SB 5400 Supporting local news journalism.
This bill would establish a fund for supporting local news in Washington state. The bill is currently being amended to be revenue generating and not add net costs to the challenged 2025-2027 biennium budget. If the proposed amendment is accepted, the bill would establish a surcharge on international companies that generate more than $100 billion in advertising revenue. That would help offset the impact of those companies’ practices of taking content and ad revenue from the original news producers without any royalty fees or payments, which has continued to diminish local news organizations, such as Google, which reported revenue of $348 billion in 2024; and Meta, which reported revenue of $164 billion for 2024. Payments would be capped at $10 million per year. Among the amendments that are proposed is to establish $1 million of the bill’s revenue as “seed” money to expand the highly successful Murrow News Fellowship at Washington State University.

 In 2025, the bill was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee but did not pass out of committee. In order for the bill to successfully be amended as proposed, and begin to meaningfully rebuild local news in Washington state, your help is needed. Please contact your senators and members of the Senate Ways & Means Committee to request a public hearing for the bill.  As you email or phone your Senator to ask for the public hearing, remind them of the importance of local news and that it is foundational to our democracy and vital to the health and well-being of our communities.

HB 1168 Increasing transparency in artificial intelligence.

HB 1833 Creating an artificial intelligence grant program.

SB 5395 Making improvements to transparency and accountability in the prior authorization determination process.

How To Be Involved

• If you are interested in a particular bill, use the links above to go to the webpage for that bill. These pages include staff summaries and reports including who testified PRO versus CON on the bill. There is also information about how to access videos of hearings that have been held. 
  
  
• Read and take action through the LWVWA Legislative Action Newsletter, distributed each Sunday during the legislative session.
  
  
• You may also express your opinion on legislation with the LWVWA issue chairs. We will take your perspectives under consideration as we determine our support for legislation and prepare testimony. Contact Dee Anne Finken, Local News and Democracy Issue Chair.
  
  
• Another way to be involved is to join the LWVWA Local News and Democracy Committee. Contact Dee Anne Finken for more information or to join.