Charli Sorenson

ACTION ALERT – APR. 10-14

Homestretch & Updates!

From LWVWA 4/9/23 Legislative Newsletter.

We’re in the home stretch now. The next couple of weeks will be very busy with floor votes and budget work. Between now and April 12th there will be long hours of floor votes, including debates and party caucus meetings. Then between April 12th and April 23rd, the two houses will be resolving differences in bills, and in some cases moving to House-Senate conference committees to reach agreement.

The operational, capital and transportation budgets must be passed by both houses, which means lots of negotiating. This is very sensitive and important since revenue forecasts may not be as positive as they have been previous years. It may mean that everything cannot be funded, and choices will have to be made.

Please see the Action Alert below, it concerns ensuring a supply of abortion medication for our state, in view of efforts to restrict its availability.

Ensure Access to Reproductive Healthcare!

SB 5768, Protecting Access to Abortion Medicine, seeks to protect the right to reproductive freedom by making pregnancy terminations safe and effective before 10 weeks of pregnancy. Medication is now used in more than 50% of abortions have been authorized and used safely for more than 20 years for this purpose by the FDA. Tell your legislators you support access to necessary reproductive healthcare!

Click here to sign-in PRO on SB 5768

    Updates on Bills we Support This Session

    Bills STILL IN PLAY

    • ESHB 1789. Expanding revenue generation and economic opportunities from natural climate solutions and ecosystem services. Passed the House, is in Senate Ways & Means Committee.
    • SSB 5078. Protecting public safety by establishing duties of firearm industry members. Passed the Senate, is on the House floor calendar.
    • ESHB 1329. Preventing utility shutoffs for nonpayment during extreme heat. Passed the House, is on the Senate floor calendar.

    Bills that passed

    • ESSB 5082. Encouraging voter participation, making ballots more meaningful by Abolishing Advisory Votes. Passed both houses, is on Governor’s desk for signage.
    • ESHB 1048. Enhancing the Washington voting rights act. Passed both Houses, awaiting governor’s signature.
    • ESSB 5179. Increasing access to provisions of the Washington Death with Dignity Act. Passed both houses, signed by Governor.
    • SHB 1460, Concerning the department of natural resources land transactions, revenue distributions, and creation and management of a trust land transfer program. Passed both houses, waiting for signatures of House Speaker and Senate President before moving to governor’s desk.
    • 2SHB 1032 Mitigating the risk of wildfires through electric utility planning and identification of best management practices appropriate to each electric utility’s circumstances. Passed both houses, waiting for signatures of House Speaker and Senate President before moving to governor’s desk.
    • E2SSB 5112. Updating Processes Related to Voter Registration. Passed both houses, waiting for signatures of House Speaker and Senate President before moving to governor’s desk.
    • E2SSB 5144. Providing for responsible environmental management of batteries. Passed both houses, waiting for signatures of House Speaker and Senate President before moving to governor’s desk.

    Bills that Died

    • HB 1513. Improving Traffic Safety. Died in Committee.
    • HB 1677. Concerning Campaign Finance Disclosure. Died in Committee.
    • HB 1228. Building a multilingual, multiliterate Washington through dual and tribal language education. Died in Committee.
    • HB 1473/SB5486. Investing in Washington families and creating a more fair tax system by enacting a narrowly tailored property tax on extreme wealth derived from the ownership of stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible property. Died in Committee.
    • HB 1131. Improving Washington’s solid waste management outcomes. Died in Committee.
    • HB 1174. Improving access and removing barriers to jail-based voting. Died in Committee.
    • HB 1025. Creating a private right of action for harm from violations of the state Constitution or state law by peace officers. Died in Committee.
    • SB 5241. Concerning material changes to the operations and governance structure of participants in the health care marketplace. Died in Committee.

    Thank you for supporting the League’s priorities!

    There are several other ways you can follow the hearings and legislative process:

    • Via TVW (Washington State’s public affairs TV network), and
    • On the Washington State Legislature website.

    We recommend you sign up to get the LWV Washington weekly legislative newsletter delivered to your own inbox! Lots more happening in the upcoming week.

    Learn more here.