News

OLYMPIA — A bill to provide prescribed access to outdoor recreation, particularly for youth of color, was heard in the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee Tuesday.  Senate Bill 5095, sponsored by Sen. T'wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), requires the state Department of Health to create an advisory committee for the parks Rx health and wellness pilot programs. The committee’s membership would include communities that have been historically marginalized in access to parks. DOH and the advisory committee must then establish at least three, two-year pilot programs in the Puget Sound and eastern ...

OLYMPIA — A bill to create more affordable homeownership opportunities was heard in the Senate Housing Committee Friday.  Senate Bill 6173, sponsored by Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), aims to expand the production of affordable housing by enabling local municipalities to support organizations in creating homeownership opportunities for households earning up to 80% of area median income.  It also seeks to address the significant gap between median incomes and home prices in areas where homeownership is largely unattainable for those earning less than the median income, particularly among communities of color.    According ...

OLYMPIA — A bill to establish collective bargaining rights for student employees was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee Thursday.  Senate Bill 5895, sponsored by Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), would create a framework for collective bargaining for a new bargaining unit of employees enrolled in an academic or certificate program at Washington’s regional universities — Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Western Washington University and Evergreen State College — that are not currently covered in state law.   Right now, there is no statutory framework that defines collective bargaining for student ...

Washington’s history is filled with contributions from people of all walks of life, but often many of those stories go untold.  A bill sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds) aims to tell those stories and ensure that current and future generations of Washington students learn about the contributions all Washingtonians have made in shaping our state.   Liias’ inclusive learning bill, SB 5462, which passed the Senate on 29-19 vote Wednesday, will require school districts to adopt curriculum that covers inclusive, age-appropriate materials that tell the histories, contributions and perspectives of LGBTQ+ ...

OLYMPIA — Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest) was named chair of the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee following a vote of the Senate Wednesday.  “I’m honored to have been chosen by my colleagues to step into a greater leadership role,” Nobles said. “Education is the cornerstone of my life, and that passion fuels my work in the Legislature. I’m so excited to lead initiatives that not only enhance access to high-quality education and workforce development but reflect a genuine dedication to fostering a society where every Washingtonian can thrive.”  Nobles, who previously served ...

OLYMPIA — An omnibus bill to promote a victim-centered, trauma-informed response to sexual assault in Washington’s legal system was heard in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Monday. SB 5937 streamlines eligibility for crime victim benefits, covers some of victims’ costs for forensic examinations, expands protections to more victims, improves state and local teams to respond to sexual assault, and ensures that children age 13 and up can consent to forensic sexual examinations and examinations for sexually transmitted infections — consistent with current law on the age of medical consent. “SB 5937 draws on the recommendations of ...

OLYMPIA — A bill to help close gaps in wage and advancement opportunities among Washington workers, particularly women and workers in other protected classes, was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee Monday.  Senate Bill 5894, sponsored by Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), would expand the workplace rights and protections in the Washington Equal Pay and Advancement Opportunities Act to include protected classes beyond gender, such as 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 ...

Legislation to allow students to receive state financial aid for the same amount of time they can receive federal aid was heard in the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee Friday.  Senate Bill 5904, sponsored by Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), would align the maximum eligibility time frames for the Washington College Grant, College Bound Scholarship, and Passport to Careers programs with that of the federal Pell Grant at 150% — the equivalent of 18 full-time academic quarters.   More than 6,800 Washington students in the 2023–24 academic year are on track to ...

Washington’s bees are in trouble. Climate change, chemicals and other factors have caused our state’s bee population to decline at a rate faster than the national average, with colonies decreasing 9% from April 2022 to April 2023. One major contributor to the shrinking bee population is pesticides. That’s why Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds) is sponsoring Senate Bill 5972, which will end the domestic outdoor use of pesticides that contain neonicotinoids. This type of insecticide is absorbed into plants and can be present in pollen and nectar, with deadly effects for the pollinators that feed on them. The bill ...