PRIORITIES OF THE 2025 LGBTQ CAUCUS

• House Bill 1971 requires health plans to cover a 12-month refill of prescription hormone therapy at one time, improving access to treatment while allowing exceptions for medical necessity and supply shortages. 
• House Bill 1129/Senate Bill 5121 requires large group health plans to cover infertility diagnosis, treatment, and standard fertility preservation services, while also mandating Medicaid coverage for fertility preservation. 
• Senate Bill 5577 requires Medicaid to cover all FDA-approved HIV antiviral drugs without prior authorization or step therapy, ensuring uninterrupted access to treatment for Apple Health enrollees. 

• House Bill 1052/Senate Bill 5038 clarifies the definition of a hate crime offense by specifying that bias must be a substantial factor in the crime, even if other motives are present.
• House Bill 1604/Senate Bill 5490 requires jails to adopt policies for conducting searches of transgender and intersex individuals, ensuring compliance with federal law and prioritizing respect, privacy, and security. 
• Senate Bill 5101 expands access to leave and workplace safety accommodations for employees who are victims of hate crimes, ensuring they can recover without fear of job loss or retaliation.  
• Senate Bill 5632 strengthens Washington’s Shield Law by ensuring state and local agencies do not cooperate with out-of-state investigations related to protected health care services and requiring businesses to notify the attorney general if they receive incomplete or missing legal requests for such information. 

• House Bill 1296 strengthens student rights, parental rights, and employee protections in public education while requiring schools to prioritize student safety, privacy, and access to education. 
• House Bill 1085/Senate Bill 5272 strengthens school safety by increasing penalties for interference or intimidation by force or violence at schools and extracurricular activities and requiring public notice of these penalties. 
• House Bill 1855/Senate Bill 5123 expands nondiscrimination protections in public schools by adding ethnicity, homelessness, immigration or citizenship status, and neurodivergence as protected classes and clarifying definitions for gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. 
• Senate Bill 5177 requires professional development resources for educators to consider the experiences of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups to better support all students.  
• Senate Bill 5179 establishes procedures to investigate and address complaints against school districts intentionally violating state law. 
• Senate Bill 5180 ensures school districts follow state law that allows students to use facilities, be addressed by their preferred pronouns, participate in activities according to their gender identity, and more.  
• Senate Bill 5181 better aligns the 2024 parental rights initiative the Legislature passed with state law and adds new rights for parents while balancing students’ right to privacy.