Some bills survive, others don’t after WA Legislature chamber deadline

OLYMPIA — The Washington Legislature is now past the halfway point of its 60-day legislative session, and hundreds of bills concerning everything from rent increases to the state’s official nickname are still in play.

Tuesday marked a critical deadline, as most bills had to be passed out of the chamber where they began by that evening in order to survive.

Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said Wednesday the House of Representatives had passed about 270 bills, 80% of them had “very high bipartisan support,” and more than half were unanimous.

The Washington Senate has passed roughly the same amount of bills at about 260.

Their work is far from over, though. Bills now have to get approval from the other chamber to move forward, and legislators still have to write an updated budget.

The session is scheduled to end in early March.

The departed

Some bills that died would have:

• Lowered the legal limit on blood alcohol concentration from .08 to .05, Senate Bill 5002, sponsored by Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek
• Required oil companies to disclose more information about pricing, Senate Bill 6052, sponsored by Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-White Center, and companion bill House Bill 2232, Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia
• Required on-time rent payments be reported to credit reporting agencies, Senate Bill 6212, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, and companion bill House Bill 2323, sponsored by Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds
• Allowed some misdemeanor cases to be dismissed if a defendant met certain conditions, like treatment, imposed by a judge, House Bill 1994, sponsored by Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Seattle

What’s alive

Bills that have survived would:

• Limit annual rent increases to 7% for existing tenants, House Bill 2114, sponsored by Rep. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle
• Expand access to the state’s Working Connections Child Care program, House Bill 2124, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Eslick, R-Sultan
• Create a program to issue low- or no-interest loans to qualifying school districts to help with school construction projects, Senate Bill 5344, sponsored by Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville
• Bar employers from firing or disciplining workers who refuse to go to meetings where they are required to listen to an employer’s political or religious views, Senate Bill 5778, Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines
• Increase funding for special education by raising a limit in the state’s funding formula from 15% to 17.25% of a school district’s full-time student enrollment, House Bill 2180, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Callan, D-Issaquah
• Set up Washington Saves, a retirement savings program that would allow workers who don’t have access to a plan through their jobs to save for retirement, Senate Bill 6069, sponsored by Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah