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Lunell Haught, President Ann Murphy, Lobby Team Chair |
April 5, 2020 Vol. 52, Issue 12 |
Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.
Support the League by donating to our Advocacy or Education funds here.
It’s A Wrap!
2020 Legislative Session Finishes with Governor Paring Spending by $235M
There are no Action Alerts this week. Thank you for your responses during this past legislative session.
Status and Actions Needed for Legislative Priorities
Did you follow a specific issue that the League did? Please click on your area(s) of interest to see what happened to those bills that a specific Issue Chair has worked on this session. The issue web pages include the Lobby Team contact information, League positions, and history of bills the League is tracking for this Legislative session. Please realize that you do not need to follow all of these – only select your area of interest and know that there will be others selecting other areas.
DEMOCRACY
Elections: *NEW UPDATES* Bills encouraging youth voting and citizen engagement and providing state support for election funding PASS!
Census & Redistricting: *NEW UPDATES* Redistricting reform work moves to the Commission: Join a Speak Up School, draw maps, and testify in 2021!
Campaign Finance & Government Ethics: *NEW UPDATES* Bill to fight foreign campaign interference PASSES!
Election Security: *NEW UPDATES* Bill to improve election security breach reporting requirements PASSES!
FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE & ITS EFFECTS
Climate Change: *NEW UPDATES* Several important climate victories PASS, and with more climate work is still needed!
Energy: *NEW UPDATES* Community solar, zero-emission vehicles, and grid reliability PASS!
NATURAL RESOURCES: Protect and restore:
Forests & Rivers: *NEW UPDATES* Endangered fish protection and motorized suction dredge mining ban PASS!
Water: *NEW UPDATES* Four bills protecting the quality and quantity of our water supply PASS!
ENSURING SOCIAL JUSTICE
Criminal Justice: *NEW UPDATES* Bills prohibiting juvenile solitary confinement and restricting the use of private prisons PASS!
Economic Justice: *NEW UPDATES* Bill to establish a task force to improve and promote equity in access to education, housing, and employment PASSES!
Education: *NEW UPDATES* ESSB 5395, Comprehensive Sexual Health Education, PASSES!
Gun Safety: *NEW UPDATES* Some sensible measures PASS — more work to do next session!
Housing & Homelessness: *NEW UPDATES* Record levels of investments in affordable housing and services for people experiencing homelessness PASS! Some bills vetoed in budget cuts.
Healthcare, Behavioral Health, & Reproductive Rights: *NEW UPDATES* Capping out-of-pocket cost of Insulin and Protecting Patient Care PASS!
ESTABLISHING FAIR REVENUE
Revenue: *NEW UPDATES* No significant changes were made during the 2020 session to the state tax structure. Budget cuts made as part of COVID-19 pandemic.
Transportation: *NEW UPDATES* Still awaiting the outcome of I-976; no major changes to the transportation package will be made until that is known. Budget cuts made as part of COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here for a list of Lobby Team members and contact info.
Other Sources of Information
TVW, Washington's public affairs network, provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of Washington State Legislature sessions and coverage of the Washington State Supreme Court and public affairs events.
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