Protecting Washington

Reproductive rights and health care

• Protected access to reproductive services and gender-affirming treatment (2018 SB 6219; 2021 SB 5313; 2023 HB 1469, SB 5768, SB 5242 and SB 5599; 2025 HB 1971, SB 5498, SB 5557 and SB 5632).
• Increased access to HIV and AIDS prevention medications (2023 SB 5142; 2024 SB 6127 and SB 5983; 2025 SB 5577).
• Protected private, personal health data (2023 HB 1155).
• Ensured access to vaccines (2024 SB 5982 and SB 6095; 2025 HB 1531).
• Protected providers performing abortion and gender-affirming care (2022 HB 1851; 2023 HB 1340; 2024 HB 1954 and HB 2115; 2025 SB 5632).
• Codified Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections in state law (2018 HB 1523; 2024 HB 1957).
• Invested state-only funds in health coverage for residents without a federally recognized immigration status (Apple Health Expansion for adults; Children’s Health Program coverage for kids; limited duration Apple Health for pregnant and postpartum; state subsidies for purchasing ACA plans).
• Provided $19 million in the 2022 operating budget to cover all FDA-approved HIV antiviral drugs for Washingtonians in the Apple Health (Medicaid) program.
• Banned discrimination by most health providers based on a person’s gender identity or expression (2019 SB 5602).

Election security and voting rights

• Dramatically reduced barriers to voting access by implementing and enhancing automatic (2018 HB 2595; 2023 SB 5112; 2025 SB 5077) and same-day voter registration (2018 SB 6021).
• Provided a state-level alternative to federal voting rights litigation (2018 SB 6002; 2023 SB 1048).
• Prevents the flow of foreign corporate money into Washington campaigns and elections (2020 SB 6152).
• Enhanced protections for voting systems to repel cyber and other threats (2021 HB 1068; 2024 SB 5843).
• Protected election staff from threats (2024 HB 1241).
• Provided a mechanism for people to identify and seek damages for “deep fake” election materials that aren’t properly labeled (2023 SB 5152).

Immigrants, people of color and LGBTQ+ rights

• Strengthened protections against hate crimes (2019 HB 1732 and SB 5689; 2020 HB 1687; 2024 SB 5427 and SB 5917; 2025 SB 5101).
• Prohibited bans of books due to the contributions of individuals from protected classes (2024 HB 2331).
• Enacted “Keep Washington Working” to ensure agencies limit information shared with federal immigration enforcement (2019 SB 5497).
• Allowed for the use of civil legal aid funds to assist people present in Washington without legal status (2021 HB 1072).
• Expanded civil service eligibility for noncitizens (2018 SB 6145; 2024 SB 6157 and HB 1530).
• Allowed victims of human trafficking filing T or U visas to access food benefits, family assistance, and medical assistance (2020 SB 5164).
• Provided $25 million to the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance to expand support services for people newly arriving to the United States who do not qualify for federal services.
• Expanded eligibility for the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status program to protect vulnerable youth facing abuse from deportation (2017 HB 1988).
• Required comprehensive anti-discrimination clauses in all contracts for public works and goods or services (2023 SB 5186).
• Banned discrimination by most health providers based on a person’s gender identity or expression (2019 SB 5602).
• Protected access to reproductive services and gender-affirming care (2018 SB 6219; 2021 SB 5313; 2023 HB 1469, SB 5768, SB 5242 and SB 5599; 2025 HB 1971, SB 5498 & SB 5557).
• Increased access to HIV and AIDS prevention medications (2023 SB 5142; 2024 SB 6127 and SB 5983; 2025 SB 5577).
• Invested state funds in health coverage for residents without a federally recognized immigration status.
• Created a new low-interest loan program for undocumented students allowing the state to match private donations (2020 SB 6561).
• Expanded financial aid for DREAMers (2018 HB 1488 and SB 5074).
• Created an LGBTQ veteran’s coordinator to help LGBTQ+ servicemembers and veterans receive the honor and support they earned but may not be receiving due to the archaic legacy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (2020 SB 5900).
• Created sentence review to prevent deportation (2025 HB 1131).

