Here are some of the noteworthy bills that got hearings before the Legislature last week

Friday marked the end of the second week of the 2024 legislative session for lawmakers in Olympia, who spent the week in committee hearings and at floor sessions.

The Washington Secretary of State also notified the Legislature Tuesday, Jan. 16, that Initiative 2117 was certified after completing signature verification. The initiative would prohibit state or local governments from implementing carbon tax trading, such as the cap-and-invest system passed by the legislature in 2021.

Additionally, Initiative 2081 was delivered to the Legislature Thursday, Jan. 18, after certification. That initiative would require parental notification in schools, allowing parents and guardians of public-school children to review instructional materials and inspect student records, including health and disciplinary records.

Lawmakers will have to decide whether they will address the initiatives during the legislative session. Alternatives to the initiatives can be proposed by lawmakers, but if legislators decide to do nothing, the initiatives will appear as is on the November ballot.

It is unclear when Democrats in the Legislature will address the initiatives. A motion by House Republicans Monday, Jan. 15, to get Initiative 2113 heard in committee was voted down on party lines by House Democrats.

Initiative 2113 would rollback police pursuit laws in the state by lowering the threshold for law enforcement officers to pursue suspects based on reasonable suspicion, instead of probable cause as the law currently specifies for certain instances.

Democratic lawmakers have not yet indicated when they plan to tackle the initiatives, but have noted that the timeline to address them is longer and not subject to the same cutoff dates as policy bills. Initiatives such as the one to prohibit cap-and-invest systems could have a major impact on state revenues under the Climate Commitment Act, they have previously noted.

Signatures on three other initiatives also sponsored by Let’s Go Washington are still being verified by the Secretary of State’s Office.

Gov. Jay Inslee also was asked about the initiatives during a news conference Jan. 18.

“If there’s not a serious discussion about doing something different as an alternative, nor is there an opportunity and a reasonable basis to pass one of these without going to the vote of the people, I’m not sure there’s a reason to tie up legislative time for discussions that aren’t going to result in any legislative activities. … In a very short 60-day session, I would not encourage them to do that and lose the ability to pass meaningful legislation,” he said.

Legislators did spend some time on the debate floor this week, although a lion’s share of their time was spent hearing public testimony in committees, and passing legislation out of executive session to send to the debate floor.

Lawmakers have their first deadline approaching on Jan. 31, when they must pass policy bills in their committees of origin by 5 p.m.

Here are some of the bills that saw some action this past week.

House public hearings

HB 2276 – Increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing.

This legislation is sponsored by Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek, along with 39 other House Democrats. The bill, also known as the Affordable Homes Act, had a public hearing on Jan. 18, and would modify the first Real Estate Excise Tax rate tier, taxed at 1.1%, from a selling price of $525,000 to $750,000. Additionally, a new 1% Real Estate Transfer Tax would be imposed on properties that sell for more than $3,025,000. The bill’s sponsor said in a news release that the bill would not impact, or might even reduce, taxes on properties that are sold for less than $3,025,000.

The bill is not yet scheduled for an executive session.

HB 1934 - Establishing an artificial intelligence task force.

Sponsored by Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, and co-sponsored by Democrats and other Republicans at the request of the state Attorney General, the bill notes that AI is “a fast-evolving technology that holds extraordinary potential and has a myriad of uses for both the public and private sectors” but that the federal government has yet to enact any meaningful regulations and oversight on the use of the technology. The task force would assess current use of the technology to make recommendations for standards of use and “regulation of generative artificial intelligence systems” to the Legislature.

The bill had a public hearing on Friday and is not yet scheduled for an executive session. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-White Center, and that bill passed out of executive session Friday.

HB 2009 – Facilitating the use of dental records in missing person investigations.

Introduced by Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale, and co-sponsored by other House Republicans and some House Democrats, this legislation would allow agencies to retrieve dental records in missing persons investigations without the consent of next of kin or families, as long as the individual has signed a consent form for the release of their dental records.

A public hearing was held Jan. 16, and the bill was passed out of executive session unanimously on Jan. 18.

