Here’s a look at legislation that passed, and failed, this session in the legislature
Washington lawmakers continued to pass legislation throughout the final day of the 2022 legislative session on Thursday, stretching into the final moments of the evening before adjourning.
With hours left to go, legislators managed to pass a bill to set the framework for collective bargaining rights for legislative staff before debating on the state’s operating budget and transportation package to close out the session.
A previous version of the legislation failed to pass. Former legislative staff said the new bill provides a “roadmap” to a unionized future, but what they wanted was the “toll gate” to be lifted on the road to unionization. The Office of State Legislative Labor Relations is also created under the legislation. Legislative staff cannot begin collective bargaining negotiations until May 1, 2024.
The bill passed the Senate 28-20, and the House voted to concur with Senate amendments Thursday with a 57-41 vote.
Here are some of the other pieces of legislation that lawmakers in the state passed this year:
▪ House Bill 1725 creates the first missing, murdered and Indigenous people alert system in the country. Similar to Amber Alerts or Silver Alerts, the system is set up to help identify and locate missing people. The legislation passed both the House and Senate unanimously.
▪ Senate Bill 5078 prohibits the sale, purchase, manufacture, distribution and importation of “high-capacity” magazines, defined as “ammunition feeding devices” that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The legislation will go into effect July 1 and will make violations of the law a misdemeanor offense. The bill passed the Senate with a 28-20 vote, and passed the House with a 55-42 vote.
▪ House Bill 1630 prohibits weapons at school board meetings and prohibits the open-carry of weapons in government buildings. The legislation passed the House by 67-41 and passed the Senate 28-21. The governor is expected to sign soon and the law will go into effect 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature.
▪ House Bill 2037 modified the standard for police officers when using force during questioning. Critics say the bill reversed protections passed last year by lowering the standard for when officers can use force. The previous standard set last year required probable cause, while the new legislation allows officers to use “reasonable care” standards when using force. The legislation passed the House with a 87-11 vote, and passed the Senate with a 32-16 vote, with many Democrats choosing to vote against.
▪ House Bill 1719 clarified that police officers are still allowed to use non-lethal weapons such as bean bags and rubber bullets after legislation passed last year where law enforcement officials said they were unsure whether they could still use them or not. The bill cleared the House and Senate unanimously. The law is already in effect after Gov. Inslee signed the legislation into law on March 4.
▪ House Bill 1735 clarified that law enforcement officials are still able to intervene when responding to mental health calls and noncriminal calls, after some officers stopped responding to some of those calls last year after police accountability reform was passed. The bill passed the House with a 90-5 vote, and cleared the Senate unanimously. The law is already on the books after Inslee signed it into law on March 4.
▪ House Bill 1733 made changes to the Washington Cares Fund, a mandatory long-term care insurance benefit established by Washington state law in 2019, by allowing exemptions for certain veterans, military spouses, temporary workers, and those who work in Washington state but have residency in another state. The legislation goes into effect 90 days after the session adjourns. It passed the House with a 67-29 vote, and passed the Senate with a 38-11 vote.
▪ House Bill 1732 also made clarifications to the Washington Cares Fund by delaying the implementation of the program for another 18 months, meaning that premiums won’t become due until July 1, 2023. The legislation goes into effect immediately and passed the House with a 91-6 vote, and the Senate with a 46-3 vote.
▪ Senate Bill 5761 requires employers to post salary and benefit information when listing a job opening. The legislation will go into effect Jan. 1, 2023. The House passed the legislation with a 51-46 vote, adding amendments. The Senate concurred with those amendments and passed the legislation with a 28-21 vote.
While lawmakers tackled some heavy lifting this year, some of the bills that had a lot of momentum when they were introduced failed to make it across the finish line:
▪ House Bill 1868 would have created safe staffing standards for healthcare facilities, as well as assigned the Department of Labor and Industries to enforce those standards. Several healthcare professionals testified in favor of the legislation and SEIU 1199NW backed the bill heavily as a solution to keep healthcare professionals from burning out in the field. However, hospital administrative staff argued that the bill would cost hospitals too much money if they were unable to properly staff. The bill passed the House with a 55-43 vote but failed to make it out of committee in the Senate.
▪ Senate Bill 5909 would have limited the time the governor could have an emergency order in place if the legislature was not in session. House and Senate Minority and Majority leaders would have been able to jointly decide to suspend the orders if an emergency order was in place for more than 90 days. They would have also had the ability to suspend prohibitive orders. Gov. Jay Inslee was firmly against the legislation, and said he felt it was unnecessary. Republicans argued that the legislation didn’t go far enough. The bill passed the Senate with a 29-20 vote, but never got a floor vote in the House.
▪ Senate Bill 5843 would have made it unlawful for elected officials to knowingly spread false claims about election results. The governor first introduced his idea for the legislation at the beginning of the session, and said he felt it was important legislation to protect democracy. While Inslee said his office had worked with legal scholars to craft the legislation, many Republicans argued that the legislation would face constitutional problems. Ultimately, the bill did not have enough support in the Democratic-led Senate chamber and failed to be brought to the floor for a vote.
▪ House Bill 1782 would have required cities to allow duplexes or fourplexes on single-family lots in cities with more than 20,000 people if close to transportation lines. Frequently referred to as the “Missing Middle” legislation, supporters said it would create more housing in cities where elected officials have held control over the ability to supply more housing. Those against the legislation argued that cities should have control over the housing supply, not the state. The bill failed to make it out of committee in the House.
Legislators will reconvene in Jan. 2023 for a long, 105-day session.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 10:37 AM.
