Another major cutoff in the WA Legislature: Here’s what passed and what didn’t
Wednesday marked another major deadline during the 2023 legislative session as bills had to be passed out of their house of origin in order to continue their progress in the state Legislature.
Bills that have been passed from their first chamber will now head to the opposite chamber for committee hearings.
House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox told reporters Thursday during a press conference that the cutoff date “had its normal number of surprises and a little bit of behind-the-scenes drama” in terms of policy successes.
Wilcox said he believed this year so far has been a good year for housing, after years of “bad” housing policies in the state Legislature.
“I think that both sides had a commitment to getting the bills out that would actually expand buildable space, and Republicans and Democrats with a mixed coalition were able to do that,” said Wilcox.
On the other hand, Wilcox said Democrats passed some policies that reversed accountability for certain individuals.
“We reduced sentencing for people that do the most heinous crimes and ironically we reversed a few decades of enhancing penalties for people that use firearms,” he added.
During a press conference with Democratic leaders on Thursday, Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, told reporters that Senate Democrats were “pleased” with the policies that will advance forward and that lawmakers had tackled many significant issues so far.
Specifically, he pointed to special education and said that it was one of the biggest priorities for lawmakers this session. He noted that the funding for special education will be one of the biggest investments in the budget and that he was glad to see strong bipartisan support for the effort.
“The goal is for every child in Washington state to achieve their fullest potential and in order to do that we need to provide the resources for every student, and particularly for the students that need a little extra help,” he said.
Additionally, the state’s response to the Blake Decision was another priority for Senate lawmakers this year, he said.
“There were a lot of ideas and I feel like we came together on a really productive treatment-centered bipartisan solution,” said Billig. “I think it’s a bill that will still get further refinement as it moves through the process because it is such a big issue with a lot of pieces, but it’s going to be one of the most important things we do this session is to come up with an effective bill that helps people to get healthy and to help families and individuals to succeed, and also keep our communities safe and I think we can do that in a bill that we’re going to pass this session.”
Legislation to address the Blake Decision was passed off the Senate floor last week.
Gov. Jay Inslee told reporters Thursday that he is also pleased with how things have progressed this session so far, pointing to proposed measures on multiple fronts such as gun reform, fighting climate change, supporting behavioral health and funding special education. Most importantly, he said, lawmakers are making progress on housing.
He also pointed to police pursuits, and said he hoped the House will consider the Senate proposal that passed Wednesday.
The next cutoff date in this year’s legislative session is March 29, where policy bills without fiscal impacts must pass from committee in order to advance to a vote on the chamber floor.
Here are some of the bills that cleared their chamber before cutoff:
Policing
Senate Bill 5352: After House democrats refused to pull a similar House companion bill from the Rules Committee to the floor for a vote at House Republicans’ request on Tuesday, Senate Democrats took things into their own hands Wednesday by suspending the rules to bring their version of the legislation forward.
The bill would lower the threshold for law enforcement officials to be able to pursue suspects in certain instances, and passed the Senate with a 26-23 vote with several Democrats and Republicans voting against the measure.
Republicans argued that the legislation did not go far enough to modify the police pursuit law passed in 2021 which raised the threshold for instances where police could pursue suspects, and Democrats on the floor Wednesday argued that the proposed legislation this year went too far.
If the proposed legislation is passed by the House chamber and signed into law by Inslee, the legislation would go into effect 90 days after the legislative session adjourns on April 23.
Housing
House Bill 1110: One of the most important housing bills for Republican and Democratic lawmakers this session passed off the House floor on Monday with a 75-21 vote.
Sponsored by Rep. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, and Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, the bill is meant to increase “missing middle” housing in areas that are traditionally zoned for single family housing. Certain cities would be required under the Growth Management Act to authorize minimum densities as well as “include specific provisions related to middle housing in their development regulations.”
Education
Senate Bill 5311: This legislation sponsored by Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island, as well as several Republicans and other Democrats, provides an additional $800 million in funding for special education in Washington state.
While the bipartisan legislation passed unanimously from the Senate floor on March 3, Senate Majority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, later said in a statement that he believed the funding didn’t go far enough, but said the bill was a step in the right direction.
Guns
House Bill 1240: This legislation would prohibit the “manufacture, importation, distribution, sale, or offer for sale of any assault weapon” in the state of Washington and passed the House chamber late Wednesday night on mostly party lines, with some Democrats voting against the proposed measure.
The bill will now head to the Senate for consideration. If passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Jay Inslee, the legislation would go into effect immediately. Two amendments sponsored by House Republicans during the floor debate Wednesday would have delayed that date, but neither amendment was adopted.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, and co-sponsored by 25 other Democratic lawmakers. Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson requested the legislation.
House Bill 1143: Democratic lawmakers in Washington state voted Tuesday night on a bill that would require a 10-day waiting period when purchasing firearms.
Firearms dealers would not be able to sell or transfer guns without completion of a background check and 10 days have elapsed since the check was initiated. Those purchasing firearms would also have to show valid proof of a completed firearms safety training program completed in the previous five years.
The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Liz Berry, D-Seattle, at the request of Inslee’s office, and passed the House with a 52-44 vote. It will now head to the Senate for consideration, and if signed by Inslee would go into effect Jan.1, 2025 pending funding in the state budget.
Pink Tax
Senate Bill 5171: A bill to eliminate gender-based pricing was passed out of the Senate on Tuesday with a 27-21 vote. If passed by the House and signed by Inslee, the bill would prevent companies in Washington from charging different prices for similar products that are marketed to men and women.
Products marketed towards women are generally more expensive, and the discriminatory practice is referred to as a “pink tax.”
The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond.
Bills that died before cutoff:
Blood Alcohol Content
Senate Bill 5002: While this legislation made it onto the floor calendar for consideration Wednesday, it did not end up getting a debate or a vote before the cutoff.
Sponsored by Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, would lower the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit from .08 to .05 while operating a vehicle.
Inslee told reporters on Thursday that he was disappointed to see the legislation stall, but said he hoped that lawmakers during the next legislative session could get it to his desk to be signed.
Rent stabilization
House Bill 1389: Although momentum for the legislation to cap rent increases was high this year, this bill did not pass. The bill would have prevented landlords from increasing rents on tenants within the first 12 months of tenancy. Rent increases in subsequent years would have also been capped at certain percentages as well.
The proposed legislation was sponsored by Rep. Alex Ramel, D-Bellingham. The bill made it to the Rules Committee on Feb. 24 after it was voted out of executive sessions, but never advanced to the House floor for a debate after Republicans added multiple amendments to the legislation.
Wilcox told reporters this legislation would have made it more difficult for landlords in the state.
Extremist commission
House Bill 1333: Under this legislation that did not pass the House chamber, a Domestic Violent Extremism Commission would have been created in the state of Washington. Some of the duties included for that commission would have included addressing and adapting responses to early signs of radicalization as well as recommending policies to address domestic violence extremism.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Bill Ramos, D-Issaquah, and while it was placed on the floor calendar, it was not brought forward for a debate.
