Last week focused on policy committee hearings of bills sent over from the opposite chamber. We also saw some bills start to get voted out of committee. This will continue to be the focus in the coming week as we work towards the opposite house policy cutoff where all bills must move out of those... Continue Reading
In response to a 2025-27 revenue proposal put forward by Democratic leadership in the Washington State Senate, the Association of Washington Business, Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Washington Roundtable issued this joint statement: Continue Reading
The beginning of the week focused on getting bills passed off the floor by house of origin cutoff on Wednesday. Legislators worked long hours with some House floor debates going late into the night. Bills that did not pass out of the chamber in which they were introduced by that day are considered... Continue Reading
We have officially passed the halfway point in the 2025 legislative session. Both chambers were on the floor last week debating and voting on bills. The House was on the floor late into the night on some days and was also on the floor on Saturday. All bills must pass off the floor of the chamber... Continue Reading
This last week was fiscal week, which meant there were long days - going into the evening - of hearings and executive sessions to move bills out of fiscal committees by house of origin fiscal cutoff on Friday, Feb 28th. The committee meetings are marathons, sometimes having over 30 bill hearings... Continue Reading
Friday, February 21st was house of origin policy cutoff where all bills referred to a policy committee had to be passed out of committee by that date. The week was filled with packed hearings and committee votes. Those that didn’t get out of committee are now considered dead. The exception... Continue Reading
One third of the 2025 session is done! This week committees were busy voting on bills before the first deadline next Friday, February 21st. If a bill has not moved out of its policy committee by this Friday, it will be considered dead (unless it’s deemed necessary to implement the budget).... Continue Reading
We are quickly approaching the first cutoff of the 2025 legislative session. This is the point in session where it will be harder (but not impossible!) for a bill that hasn’t already been introduced to be heard and passed before the house of origin policy cutoff on the 21st. This is also the... Continue Reading
Week three of session continued with a focus on policy committee activity that again included work sessions, hearings, and executive session. The first cutoff of session is quickly approaching. All bills must pass out of their policy committee in their house of origin (in other words the chamber... Continue Reading
The second week of the legislative session began with Martin Luther Jr Day celebrations in the House and Senate. The Legislature honored the life and legacy of the civil rights leader during their Floor sessions with bipartisan remarks and the passage of HR 4602 in the House and SR 8605 in the... Continue Reading
The legislature convened for the 2025 legislative session on Monday, January 13th. This year’s session is considered a “long-session” when legislators convene for 105 days and do the hard work of writing the two-year (biennial) operating, capital, and transportation budgets. They... Continue Reading
End of Session Report At 10:05 p.m. on April 23, the legislature adjourned the 2023 legislative session, Sine Die. The 2023 Washington State legislative session was a long session, which means it lasted for 105 days and included the business of writing the full 2023-25 biennial operating,... Continue Reading
