CAAA 2024 Legislative Update - Sine Die

OMWBE, CAAA, CAPAA, CHA sent this bulletin at 03/08/2024 11:41 AM PST

March 8, 2024

2024 Legislative Update: Final

Session concluded yesterday - a number of our bills made it through the legislature and await the governor's signature. House Bill 1541, the Nothing For Us Without Us bill, passed and has been sent to the governor.

House Bill 1895 has been signed. It makes changes to the Washington state Working families tax credit and will go into effect in June.

However, in a disappointing turn of events, HB 1915 failed at the finish line. The bill would have made financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education. After passing both House and Senate, the bill was amended by one chamber leading to a difference in the versions passed. Neither chamber would agree to mutual language before session ended. Thus it dies.

No longer is child marriage legal in Washington state. HB 1455 was signed into law yesterday - protecting minors by making it illegal. Research finds that some minors were subject to domestic violence and trafficking through marriage.

Our Legislative Update will return in January 2025. Most ideas for new legislation take place now - in between the legislative sessions. At any time during the year, communicate your concerns, opinions, support or opposition with your elected representatives by email, phone or via the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Links to our website or the Legislature's website hold a wealth of useful information.

Find our more about the legislative process: Click here for online classes and tutorials, how to testifying in a committee, submitting written testimony, and getting your support or opposition about a bill into the legislative record.

House Bills

Bill #	Bill Description	Sponsor
2E2SHB 1541	Establishing the nothing about us without us act. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Farivar
ESHB 1862	Providing tax exemptions for the assistance of disabled veterans and members of the armed forces of the United States of America. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Leavitt
SHB 1870	Promoting economic development by increasing opportunities for local communities to secure federal funding. Current status: Headed to governor	Barnard
SHB 1889	Allowing persons to receive professional licenses and certifications regardless of immigration or citizenship status. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Walen
HB 1890	Concerning housing authorities. Current status: Signed into law	Alvarado
SHB 1892	Concerning the workforce housing accelerator program. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Leavitt
HB 1895	Modifying the working families' tax credit by clarifying the refundable nature of the credit, the application requirements, and the eligibility verification process. Current status: Signed into law	Thai
SHB 1905	Including protected classes in the Washington equal pay and opportunities act. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Mena
SHB 1911	Concerning activities in which the office of public defense may engage without violating the prohibition on providing direct representation of clients. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Taylor
SHB 1914	Improving the education of students with varying abilities by enhancing special education services. Current status: Died in House Appropriations committee	Couture
SHB 1915	Making financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education. Current status: Passed both House and Senate. In dispute. Senate asking House to recede from its changes. House refused. Bill died.	Rude
SHB 1916	Concerning funding for the early support for infants and toddlers program. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Senn
2SHB 1941	Providing for health home services for Medicaid-eligible children with medically complex conditions. Current status: Delivered to governor for signature	Couture
SHB 1945	Streamlining and enhancing program access for persons eligible for food assistance. Current status: Passed. Needs Governor's signature	Alvarado
HB 1950	Concerning the public service loan forgiveness program. Current status: Signed by governor.	Slatter
E2SHB 1956	Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education. Current status: Headed to governor	Leavitt
HB 1962	Improving voter registration list accuracy by improving voter address change processes for county election offices and voters. Current status: Delivered to governor	Low
HB 1983	Concerning the criminal justice treatment account. Current status: Delivered to governor	Simmons
SHB 1989	Creating a graffiti abatement and reduction program. Current status: Delivered to governor	Barkis
SHB 2007	Expanding time limit exemptions applicable to cash assistance programs. Current status: Heading to governor	Peterson
SHB 2012	Concerning eligibility for a property tax exemption for nonprofits providing affordable rental housing built with city and county funds. Current status: Delivered to governor	Street
SHB 2015	Concerning incentivizing adult family homes to increase bed capacity to seven or eight beds. Current status: Delivered to governor	Senn
SHB 2075	Concerning licensing of Indian health care providers as establishments. Current status: Delivered to governor	Lekanoff
SHB 2086	Updating processes of the office of independent investigations by changing authority to obtain and share investigative information and aligning with current operations and practices. Current status: Delivered to governor	Entenman
SHB 2097	Assisting workers in recovering wages owed. Current status: Delivered to governor	Berry
HB 2110	Reorganizing statutory requirements governing high school graduation. Current status: Delivered to governor	Nance
HB 2111	Clarifying requirements for subsidized child care. Current status: Delivered to governor. Companion bill: SB 5941 died in Senate Rules	Nance
2SHB 2112	Concerning opioid and fentanyl prevention education and awareness at institutions of higher education. Current status: Delivered to governor	Nance
SHB 2226	Requires the Employment Security Department to collect certain data about H-2A workers when conducting field checks and field visits. Current status: Heading to governor. Companion bill: SSB 5996 died in Senate Rules	Ortiz-Self

