Dear friends and neighbors,

We are rapidly approaching the start of the 2024 legislative session and my days have been busy meeting with constituents, stakeholder groups, and legislative colleagues as we prepare for the session which begins on January 8th.

In these newsletters I typically try to keep you up to date on hot topics in the legislature, but I also like provide insights into the inner-workings of this important institution. I often write about my role as an individual Senator, and serving the people of Spokane is certainly my first priority, but today I want to dive deeper into what it means to be the Senate Majority Leader.

Photo: Senator Billig talking with House Speaker Jinkins outside the Capital.

Role of the Majority Leader

I was elected by my colleagues as Senate Majority Leader in 2018. In this role I am the leader of the Senate Democrats and, since Democrats are in the majority, the leader of the Senate as a whole. Here are a few of my main duties:

  • Provide support and guidance for Senate members as they work to serve their constituents. You could think of this part of the job as being the head coach of our team.
  • Along with other Senate leaders, help to determine the overall priorities of the Senate each session and determine which bills come up for a vote on the Senate floor.
  • Serve as the Chair of the Committee on Committees (I know that sounds made up!). This committee determines the structure of all Senate policy and budget committees, assigns the committee chairs, and selects the members for each committee.
  • Manage the work of the Rules Committee which decides which bills advance to the floor calendar for consideration by the full Senate.
  • Serve as a member of the Senate Facilities and Operations Committee which allows me to play a prominent role in the administration of the Senate. This committee handles HR and workplace issues as well as facilities and staffing for the Senate.
  • Serve as the lead spokesperson for the Senate Democrats.
  • Operate as the main Senate Democratic liaison with the Senate Republicans, House leadership, and the Governor.
  • Lead and/or participates in negotiations on major bills and the budgets.

It is an honor to serve as the Majority Leader. I have a great appreciation for the insightful, hardworking Senators and staff that I work with every day and I am proud of the all the progress we have been able to make for the people of Washington State.

Pre-Filing Bills

Washington is one of the 37 states that allows legislators to submit bills for consideration before the start of the regular session. This is called pre-filing, and it means that a bill has been drafted and will be given a bill number before the start of session. Pre-filing allows bills to be officially introduced to the legislature starting the first day of session.

In 2022, the last 60-day session short-session, more than 50% of the total introduced bills for the session were pre-filed. Generally more bills are pre-filed before 60-day sessions because of the fast paced nature of a short session compared to the longer odd year 105-day sessions.

I have pre-filed one bill so far for 2024, SB5774: increasing the capacity to conduct timely fingerprint-based background checks for prospective child care employees and other programs. On the first day of session, this bill, and the rest of the pre-filed bills will be introduced and referred to a Senate legislative committee. You can see all of the pre-filed bills here.

Stay in Touch

I always welcome your feedback. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Andy.Billig@leg.wa.gov.

I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season.

Onward!

Andy