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Legislative Updates

The 2024 Legislative Session begins on January 8, 2024.  Below are lists of bills that may impact Veterans, Families or Military Members.  (This list is not an endorsement of any proposal by WDVA.)

Visit https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ for more detailed bill information.  To watch committee hearings, visit Home - TVW.

Veteran/Military Related Bills as of March 18, 2024 - 08:34pm, March 18, 2024 - 08:34pm

Bill Number Title Sponsor (Combined) Status Bill Summary Hearing Dates
ESHB 1862 Disabled veteran assist./tax FIN(Leavitt) Del to Gov

ESHB: Provides a business and occupation tax exemption for amounts received from sales on a military reservation by a nonprofit that operates an adaptive recreational facility that serves disabled veterans and members of the armed forces. • Provides a retail sales and use tax exemption for sales on a military reservation by a nonprofit that operates an adaptive recreational facility that serves disabled veterans and members of the armed forces.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SHB 1905 Equal pay/protected classes LAWS(Mena) Del to Gov

(Companion Bill SB 5894 Nobles) 
SHB: Amends the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating in compensation and career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

Feb 3, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 9:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 15, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 1917 Physician assistant compact (Leavitt) C 53 L 24

(Companion Bill SB 5815 Muzzall)
HB: Adopting the physician assistant compact. Exempts certain information and data relating to physician assistant multistate licenses and applications from the Public Records Act.

Feb 15, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Health & Long Term Care at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 16, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Health & Long Term Care at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SHB 1939 Social work compact PEW(Orwall) Del to Gov

SHB: Adopting the social work licensure compact.

Feb 16, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Health & Long Term Care at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 22, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 1943 National guard ed. grants (Leavitt) Del to Gov

HB: Expands eligibility for the Washington National Guard Postsecondary Education Grant to the spouse or dependent of a Washington National Guard member.Extends eligibility for the Washington National Guard Postsecondary Education Grant from five years or 125 percent of the published length of the student's program to six years or 150 percent of the published length of the student's program.

Feb 24, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 9:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 10:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 2004 Military student early reg. (McEntire) C 89 L 24

HB: Requires institutions of higher education that provide early course registration to allow students who are eligible veterans, national guard members, active duty military members, and their spouses, domestic partners, and dependents early course registration.

Feb 14, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 21, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

2SHB 2014 Definition of veteran APP(Volz) Del to Gov

(Companion BIll SB 5871 Lovick)
2SHB: Standardizes requirements relating to qualifying discharges for the purpose of establishing eligibility for various benefit programs for veterans. • Provides a definition of "qualifying discharge."

Feb 24, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 9:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 10:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

EHB 2088 Crisis teams/liability (Orwall) Del to Gov

EHB: Provides covered entities and personnel with immunity from civil liability for negligent acts and omissions while providing:  (1) specified crisis care services under clinical supervision to persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis, if the act or omission is done or omitted in good faith within the scope of the individual's employment responsibilities; (2) transportation of patients to specified services.

Feb 19, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Law & Justice at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Law & Justice at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 2111 Subsidized child care (Nance) C 67 L 24

(Companion Bill SB 5941 C. Wilson)
HB: Reorganizes existing statutory language pertaining to the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) program, and references WCCC eligibility requirements established in Department of Children, Youth, and Families rules.Removes dates indicating deadlines that are in the past and no longer applicable as well as other outdated references.Changes a reference from "immigration" status of an applicant or consumer's child to "citizenship" status.

Mar 1, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Finance at 8:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Mar 1, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 9:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SB 5180 Out-of-state teachers (Hunt) Del to Gov

SB: Adopts the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (Compact) and its provisions. • Limits license reciprocity to those determined to be eligible by each member state of the Compact. • Directs states under the Compact to submit a list of eligible licenses that the state will grant to licensees coming from other Compact member states. • Requires member states to grant an equivalent license to active military members and military spouses who hold an eligible teaching license. • Specifies that member states have discretion in relation to recertification requirements. • Creates the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact Commission with certain administrative requirements. • Establishes that the Compact will come into effect on the date on which the Compact is enacted into law in the 10th member state.

