⚠️ Action Alerts ⚠️Click on the links below to take action on bills. Want to know more about a bill and why we support it? Review our 2025 Legislative Issues page. |
Making Democracy Work |
Making Democracy Work
SB 5637 Promoting student access to information about media literacy and civic education. The bill would add media literacy training to the ½-credit, one-semester civics education course required of all high school graduates in Washington. The League supports the bill because, thanks to a substitute, it would strengthen, not dilute, the civics curriculum. It would do that by addressing media literacy in the context of elections, civic engagement and decision-making. Furthermore, it requires all instructional materials and resources to be nonpartisan. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has been involved in the development of this bill. This bill passed the Senate passed; yeas, 48; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 1. There is a hearing in the House Committee on Education at 1:30 PM on Monday March 24.
⚠️ Sign in PRO to support HB 5637 HERE by Monday March 24 before 12:30 pm.
HB 1503 Furthering digital equity and opportunity in Washington state. This bill expands the duties of the Washington State Office of Equity (Office of Equity) regarding digital equity, including requiring the Office of Equity to monitor implementation of the Digital Equity Plan and publish an ongoing overview of its progress in promoting digital equity. It transitions certain duties from the Statewide Broadband Office to the Office of Equity, including the duty to conduct an outreach effort regarding broadband and digital equity programs. On March 10 this bill passed the House yeas, 61; nays, 34; absent, 0; excused, 3 and on March 12 it was referred to the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee in the Senate. A hearing as not yet been scheduled.
⚠️ Sign in PRO to support HB 1503 HERE by Monday March 24 before 12:30 pm.
ELECTIONS AND MONEY IN POLITICS
SB 5077 Automatic Voter Registration Expansion. Expands WA’s Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) system to other state agencies that have the ability to confirm citizenship such at the Health Benefit Exchange, Naturalization agencies, and the Department of Corrections. AVR lowers barriers to registration, streamlines voter registration updates, and increases the accuracy of voter roll information. This bill was passed by the Senate on February 12. The bill had a public hearing in the House State Govt and Tribal Relations Committee and is scheduled for executive session on Friday March 28 at 8:30 am.
⚠️ If your representative is on the House State Govt and Tribal Relations Committee comment in support of SB 5077 HERE before 9:30 am on Friday March 28 and ask them to pass it out of committee.
SJR 8008 Concerning Article V Conventions; cancel all past convention
applications. Rescinds prior applications for a
constitutional convention. It is unclear whether applications from WA State for
a constitutional convention ever expire and whether the scope set forth in the
applications must be adhered to. Wealthy interest groups could exploit
decisions made by our ancestors to amend the Constitution and remove or alter
our federal rights. This bill does not prohibit future applications for a
constitutional convention. This bill
passed the full Senate on February 19. This bill had a public hearing in the
House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on March 19 and is
scheduled for executive session on Wednesday March 26 at 1:30 pm.
⚠️ If your representative is on the House State Govt and Tribal Relations Committee comment in support of SJR 8008 HERE before 2:30 pm on Wednesday March 26 and ask them to pass it out of committee.
LOCAL NEWS AND DEMOCRACY
SB 5637 Promoting student access to information about media literacy and civic education. With substitutions by Sen. Krishnadasan, Sen. Fortunato’s bill is scheduled for a public hearing at 1:30 p.m., Monday, March 24, in the House committee on Education. The bill would add media literacy training directly focused on elections, civic engagement and decision-making to the ½-credit, one-semester civics education course required of all high school graduates in Washington.
Sen. Krishnadasan has worked with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to revise the bill. The bill also requires all instructional materials and resources to be nonpartisan.
Supporters, including the League of Women Voters of Washington, believe such legislation is vital, given three troubling realities: growing political polarization among Americans; a widespread lack of understanding among youth and adults about how government works; and the continuing explosion of mis- and dis-information.