House executive session

HB 2126 – Authorizing accessory dwelling units in rural areas.

Building on legislation passed last year that allowed for the expansion of ADU’s in certain cities, this legislation is sponsored by Rep. Sam Low, R-Lake Stevens, and co-sponsored by several House Republicans and Democrats. The bill would allow ADUs to be built “on any size lot, regardless of existing zoning restrictions” in rural Washington counties.

The bill had a public hearing Jan. 16 and was unanimously voted out of the House Housing Committee during executive session Jan. 18.

HB 2209 – Celebrating Lunar New Year

Introduced by Rep. My-Linh Thai, D-Bellevue, this piece of legislation would designate the Lunar New Year as a legislatively recognized holiday in Washington state. Thai’s bill passed out of the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee Friday.

HB 2184 – Authorizing payment for parental caregivers of minor children with developmental disabilities.

Sponsored by Rep. Jamila Taylor, D-Federal Way, and co-sponsored by several House Democrats and Republicans, this legislation would allow “natural, adoptive, and stepparents” to receive payment for providing care-giving services to dependents with developmental disabilities.

The legislation passed out of executive session on Friday.

Senate floor action

SB 5640 – Establishing an independent living residents’ rights work group.

Sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, this bill passed unanimously off the Senate floor on Wednesday. The legislation would create the Independent Living Residents’ Work Group to study and make future recommendations to the Legislature for a Bill of Rights for those who reside in assisted living facilities.

The bill was introduced during the 2023 session but did not make it to the debate floor.

SB 5462 – Promoting inclusive learning standards and instructional materials in public schools.

Sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, this bill directs the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to “include the histories, contributions, and perspectives of LGBTQ people” in learning materials for students in the state. School districts, charter schools, and Tribal compact schools would be required to amend their policies by October 2025 to include the new material.

The legislation passed the Senate Wednesday, Jan. 17, with a 29-19 vote.

Senate public hearings

SB 6136 – Reestablishing a business and occupation tax on providing property for rent and supporting access to affordable rental property by exempting from tax landlords participating in a rent stabilization program.

Sponsored by Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, and six other Senate Democrats, this legislation would make residential landlords subject to the state B&O tax starting Jan. 1, 2025. Commercial landlords would be subject to the tax starting Jan. 1, 2027. Revenue from the taxes would go into the Home Security Fund to support the Eviction Prevention Rental Assistance Program. Under the law, residential landlords who participate in a rent stabilization program, which would cap rent increases at 5% yearly, would not be subject to the B&O tax.

The bill had a public hearing Jan. 17 and was scheduled to go to executive session on Jan. 24 in the Senate Housing Committee.

SB 6134 - Preventing overdose and illicit use of opioids in Washington state.

Introduced by Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, and co-sponsored by Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, this legislation aims to prevent overdoses. It directs the state Department of Health to map out all reported incidents of fatal and nonfatal overdoses, and to provide recommendations on how to prevent overdoses. Additionally, the legislation allocates $7 million for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs for “multi-jurisdictional task force” grants.

The bill had a public hearing Friday and is not yet scheduled for executive session.

Senate executive session

SB 5850 – Supporting students who are chronically absent and at risk for not graduating high school.

Sponsored by Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, this bill aims to tackle chronic absenteeism to keep students on track for high school graduation. Under the bill school staff would be trained to identify early warnings for students at risk, and to connect them to support services. The legislation also directs OSPI to establish a grant program for Tribal students and “community-based organizations” to provide more supports for chronically absent students.

The bill unanimously passed out of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee on Jan. 17, and was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Friday.

SB 5778 – Protecting the rights of workers to refrain from attending meetings or listening to their employer’s speech on political or religious matters.

Sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, and sponsored by multiple Senate Democrats, this bill would prohibit employers from disciplining or firing employees who refuse to participate in employer-sanctioned events where the “primary purpose of which is to communicate the employer’s opinion concerning religious or political matters.”

The bill passed out of executive session on Jan. 16 on party lines and was referred to the Senate Rules Committee Jan. 18.