From LWVWA Legislative newsletter 1/26/25. This is the third week of the 2025 legislative session. Committees are well underway with public hearings, executive sessions to move bills out of policy committees and submittals to the Rules Committee for scheduling floor action on the ones that have passed through the committees. The Action Items below are ones that we hope every reader will use. For additional action items, which help pass bills the League supports on specific issues, click on the see all action alerts, and take action on the ones you are most interested in. Thank you for your support!
Priority actions – let your elected representatives hear from you!
Recognize Election Day as a Holiday. This bill, HB 1116, Recognizing Election Day as a Holiday and Promoting Civic Education, makes the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November (Election Day) a “recognized legislative holiday” and directs the WA Secretary of State to create materials that can be used by state and local governmental entities, schools, etc. to offer educational programming on democracy and voting. Empowering voters and civic education are key missions of the League. This bill passed out of the House State Gov’t & Tribal Relations unanimously on Jan. 17. A public hearing is scheduled for 4 pm on January 27 before the House Appropriations Committee. Sign in PRO HB 1116 HERE by 3:00 pm on Monday, January 27.
Support Local News. This bill, SB 5400, Supporting Local News Journalism, would establish a Journalism Corps Program to create grants that would support the employment of news journalists to cover civic affairs in underserved communities. It would go a long way in easing the crisis that has reduced and, in many cases, eliminated local news coverage for millions of Washingtonians. It would establish the Washington Local News Journalism Corps Program in the Department of Commerce to distribute grants to support the employment of journalists to cover civic affairs in underserved communities.
Funding would come from an existing workforce education investment surcharge imposed on select advanced computing businesses, namely Big Tech. The bill calls for $20 million of the funds deposited in the Workforce Education Investment Account to be used to support the Journalism Corps Program each fiscal year. Care would be taken to ensure grants would go to news organizations, including print and online newspapers, radio and television, that meet specific criteria. Those standards include regularly updated coverage of local civic affairs, systems for verifying facts and correcting and reporting errors, and the employment of professional staff.
LWVWA supports this bill because it recognizes that an informed electorate is engaged and enables our democracy to work. The bill is being heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on Tuesday, January 28 at 10:30 am. Sign in PRO SB 5400 HERE by 9:30 am on Tuesday, January 28.
Reduce Financial Barriers to Pre-Natal and Post-Natal Care. The legislature has already established goals and enacted significant policies to achieve reduction in food waste and organics management. More work remains to be done in the organic materials management area. This bill, HB 1497, Compost, Organics Management (Improving Outcomes Associated with Waste Material Management Systems), takes additional steps forward on the path toward more environmentally and economically sustainable practices.
The bill calls for development of education and outreach programs; development and administration of grant programs to support the implementation of requirements of this act; standardization of collection containers, providing single-family and multi-family organics programs as well as business organics management; establishing a sustainable farm funding program; and creating a farm-to-school food procurement program as well as management of food waste from schools. The bill is being heard in the House Environment and Energy Committee, on Tuesday, January 28 at 4 pm Sign in PRO on HB 1497 HERE by 3:00 pm on Tuesday, January 28.
Improve Educational Opportunities for People Who Are Incarcerated. Education in prison is a key component to successful reentry into society. Current educational opportunities are not adequate—space is limited, and the classes being offered do not always meet the needs of people who are incarcerated. HB 1166, the Providing Effective Education for Reentry Success (PEERS) Act addresses these concerns by authorizing pilot programs in adult and youth facilities to allow people to (1) purchase laptops to access online educational content and (2) access federal funding for correspondence courses. These steps will increase access to educational opportunities and improve the ability of incarcerated people to successfully enter the modern workforce upon release. A public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 29. Sign in PRO on HB 1166 HERE by 12:30 pm on Wednesday, January 29.
Concerning Universal Health Care. SJM 8004, Memorial to the US Congress and President Concerning Universal Health Care, describes a national universal health care program as the most efficient and cost-effective means of providing access to health care for everyone and how it could eliminate the economic, physical and mental health pain and suffering so many Americans are experiencing due to lack of timely access to health care and/or debt incurred. It calls for authority for the State of Washington, in the absence of a federal program, to create its own universal health care program. This bill will be heard in the Senate Health & long-Term Care Committee at 8:00 am on Thursday, January 30. Sign in PRO on SJM 8004 HERE by 7:00 am on Thursday, January 30.
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