Notably, the 2024 General Election saw a significant drop in voter participation among 18- to 24-year-olds from 2020, with approximately 42 percent voting last year compared with more than 50 percent in 2020. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing at 1:30 p.m.
⚠️Sign in PRO for SB 5637 HERE on Monday, March 24 before 12:30 pm.
HB
1503 Furthering digital equity and opportunity in Washington
state.
This bill—focusing more on social service rather than technology concerns—would
strengthen and clarify the Washington State Digital Equity Act of 2022. Among
its plusses is that it would strengthen recognition of broadband adoption and
digital equity alongside current broadband buildout goals and its support for
increasing digital equity by way of coordination with the state Office of
Equity.
It also more fully engages community anchor institutions and organizations with local agencies, Tribes, people with lived experiences. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy and Technology.
⚠️Sign in PRO for 2SHB 1503 HERE on Tuesday, March 25 before 12:30 pm.
SB 5400 Supporting local news journalism. The League of Women Voters of Washington continues to encourage people to contact their lawmakers—particularly if their senator is a member of the Ways & Means committee—in support of SB 5400, which would raise approximately $20 million annually for local news outlets. Ways & Means committee members have the option of moving the bill to the floor for a vote or adding a provision for it in the Senate budget.
More than a dozen people testified before Senate Ways & Means on Tuesday, March 18, on SB 5400. The bill is garnering notable attention because it represents the most significant boost nationwide for local news, except for an effort in California, where the future of that pursuit is now in question.
One of the key aspects of SB 5400 is that it raises its own revenue by adding a nominal surcharge on select social media platforms and search engines. That means it will not take dollars from the General Fund.
Search engines and social media platforms continue to significantly impact local news outlets by taking content the outlets produce without providing compensation and by siphoning off critical ad revenue from them. Local news outlets are being decimated, but the search engines and social media platforms benefit handsomely. Impending tariffs on Canadian newsprint announced by the federal administration pose the latest threat to outlets that publish print editions. During Tuesday’s hearing, Seattle Times president Alan Fisco warned “the number of closures will escalate quickly in small communities,” where print newspapers are often more common than online news publications.
⚠️If you haven’t already done so, contact your legislator HERE, particularly if they are on the Senate Ways and Means committee, and ask that they move SB 5400 to the floor for a vote or add a provision for it in the state budget.
REDISTRICTING
No action alerts this week.
Environment
CLIMATE CRISIS & ENERGY
HB 1514 Encouraging the deployment of low carbon thermal energy networks. Thermal energy networks tie together sources of zero carbon energy such ground source, geothermal, and waste heat to enable and optimize efficient reuse. Heat pumps efficiently increase the temperature of this free energy making it useful for valuable purposes. Unneeded or unwanted heat in one building is transported to another building where it’s needed. While the energy is free, transporting it requires investment in pipes, heat pumps, and other infrastructure. Then the continuing cost is only maintenance, not fuel. These principles also apply to sources of “cold” for cooling buildings in the network. This legislation provides some regulation relief for certain operations to make available the waste heat for this system application.
⚠️ Sign in PRO on HB 1514 HERE by Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00 am.
HB 1819 Increasing Transmission Capacity—Reconductoring. Advanced transmission conductors exhibit reduced resistance and can operate at higher temperatures than conventional high-voltage electrical transmission cables. When legacy transmission cables are replaced with advanced cables, more energy can move through the existing transmission corridors with less transmission loss, and save the time required to permit and construct additional transmission. This bill adds passages to existing law to incentivize utilities to invest in advanced transmission to increase our grid capacity. We must invest in every available technology improvement to move the renewable energy from where we generate it to where we use it because our demand is growing.
⚠️ Sign in PRO on HB 1819 HERE by Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00 am.