Working people

• Lack of passage of a federal infrastructure package spurred passage of Move Ahead Washington, a state infrastructure package that included priorities like kids ride free, complete streets, and ferry electrification.
• Passed and strengthened the “Equal Pay and Opportunities Act” (2019; 2023 HB 1905) and pay transparency (2022 SB 5761).
• Addressed noncompetition agreements and non-disclosure agreements (2018; 2022 HB 1795; 2024 SB 5935).
• Strengthened state-based enforcement of safety standards (2023 HB 1762) and wage protections (2021 SB 5355).
• Strengthened state-based social safety nets:
  • Created paid family and medical leave insurance (2020 HB 2614, 2021 SB 5097; 2023 SB 5286; 2024 SB 5793).
  • Increased access to unemployment insurance (2021 SB 5425; 2023 HB 1106), including for striking and locked-out workers (2025 SB 5041).
  • Raised the minimum weekly benefit amount for unemployment insurance claimants (2021 SB 5061).
• Strengthened state-based collective bargaining rights (numerous bills).
• Extended overtime protections to workers federally excluded like farmworkers (2021 SB 5172).
• Expanded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) qualifying work activities to include vocational education (2017 SB 5347).
• Suspended TANF lifetime limits when unemployment rates in Washington exceed 7% statewide (2021 SB 5214).
• Required comprehensive anti-discrimination clauses in all contracts for public works and goods or services (2023 SB 5186).
• Created an LGBTQ veteran’s coordinator to help LGBTQ+ servicemembers and veterans receive the honor and support they earned but may not be receiving due to the archaic legacy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (2020 SB 5900).
• Prevented workplace coercion based on immigration status (2025 SB 5104).
• Provided protections for pregnant and postpartum workers (2025 SB 5217).
• Prevented discrimination in hiring based on criminal history (2025 HB 1747).
• Protected minors in dangerous working conditions (2025 HB 1644).

Environment

• Authorized public transportation benefit areas (PTBA) to impose a sales and use tax increase. With reductions in federal funding for public transit, local transit agencies wanted alternative funding methods. (2018 SB 5288).
• Identified and regulated toxic chemicals at the state level with passage of “Safer Products for Washington” (2019 SB 5135).
• Reinstated the alternative fuel vehicle retail sales and use tax exemption for new vehicles and expanded it to include used alternative fuel vehicles and offered grants to help mass transit agencies electrify their fleets (2019 HB 2042).
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions among large polluters with passage of the “Climate Commitment Act” (2021 SB 5126).
• Reduced the carbon intensity of transportation fuels with passage of the “Clean Fuel Standard” (2021 HB 1091; 2025 HB 1409).
• Limited hydrofluorocarbons with high global warming potential (HFC emissions) (2021 HB 1050; 2025 HB 1462).
• Committed to an electricity supply free of greenhouse gas emissions with passage of “Clean Energy Transformation Act” (2019 SB 5116).
• Addressed CETA compliance issues and expanded opportunities for distributed energy resources (2025 SB 5445).
• Set energy performance standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in buildings (Clean Buildings Act and Reducing Buildings Emissions) (2019 HB 1257; 2022 SB 5722; 2025 HB 1543).
• Stopped the Department of Natural Resources from issuing permits and leases on aquatic lands along Washington’s coast for mining hard minerals (2021 SB 5145).
• Supported reductions in greenhouse gas emissions within the agricultural sector (Sustainable Farms and Fields Grant Program) (2020 SB 5947).
• Increased the frequency of greenhouse gas emissions reporting to track progress towards climate goals (2025 SB 5036).
• Supported the stewardship program for photovoltaic modules, so solar panels can be recycled (2025 SB 5175).
• Created siting pathways for fusion energy facilities (2025 HB 1018).
• Increased recycling rates and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by improving solid waste management (2025 SB 5284).
• Supported investments in local renewable energy projects by creating new pathways to meet clean energy goals (2025 SB 5445).
• Established statewide testing for PFAS in biosolids, which can be land-applied to farms and forests as a soil amendment (2025 SB 5033).
• Expanded eligibility criteria for grant programs to support farms that increase energy efficiency and reduce fossil fuel use (2025 SB 5391).

