{"id":3094,"date":"2026-02-13T16:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T23:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/?p=3094"},"modified":"2026-02-13T16:34:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T23:34:47","slug":"senate-bills-moving-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/2026\/02\/13\/senate-bills-moving-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate bills moving forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear friends and neighbors,<\/p>\n

This has been a busy week in the Senate, with full days of floor action on bills. In the next two weeks, we\u2019ll also see major progress on the budget proposals made by the House and the Senate \u2013 the key step before the two chambers negotiate their differences and come to a final proposal to send to the governor\u2019s desk. I\u2019ll continue to share important information on these budget proposals as they advance.<\/p>\n

A new pool for Thurston County?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For years, we\u2019ve been talking about how Thurston County needs another public pool to serve our growing population, especially for young people taking swim classes and seniors looking for low-impact exercise.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a very big project for any single city to take on themselves. As a result, our cities have gotten together to develop studies and designs, but we will need a \u201cpublic facility district\u201d to bring it to fruition. SB 6189<\/a> gives cities extra time to do that. The bill by itself won\u2019t change any taxes or build anything (doing so will require a vote of the people, so you\u2019ll get a chance to weigh in before anything concrete happens). SB 6189<\/a> gives our cities time to work on this issue and put together a specific plan that we can vote on. I appreciate my colleagues who supported this bill unanimously.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Warning renters about flood risks<\/strong><\/p>\n

My bill to provide flood warnings to renters (SB 6237<\/a>) passed the Senate on a 46-3 vote on Wednesday. Many of us, including me, were shocked by the extent of the flooding in our state last December. Even though our district wasn\u2019t as heavily affected, it was clear state government needed to learn lessons and respond to protect us better for the future. One thing we can do for better housing policy is pass this bill, ensuring renters get the same notice and warning about known flood risks that someone buying a home does. Current state law already requires home sellers to disclose known material facts about the property to the buyer, including whether it\u2019s located in a designated\u00a0flood\u00a0hazard zone or has experienced prior\u00a0flooding. Letting renters know about flood risks so they can take whatever steps they feel are appropriate is good public policy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Care for abortion and miscarriage <\/strong><\/p>\n

I was proud to receive bipartisan support for my bill (SB 5917<\/a>) to help expand the availability of mifepristone and misoprostol, a pair of drugs important for both inducing an abortion and for managing a miscarriage. Two of my Republican colleagues joined us to pass this bill.<\/p>\n

These are safe medications, approved by the FDA for more than 25 years, and they are still hard to access. I am proud that Washington state, after passage of this bill, will be another step closer to being a state where you can manage an abortion or miscarriage with dignity.<\/p>\n

ICE in sensitive places<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all seen the horrifying stories about ICE activity in Washington state and across the country. This week, we passed the Secure and Accountable Federal Enforcement (SAFE) Act (SB 5906<\/a>)\u00a0to\u00a0prevent\u00a0ICE from going\u00a0inside\u00a0schools, daycares, hospitals, and more without a\u00a0judicial\u00a0warrant. We already have strong protections in this state thanks to\u00a0the\u00a0Keep Washington Working\u00a0Act<\/a>, but the SAFE Act expands these protections. We want people to feel safe working at a daycare, going to a doctor, or attending a class without looking over their shoulder and wondering if ICE will come inside without a warrant.<\/p>\n

10,000 more slots for early learning<\/strong><\/p>\n

We passed an important bill (SB 5872<\/a>) this week to support early learning, approving the \u201cPre-K Promise\u201d, a philanthropic partnership between the Ballmer Group and the state to provide funding for up to 10,000 additional slots for children in our Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program for the next ten years. This generous contribution and public-private partnership will expand access to key early learning opportunities for Washington\u2019s children and provide benefits for generations to come. While I support this investment, we shouldn\u2019t rely on private philanthropy for essential early education programs. We need progressive revenue reform to ensure that we can invest in early learning and childcare – because when we invest in kids, we invest in the future of our state.<\/p>\n

All these bills, and many more, will go on to the House for consideration. Next Tuesday is the deadline to pass Senate bills off of the floor, and then we\u2019ll be hearing and voting on the bills the House sent over to us. This is the legislative process at work, and I hope you\u2019ll continue to stay in touch with us as these bills and proposals advance. You can reach me, any time at Jessica.Bateman@leg.wa.gov<\/a>, your input and questions are always appreciated.<\/p>\n

Thanks so much for reading!<\/p>\n

In service<\/p>\n

– Jess<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear friends and neighbors, This has been a busy week in the Senate, with full days of floor action on bills. In the next two weeks, we\u2019ll also see major progress on the budget proposals made by the House and the Senate \u2013 the key step before the two chambers negotiate their differences and come to a final proposal to send to the governor\u2019s desk. I\u2019ll continue to share important information on these budget proposals as they advance. A new pool for Thurston County? For years, we\u2019ve been talking about how Thurston County needs another public pool to serve our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":1240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSenate bills moving forward - Sen. Jessica Bateman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/2026\/02\/13\/senate-bills-moving-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senate bills moving forward - Sen. Jessica Bateman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear friends and neighbors, This has been a busy week in the Senate, with full days of floor action on bills. In the next two weeks, we\u2019ll also see major progress on the budget proposals made by the House and the Senate \u2013 the key step before the two chambers negotiate their differences and come to a final proposal to send to the governor\u2019s desk. I\u2019ll continue to share important information on these budget proposals as they advance. A new pool for Thurston County? For years, we\u2019ve been talking about how Thurston County needs another public pool to serve our...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/2026\/02\/13\/senate-bills-moving-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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