FORESTS
Ask your legislator to prepare for wildfire by funding the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account. In 2021, the Legislature passed HB 1168 that created a Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account. Funds in this Account are to be used for wildfire preparedness, prevention, and protection purposes in Washington state. Since that time, the Wildfire Account has enabled the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington State Conservation Commission, Tribes, and communities to make substantial progress and deliver measurable results in community resilience, forest restoration, and wildfire response. However, our state continues to face increasing wildfire threats intensified by a warming climate, which demand sustained investments to protect lives, property, natural resources, and critical infrastructure.
The original intent of the Account was to sustain investments of $125 million for investments in this sustainability work. Please contact your legislators and ask them to support this level of investment in the adopted biennial budget.
⚠️ Contact your Legislator HERE and ask for $125 million for the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT
No action alerts this week.
WASTE DIVERSION
HB 1483 Right to Repair (Supporting the servicing and right to repair of certain products with digital electronics in a secure and reliable manner): Championed by Representative Gregerson and Senator Derek Stanford. This bill requires digital electronic product manufacturers, such as Apple and Microsoft, to make repair information, parts and tools available to independent repair businesses and owners. There’s a huge amount of e-waste! For example, on average, Washington disposes of 8,700 phones every day. This bill would make it possible for small businesses to repair these items. Extending the life of computers, tablets and cellphones, and appliances reduces the burden on manufacturing new products – therefore also decreasing greenhouse gas. This bill will lower costs for consumers, get used digital electronics into the hands of people who need them, and help overcome digital inequities in Washington. This way, people will keep using their items instead of tossing them. STATUS: HOUSE: passed – yeas 94; nays 1; absent 0. SENATE: Public Hearing in Environment, Energy & Technology, March 26 at 8 a.m. SENATE: no action, the vehicle is now HB 1483.
⚠️ Sign in PRO for HB 1483 HERE by Wednesday, March 26, at 7 am.
SB 5284 The Recycling Reform Act (Improving Washington’s solid waste management outcomes. Formerly, the Re-WRAP Act): Championed by Representative Liz Berry and Senator Liz Lovelett, this bill would establish a product stewardship program for packaging and printed paper, including recycling and reuse targets and plastic source reduction. STATUS: HB 1150 did not pass out of house: vehicle is now the Senate bill. STATUS: SENATE: passed; yeas, 27; nays, 22; absent, 0; excused, 0, March 7; HOUSE: Public Hearing held in House Committee on Environment & Energy March 17.
⚠️ If your legislator is on the House Environment and Energy Committee, contact them HERE and ask to move this bill out of policy committee
TRANSPORTATION
No action alerts this week.
Social & Economic Policy
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
HB 1432 Improving access to appropriate mental health and substance abuse disorder services. As the title states, the purpose of the bill is to improved access to appropriate mental health and substance use disorder treatment by updating Washington's mental health parity law and ensuring coverage of medically necessary care. See below for a detailed explanation of the bill’s provisions. There is a public hearing scheduled in the Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care on Tuesday, March 25 at 10:30 am.
⚠️ Please sign PRO on HB 1432 HERE on March 25 before 9:30 am.
EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION
SB 5030 Improving access to educational services by reducing barriers to obtaining vital records and allowing alternative forms of documentation. Prohibits DOH and local registrars from charging a birth certificate fee when requested by a parent or guardian with a child who is a member of an assistance unit eligible for or receiving food benefits and enrolling in an early learning program or a public school. Requires DCYF and the OSPI to adopt a rule requiring acceptance of alternative documents to show a child's age or date of birth. Fiscal note: $176,000 for 2025-2027. Local government fiscal impact non-zero but indeterminant. Passed by full Senate on Mar 12. First reading, referred to House Early Learning & Human Services Mar 14. Scheduled for Public Hearing in House Early Learning & Human Services Mar 25 at 1:30 pm. Executive session scheduled for Mar 28 at 8:00 am.
⚠️ Sign in PRO on SB 5030 HERE by Tuesday, March 25 at 12:30 pm.