Housing

• Invested $1 billion in the Housing Trust Fund and $300 million in rapid housing acquisition to ensure housing availability without relying on privatization (2022).
• Invested $14.5 million for youth housing and shelters to address the housing needs of vulnerable youth populations (2023-2025).
• Invested $50 million for transit-oriented affordable housing to promote sustainable housing development near transit hubs (2023-2025).
• Invested $105.3 million to connect housing to infrastructure, supporting essential improvements for affordable housing projects (2023-2025).
• Invested $40 million for land acquisition through the Housing Finance Commission to secure land for future affordable housing projects (2023-2025).
• Enabled public lands to be utilized for affordable housing projects while remaining under public control (2024 HB 2003).
• Authorized the transfer or gifting of surplus public property to nonprofit organizations for affordable housing development (2018 HB 2382).
• Legalized middle housing types and accessory dwelling units to increase housing supply for economically vulnerable populations (2023 HB 1110 and HB 1337).
• Expedited affordable housing development by streamlining permitting and simplified development processes (2018 HB 1085; 2023 SB 5290 and SB 5412).
• Promoted the use of mass timber products in residential and commercial building to reduce construction costs (2018 SB 5450).
• Protected marginalized populations from housing insecurity through the right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction and preserving mobile home communities (2021 SB 5160; 2023 SB 5198).
• Modernized the Housing and Essential Needs program to provide greater variety of resources to reduce homelessness (2025 SB 5232).

Kids and education

• Increased access to childcare and early learning services (“Fair Start for Kids Act”) (2021 SB 5237).
• Extended access to Working Connections Child Care regardless of immigration status (2023 SB 5225).
• Passed the “Fair Chance Act for Higher Education,” prohibiting public higher education institutions from requesting information about an applicant’s criminal history until after the applicant has already been deemed qualified for admission (2018 SB 6582).
• Prohibited book bans in school due to the contributions of individuals from protected classes (2024 HB 2331).
• Required school districts to have a gender-inclusive schools policy that protects students from discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression (2019 SB 5689).
• Required all school directors and educational staff have training in cultural competency, diversity, equity and inclusion (2021 SB 5044).
• Ensured instructional materials used in schools are inclusive and include the histories, contributions and perspectives of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups (2024 SB 5462).
• Increased food security for students by increasing the number of schools required to provide universal free meals (numerous bills since 2022).
• Established a professional development program on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and antiracism for faculty and staff at public institutions of higher learning starting in the 2022-23 academic year. The institutions had to also conduct campus climate student assessments and establish a DEI program for students (2021 SB 5227).
• Required community and technical colleges to develop diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plans (2021 SB 5194).
• Expanded Passport to Careers program for youth experiencing homelessness and youth in foster care (2018 SB 6274).
• Created the Workforce Education Investment Act and replaced the State Need Grant with the Washington College Grant program, a statewide, guaranteed free college program serving up to 110,000 lower-income students. The act is funded by an increase in the B&O tax rate, from 1.5% to 1.8%, for some 40 services. Businesses providing select advanced computing services with worldwide revenue of $25-$100 billion pay 2%, while those with more than $100 billion in revenue pay 3% (2019 HB 2158).
• Expanded the Washington College Grant (2024 HB 2214).
• Created a low-interest loan program for undocumented students, allowing the state to match private donations to the program, up to $2 million (2020 SB 6561).
• Expanded financial aid opportunities for DREAMers (2018 HB 1488 and SB 5074).
• Supported the rights of students, teachers, and their families to create a safe, healthy learning environment for all students (2025 HB 1296).