Senate Bills

Bill #	Bill Description	Sponsor
SB 5778	Protecting the rights of workers to refrain from attending meetings or listening to their employer's speech on political or religious matters. Current status: Heading to governor.	Keiser
ESSB 5793	Concerning paid sick leave. Current status: Delivered to governor	Saldaña
SB 5800	Improving access to department of licensing issued documents by clarifying the application requirements for a minor, modifying the requirements for at-cost identicards, and studying the feasibility of reduced-fee identicards. Current status: Headed to governor	Wilson
SSB 5804	Concerning opioid overdose reversal medication in high schools. Current status: Headed to governor	Kuderer
SB 5805	Developing a schedule for court appointment of attorneys for children and youth in dependency and termination proceedings. Current status: Delivered to governor	Frame
SB 5811	Expanding the definition of family member for individual providers. Current status: House agreed to Senate version. Passed both chambers. Heading to governor	Kauffman
E2SSB 5838	Establishing an artificial intelligence task force. Current status: Passed both House and Senate. Heading to governor.	Nguyen
ESSB 5850	Supporting students who are chronically absent and at risk for not graduating high school. Current status: Died in House Appropriations. Companion bill: HB 2146 died in House Education committee	Braun
E2SSB 5853	Extending the crisis relief center model to provide behavioral health crisis services for minors. Current status: Heading to governor	Dhingra
SSB 5873	Providing adequate and predictable student transportation. Current status: Died in House Appropriations.	Wellman
SSB 5882	Increasing prototypical school staffing to better meet student needs. Current status: Heading to governor.	Stanford
SB 5883	Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings. Current status: Delivered to governor.	Trudeau
SB 5904	Extending the terms of eligibility for financial aid programs. Current status: Senate agrees to House amendments. Passed both House and Senate. Heading to governor	Nobles
SB 5933	Concerning funding for the early support for infants and toddlers program. Current status: Died in committee. Companion bill: SHB 1916 passed. Heading to governor	Frame
SSB 5953	Concerning financial aid grants for incarcerated students. Current status: Senate agrees with House amendments. Delivered to governor	Wilson, C.
SB 5986	Protecting consumers from out-of-network health care services charges. Current status: Passed both House and Senate. Heading to governor.	Cleveland
SSB 6025	Protecting consumers from predatory loans. Current status: Senate agrees to House amendments. Passed House and Senate.	Stanford
SSB 6053	Improving equitable access to postsecondary education. Current status: Senate agrees to House amendments. Passed House and Senate. Heading to governor.	Holy
SB 6069	Improving retirement security for Washingtonians by establishing Washington saves, an automatic enrollment individual retirement savings account program and updating the Washington retirement marketplace statute. Current status: House receded from its position. Passed both House and Senate. Heading to governor.	Mullet

WA Commission On African American Affairs

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Olympia, WA 98501 Phone: (360) 725-5664

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