From LWVWA Legislative 2/1/26 newsletter:
As we begin the fourth week of the 2026 legislative session we will see a flurry of activity. On Wednesday, Feb. 4, any bill that has not passed the policy committee in its house of origin effectively dies for this legislative session. The next cutoff date is for bills with fiscal implications to pass their respective fiscal committees—House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means—and the transportation committees. That is the following Monday, Feb. 9.
The last day for bills to pass their house of origin is Feb. 17. If a bill does not move to the opposite chamber, it is considered dead for the session—except for bills that are deemed “necessary to implement the budget (NTIB).”
Priority Actions for the week of Feb. 2-6
Don’t Let a Few Ruin the Vote for Many. Washington State has proudly protected our voters from most anti-voter tactics that plague people across the nation. We can continue that legacy by protecting our voters from mass voter challenges by supporting HB 1916 Amending voter registration challenges and managing voter registration lists. Mass voter registration challenges occur when individuals or organized groups contest the eligibility of a large number of voters at once, typically alleging that they no longer live in the jurisdiction. This practice has surged since 2020 due to new software and organized efforts focused on unsubstantiated election security concerns. This bill strengthens the rules for challenging a voter’s registration. It gives auditors more power in throwing out false claims and makes it harder to bring claims in the first place. This bill was placed on second reading on Jan. 27 and now needs to be passed by the House of Representatives.
Contact your House member HERE asking them to pass HB 1916 to protect against mass voter registration challenges by Tues. Feb. 3 at 3 pm.
Eliminate Preferential Treatment for Coal HB 2367, Eliminating preferential treatment related to a coal-fired electric generating plant, removes the exemption from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) for a coal-fired electric generation facility after Jan. 1, 2026, meaning they must purchase allowances to emit greenhouse gases if they operate after that date. Plus, the bill will reimpose sales and use taxes for this plant. The state’s last coal-fired generation plant in Centralia was given an exemption from the taxes and fees if it permanently closed by the end of 2025. The plant was closed in mid-December. This bill is scheduled for public hearing in House Finance on Feb. 3 at 8:00 am.
Sign in PRO on HB 2367 HERE by Tues. Feb. 3, 7 am.
Support Local News SSB 5400, Supporting local news journalism, helps rebuild Washington’s local news environment, where outlets have experienced devasting decline as search engines and social media platforms scrape those outlets’ content and dominate advertising. Importantly, the bill is revenue generating. Proceeds from a nominal surcharge on big-tech social media platforms and search engines cover the costs of the program. The money collected would be distributed as grants to for-profit and nonprofit news organizations. A limited carve-out of dollars would support an expansion of the Murrow News Fellowship at Washington State University to allow placement of a fellow in each of Washington’s 39 counties. SB 5400 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means on Feb. 5 at 1:30 pm.
Sign in PRO on SB 5400 HERE by Thurs. Feb. 5 by 12:30 pm.
For additional action items, which help pass or defeat bills the League supports or opposes 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.