SB 5545 Modifying provisions regarding family home providers overseen and certified by a federal military service (new title). Formerly, relating to exempting family home providers overseen and certified by a federal military service from child care licensing. Substitute exempts from DCYF child care licensing family home providers in the surrounding metro area of a federal military reservation that are overseen and currently certified by a federal military service. Substitute clarifies that the state will investigate complaints of child abuse and neglect in such family homes. Fiscal note-$289,000. Passed by the full Senate Mar 3. First reading, referred to House Early Learning & Human Services Mar 5. Public hearing in Early Learning & K-12 Mar 26 at 1:30 pm.
⚠️Sign in PRO on SB 5545 HERE by Wednesday, Mar 26 at 12:30 pm.
SB 5752 Relating to modifying child care and early childhood development programs. Substitute delays implementation of the Fair Start for Kids Act including expanded eligibility for Working Connections Child Care and ECEAP entitlement. Makes early-ECEAP and certain provider supports subject to appropriation and repeals certain WCCC expanded eligibility and work requirement waiver provisions. Creates a new family co-payment structure that increases based on number of children family has in care. Proposes other modifications to WCCC authorization and payment processes. Requires DCYF to publish a cost of quality child care and market rate study by June 1 of even-numbered years. Includes an emergency clause. Revised fiscal note: estimated savings of $392,731,000 for 2025-2027. Substitute bill passed the full Senate on Mar 12. First reading, referred to House Early Learning & Human Services on Mar 14. Scheduled for Public Hearing in Early Learning & Human Services Mar 25 at 1:30 pm. Executive session Mar 28 at 8:00 am.
⚠️ Sign in CON on SB 5752 HERE by Tuesday, Mar 25 at 12:30 pm.
K-12 Education
No action alerts this week.HEALTH CARE
No action alerts this week.AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS
HB 1217 Rent Stabilization. The long title is “Improving housing stability for tenants subject to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act by limiting rent and fee increases, requiring notice of rent and fee increases, limiting fees and deposits, establishing a landlord resource center and associated services, authorizing tenant lease termination, creating parity between lease types, and providing for attorney general enforcement.” This bill would improve the current situation of rent gouging and short notices to tenants, making them unable to adjust to rent increases. It would limit rent and fee increases to 7% during any 12-month period and prohibit rent and fee increases during the first 12 months of a tenancy for tenants subject to the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act and the Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act, regardless of the length or type of lease, with certain exemptions. It would also provide a variety of other tenant protections. HB 1217 passed the House as a second substitute and was referred to the Senate Housing Committee, where it had a public hearing on March 19. It is scheduled for executive session on Wednesday, March 26.
⚠️Contact the Senate Housing Committee HERE in support of this bill before Wednesday, March 26.
CHILDREN'S ISSUES
No action alerts this week.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SB 5490 Developing Policies for Searches of Trans and Intersex People in Jail. This bill requires jails to adopt and implement policies and procedures for conducting searches of trans and intersex individuals.
⚠️ Sign in PRO SB 5490 HERE on Wednesday, March 26 before 3:00 pm.
SB 5103 Expediting Sentence Review Where There is a Pending Deportation Proceeding. This bill provides an expedited review of a petition for clemency or pardon when there is a pending deportation order or proceeding and clarifies that a person is eligible for sentence review regardless of immigration status.
⚠️ Sign in PRO for SB 5103 HERE on Thursday, March 27 before 7:00 am.
REVENUE
On Monday, March 24, the Senate and House are expected to release their proposed budgets and public hearings will be held the next day, Tuesday, March 25. As noted at the top of this week’s newsletter, the League supports adding new progressive revenue to address the anticipated budget shortfall as well as addressing the current inequity in the tax structure, rather than relying entirely on budget reductions.
In the past week, the Senate announced a package of specific progressive revenue proposals that begin to address the tax structure and aid in offsetting otherwise needed reductions in services, and the League supports these based on our position of advocacy in favor of a “balanced tax structure that is fair, adequate, flexible, and has a sound economic effect.”
⚠️ Contact your legislators HERE to let them know you would like progressive revenues passed.