Legislative Update: Week 1

It’s official – welcome to the 2023 legislative session! What has the Northwest Harvest Advocacy team been up to in Olympia this week?  

A few quick updates:

• Our team met with representatives down in Olympia to introduce our legislative priorities for this session.
• Jake Garcia, Public Policy Manager, provided testimony in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on 1/10/23. Watch Jake’s testimony here!
• House and Senate bills for free school meals for all were introduced and referred to committee.
• HB 1045: Creating the evergreen basic income pilot program (one of our support agenda items) had a hearing in the House Committee on Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning. Interested in learning more about a similar pilot program in the area? You can read about how Tacoma’s guaranteed income pilot went in this Seattle Times article.

Take Action now:

• Register for Hunger Action Day: an important lobbying day for food justice advocates to meet with representatives and encourage them to take meaningful policy action to address the root causes of hunger in Washington state.
• Support the Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) program:
  • Stay informed by joining the Equity in Education Coalition Newsletter.
  • Follow the Equity in Education Coalition on Facebook and Twitter.
  • Contact Martin Negrete (EEC Eastside Director, Martin@eec-wa.org) to get involved directly.
• Support the Working Families Tax Credit by completing their advocacy action today.

Here are the bills we are tracking and what their status is as of now:

House Bills:  

• 1238: Providing free school meals for all. First reading, referred to Education Committee.
• 1045: Creating the evergreen basic income pilot program. Public hearing in the House Committee on Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning.
• 1124: Protecting tenants from excessive rent and related fees by providing at least six months’ notice for rent increases over a certain amount, allowing tenants the right to terminate a tenancy without penalty, and limiting late fees. Public hearing in the House Committee on Housing.
• 1075: Expanding eligibility for the working families’ tax credit to everyone age 18 and older. First reading, referred to Finance Committee.
• 1260: Accelerating stability for people with a work-limiting disability or incapacity. First reading, referred to Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning.

Senate Bills: 

• 5339: Providing free school meals for all. First reading, referred to Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee.
• 5249: Expanding eligibility for the working families’ tax credit to everyone age 18 and older. Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means.

As a reminder, here is how a bill becomes law in Washington State:

1. A bill may be introduced in either the Senate or House of Representatives by a member. 
2. It is referred to a policy committee for a hearing. The committee studies the bill and may hold public hearings on it. It can then pass, reject, or take no action on the bill. 
3. If the policy change has a fiscal note, it’s referred to a fiscal committee (House Appropriations or Senate Ways and Means) to determine if the policy change is a good investment. 
4. The committee report on the passed bill is read in open session of the House or Senate, and the bill is then referred to the Rules Committee. 
5. The Rules Committee can either place the bill on the second reading calendar for debate before the entire body, or take no action. 
6. At the second reading, a bill is subject to debate and amendment before being placed on the third reading calendar for final passage. 
7. After passing one house, the bill goes through the same procedure in the other house. 
8. If amendments are made in the other house, the first house must approve the changes. 
9. When the bill is accepted in both houses, it is signed by the respective leaders and sent to the governor. 
10. The governor signs the bill into law or may veto all or part of it. If the governor fails to act on the bill, it may become law without a signature.