Feb 14, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Education at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Education at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SSB 5803 National guard recruitment WM(Conway) C 24 L 24

(Companion Bill HB 1869 Leavitt)
SSB: Establishes the Washington National Guard member referral incentive program, which provides a referral bonus of no more than $500 to Washington National Guard members who make a successful referral.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SB 6238 Property tax/veteran widows (Dozier) Del to Gov

Updating thresholds for the property tax exemption for widows and widowers of honorably discharged veterans. (There are 3 income thresholds and 3 levels of grants provided.  Bill is effective for taxes collected in 2025.)

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Finance at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Finance at 9:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

WDVA and State Employee Related Bills as of March 18, 2024 - 08:34pm, March 18, 2024 - 08:34pm

Bill Number Title Sponsor (Combined) Status Bill Summary Hearing Dates
SHB 1105 Public comment notice SGOV(Kloba) Del to Gov

SHB: Requires public agency notices for public comment to include the last date by which public comment must be submitted. • Establishes penalties for agencies failing to provide the notice.

Jan 30, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 1471 State procurement procedures (Stearns) Del to Gov

HB: Repeals the requirement for the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) to adopt rules establishing a reciprocity increase on bids from businesses in other states that grant in-state preferences by law, and for the Director of the DES to maintain a list of states with in-state preferences. • Extends the amount of time that a sole source contract must be filed and made available for public inspection from at least 10 business days before the proposed starting date of the contract to at least 15 business days. • Extends the time for an agency making an emergency purchase to submit its emergency contract to the DES from three business days to 10 business days.

Jan 30, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SHB 1889 Professionals/immigration CPB(Walen) C 50 L 24

SHB: Provides eligibility for certain professional and commercial licenses, certifications, permits, and registrations for various professions for persons not lawfully present in the United States. • Permits applicants for licensure, certification, or registration to provide an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in lieu of a Social Security number.

Feb 19, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 1927 Temporary total disability (Bronoske) Del to Gov

HB: Reduces the number of days – from 14 to 7 – that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury.

Jan 19, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 15, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SHB 1947 Technology governance SGOV(Street) C 54 L 24

SHB: Renames the Consolidated Technology Services Agency as Washington Technology Solutions. • Eliminates the Office of the State Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and reassigns the OCIO's responsibilities to Washington Technology Solutions. • Directs Washington Technology Solutions to establish additional standards and policies for technology, including funding of major information technology projects, for state agencies. • Requires state agencies to annually certify that they comply with Washington Technology Solutions' standards and policies. • Exempts the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Information Officer's confidential secretary, assistant directors, and other policy or senior professional staff from the State Civil Service Law.

Feb 16, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 1950 Student loans/PSLF (Slatter) C 2 L 24

HB: Modifies state agency Public Service Loan Forgiveness employee notification requirements.Modifies Public Service Loan Forgiveness full-time calculation adjustments for part-time academic employees.

Jan 12, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Jan 31, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 1975 Unemployment overpayments (Ortiz-Self) C 8 L 24

HB: Provides that overpayment assessments for unemployment insurance benefits paid during certain weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be charged interest until January 1, 2025, unless the overpayments were the result of fraud.

Jan 19, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 15, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 2089 Capital budget, supplemental (Tharinger) H Rules R

Concerning the capital budget.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 2104 Operating budget, supp. (Ormsby) H Rules R

Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.

Feb 19, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 21, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SHB 2216 State employee degree reqs. SGOV(Cheney) C 70 L 24

Reducing barriers to state employment by eliminating two-year and four-year degree requirements that are unnecessary.

Feb 15, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections at 6:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 2246 Vacation leave accrual (Bateman) Del to Gov

HB: Increases the annual cap on the accrual of unused vacation leave for state employees from 240 hours to 280 hours.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 10:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

HB 2481 PEBB/month of death (Volz) Del to Gov

Waiving health benefit premiums in the public employees' benefits board.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

2SSB 5444 Firearms/certain premises WM(Valdez) Del to Gov

2SSB: Prohibits individuals from entering certain designated places while knowingly possessing a weapon.

