From LWVWA Legislative Newsletter 1/19/26

Monday is the beginning of the second week of the 2026 legislative session. This week will continue to include both committee briefings and public hearings on various bills. Committees will have increasingly active agendas over the next few weeks, as the first cutoff date—the policy committee cutoff in the house of origin—is on February 4. The Priority Actions above are ones that we hope every reader will complete.

SB 5906 Protect Washingtonians in Sensitive Public Spaces. Establishing data and personal safety protections within areas of public accommodation for all Washington residents. The Secure and Accountable Federal Enforcement Act (the SAFE Act) expands and codifies model policies developed by the state attorney general (as directed by the Keep Washington Working Act) regarding cooperation with federal immigration enforcement at or near K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and publicly operated health care facilities. It also extends protections for people working at, visiting, or seeking services from hospitals, child care and early learning facilities, and election offices.

Communities are stronger and safer when people aren’t forced to live in fear. Too many Washingtonians are staying home and keeping their children at home out of fear of ICE operations that are violent and conducted without a warrant that could separate their families. The SAFE Act is about making sure Washingtonians can go to school, work at a child care or health care facility, and go to a medical appointment without fear of warrantless immigration operations. This bill will have a public hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee on January 20 at 8:00 am.

Please sign in PRO HERE by Tuesday, January 20 at 7:00 am.

HB 1607 Pass the Beverage Deposit aka Bottle Bill. Beverage deposit aka Bottle Bill (Concerning recycling and waste reduction): Championed by Rep. Stonier and Sen. Robinson, this bill requires beverage brands to form a producer responsibility organization to fund and implement a 10 cent refund value redemption program for beverage containers. Companion bill SB 5502 is in Senate Rules. HB 1607 has a hearing in House Appropriations on Wednesday, January 21, at 4:00 pm.

         Please sign in PRO on HB 1607 HERE by Wednesday, January 21, at 3:00 pm.

HB 2210 Allow Local Governments to Adopt Alternative Elections Systems. This bill recognizes that local governments need clear and flexible authority to adopt alternative election systems like ranked-choice voting (RCV) and proportional representation—tools that help reduce vote splitting, reflect voter preferences more accurately, and support effective local governance. HB 2210 does the following:

• Authorizes local jurisdictions to choose to adopt ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, or other approved election methods in the next 6 years. 
• Provides clearer legal authority for local options reducing uncertainty and litigation risk around adopting alternative voting methods.
• Supports democratic resilience by offering practical tools for local governments during a time when voting rights protections are being threatened at the federal level.

This bill builds on years of work in Washington to equip cities, counties, and other local governments with tools that expand voter choice and strengthen representation.

Contact the members of the State Govt & Tribal Relations Committee HERE to ask them to PASS HB 2210 out of committee.

SB 5400 Support Local News Journalism. This bill remains a revenue-generating bill this session, expected to raise more than $20 million annually by way of a nominal surcharge (1.22 percent) on big-tech search engines and social media outlets that gross more than $5,000,000 annually. Funds would be distributed as grants to both for-profit and nonprofit qualifying news organizations.

New this year is a limited carve-out of revenue to help support an expansion of the Murrow News Fellowship at Washington State University. That expansion would allow for the placement of a fellow working with a local news outlet in each of Washington’s 39 counties, modeled along the lines of the Washington State County Extension Service.

Proponents emphasize the bill would not take from state resources or tax individuals or businesses other than big-tech search engines and social media platforms. Those organizations have contributed significantly to the local news decline by taking locally produced content and significant advertising revenue from local news outlets without any payment or royalty fees.

Contact Senator Warnick, who is a member of the Ways & Means committee, HERE to ask her to call for a public hearing on SB 5400.

HB 2170/SB 5999 Support Climate-Smart Forest Management. Expanding revenue generation and economic opportunities from natural climate solutions and ecosystem services. This bill would give the DNR the legal authority to expand revenue generation from natural climate solutions and ecosystem services—such as carbon storage—rather than clearcut logging. Action is needed now to give Washington’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) a better way to protect older forests—while generating revenue from ecosystem services instead of destroying them.

Tell your legislators HERE to SUPPORT HB 2170/SB 5999.

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 for the League’s issues! There are many more action alerts in this weeks legislative newsletter! Get the LWVWA Legislative newsletter delivered direct to you by subscribing here.