2023 Legislative Update: Week 2

Weekly Update

The second week of the legislative session began with Martin Luther King Jr Day. Traditionally this is when the campus is busting with groups visiting the Capitol, but this year we saw smaller crowds as more groups are using virtual options.

The return to in-person kept a fast pace with many notable hearings on firearm safety, housing development, updating the state’s recycling system, and staffing ratios for hospitals. Week 2 was filled with many hearings, committee votes on bills (known as executive session), and some work sessions.

At this point we have seen over 1,000 bills introduced. Legislators, staff, lobbyists and advocates are all noting the pace of which bills are moving. During the Democratic press availability, Speaker Jinkins noted there might be floor action towards the end of week 3.

There are several bills scheduled for a hearing this week that may be of interest to the Bellevue Chamber:

• SB 5536 – Controlled substances, counterfeit substances, and legend drug possession and treatment

• SB 5467 – Treatment for possession of certain counterfeit drugs or controlled substances

• SB 5190/HB 1110 – Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing

• SB 5258/HB 1298 – Increasing the supply and affordability of condominium units and townhouses as an option for homeownership

• HB 1276 – Accessory dwelling units

• HB 1337 – Expanding housing options by easing barriers to the construction and use of accessory dwelling units

• HB 1388 – Protecting tenants by prohibiting predatory residential rent practices

• HB 1389/SB 5435 – Concerning residential rent increases

• SB 5412 – Reducing local government’s land use permitting workloads

Click here to watch this week’s TVW Week in Review, which provides a good wrap-up of the past week in Olympia.

Session Primers

In these primers we are diving into the different steps of the legislative process, but sometimes it’s helpful to take a step back and get an overview of the full process. If you want to understand the process of how a bill becomes a law, check out these resources:

• High level overview of how a bill becomes a law
• A longer version of how a bill becomes a law, which includes a helpful visual roadmap. Most bills right now are in step 2 (policy committee hearings) or 3 (policy committee executive session).
• A longer narrative version that explains each step in detail starting on page 16 through page 29 (lots of other good stuff in this guide as well)