Feb 16, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

2SSB 5660 Mental health adv directives WM(Boehnke) Del to Gov

2SSB: Directs the Health Care Authority to convene a work group to make recommendations concerning a mental health advance directive (MHAD) statewide repository, and to develop trainings related to MHADs.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SSB 5793 Paid sick leave LC(Saldaña) S 2nd Reading

SSB: Allows an employee or transportation network company driver to use paid sick leave when their child's school or place of care is closed due to a public emergency. • Modifies the definition of family member for the purpose of using paid sick leave to include any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home or where the relationship creates an expectation the employee care for the person, and that individual depends on the employee for care, except it does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home with no expectation the employee care for the individual. • Provides that a child also includes a child's spouse. • Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to develop materials and conduct outreach to inform individuals and businesses about the new provisions of the act.

Feb 16, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 20, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SSB 5802 Nursing rate calculation WM(Muzzall) Del to Gov

SSB: Requires the Department of Social and Health Services, subject to appropriations, to employ a method for applying case mix adjustments to the direct care component of the Medicaid Skilled Nursing Facility rate. • Removes provisions on the Resource Utilization Group (RUG) and how the RUG scores data is used for calculating the case mix adjustments.

Feb 15, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SSB 5838 AI task force ENET(Nguyen) S subst for

SSB: Creates an Artificial Intelligence Task Force to assess uses, develop guiding principles, and make recommendations for the regulation of generative artificial intelligence. 

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SB 5949 Capital budget, supplemental (Mullet) S subst for

Concerning the capital budget.

Feb 15, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 19, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SB 5950 Operating budget, supp. (Robinson) S subst for

Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.

Feb 19, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 21, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 3:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SSB 6040 Public works payments SGE(Valdez) S 2nd Reading

SSB: Requires payment to subcontractors that are small businesses certified with the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises, or recognized as a women or minority owned business enterprise in a port, county, or municipal small business or women or minority-owned business enterprise program to be paid no later than 30 days after the work is  satisfactorily completed or materials delivered, regardless of when the prime contractor receives payment.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SSB 6157 Civil service SGE(Lovick) Del to Gov

SSB: Grants the agency head in public employment hiring agencies the discretion to add a maximum of 15 percent to the passing mark, grade, or rating, of a competitive examination for applicants with specific qualifications including language fluency, education, and experience. • Permits individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status to apply for positions with sheriff offices and city firefighter, city police, and fish and wildlife officer positions • Provides that law enforcement agencies that employ a lawful permanent resident or an individual with DACA status must ensure that a written firearms policy is in place authorizing the possession and carry of firearms by officers. 

Feb 14, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 21, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

SSB 6192 Construction change orders LC(King) Del to Gov

SSB: Adds private construction projects to the statute requiring issuance of a change order no later than 30 days after satisfactory completion of any additional work on public works projects. • Adds subcontractors and suppliers to the change order statute. • Provides that a contractor or subcontractor that requests a change order from the project owner is not liable for any interest on unpaid amounts for additional work if the project owner has not issued the requested change order.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

E2SSB 6251 Behavioral crisis coord. WM(Dhingra) Del to Gov

E2SSB: Authorizes behavioral health administrative service organizations (BHASOs) to develop protocols for optimizing crisis response in the regional service area, which must be submitted to the Health Care Authority. • Requires the Department of Health (DOH) to seek recommendations from BHASOs to determine which 988 contact hubs best meet regional needs and authorizes BHASOs to recommend 988 contact hubs. • Requires 988 contact hubs to enter data-sharing agreements with regional crisis lines that include real-time information sharing. • Modifies the circumstances in which the DOH may revoke a 988 contact hub's designation. • Requires 988 crisis hotline subnetworks dedicated to the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native persons to offer services by text, chat, and other similar methods of communication subject to approval by the national 988 administrator and appropriated funds.

Feb 23, 2024 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

Feb 26, 2024 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action.

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Legislative Updates:

2022 Bill Signing Photos

Governor Inslee signing E2SHB 1181:

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Governor Signing HB 1181
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Governor Signing HB 1181