acknowledge the hard work and excellence of the winning submissions, the ECC will award cash prizes to the 1st and 2nd place videos. Complete details about the contest, including rules and registration information, are available on the contest webpage. Registration remains open until midnight on May 1, 2024, marking the deadline for both completed registrations and the submission of videos. To support participants in their video production journey, tutorials and guidance will be accessible to all registered contestants, with training resources and in-person tutorials available on the official contest website.

The contest is sponsored by the LWVWA, a nonpartisan organization with a century-long commitment to education, voting, and democratic principles, the contest's judging panel comprises video professionals, election officials, and League members.

Reflecting on the success of the 2023 Student Video Contest, judges praised the winning video for its clarity in addressing voting eligibility and registration, as well as highlighting the critical issue of mis- or disinformation as a significant threat to voting integrity. The video was lauded for its balanced messaging, compelling visuals, and memorable filming angles.

For those wanting to view last year's winning entry, the video is available below.

Those interested in this year’s contest can view the Election Credibility Committee’s High School Video Contest website for more information. 

There are a number of ways you can take action and help support the Lobby Team's advocacy! Some of these include:

• Attend Democracy Lobby Week, January 22 through 26, to hear more details about specific legislation League is supporting. Get more information and register here.

• Participate in meetings with your local Legislators during Democracy Lobby Week. Nervous? Prepare by getting tips on how to effectively discuss the issues with your legislators at Speak-up School, January 6. Get more information and register here.

• Read the weekly Legislative Action Newsletter and follow the Action Alerts. Pick your favorite issues and weigh in electronically. Subscribe here.

• Volunteer to become an advocate on an issue of your choice. Contact the LWVWA Advocacy Chair, Cynthia Stewart, or any of the Issue Chairs here.

• Talk to your friends and neighbors about how they also can be involved in solutions for Washington state.

And why should you help? Because many Washingtonians need help! From homelessness to health care, behavioral health to criminal justice, systemic racism to extreme inequities in wealth, crises from the effects of climate change, and so much more—we all need to be part of the solutions.

For Further Inspiration...

...read On Advocacy by Rosemary Powers, President of the League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County. Here’s what she said about advocacy as she introduced the meeting of the Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness one Friday:

“Today I am thinking about 'advocacy.'" The issues and my response seem to fit today, as this is the time of year for receiving many requests from multiple sources asking us to review budget proposals, identify legislative priorities, let public officials and decision-making groups know what we think should be done to address immediate and long-range housing needs.    

During the meeting today we will hear about the Pierce County budget, and about advocacy priorities for the coming state legislative session. And we’ll think together about advocating—in a more individual sense – about what to say in personal conversations with family, and neighbors, and officials, and strangers—who do not see the issues in the ways we’ve come to see them.

Advocacy is an old concept. From the Medieval Latin word ‘advocare’ (‘to add’ a ‘voice’) it means to plead a case or a cause, to argue that something needs to be changed or improved. Other related words and phrases would be ‘lobbying’, ‘fighting for change’, ‘standing up for rights’, ‘championing a cause’, ‘changing the system’.  We use the word easily as a shorthand way to describe acting in support of what’s important to us—sometimes with others, sometimes with a lot of planning, sometimes out of a deep sense that we cannot stay silent. It makes me wonder why we so often choose to keep silent—or stay silent until we feel compelled, and conclude that we must “add our voice”.

Read more of Rosemary Powers' inspiring remarks here.