Politics update, 16 January 2025

 

Seattle City Council

There are no meetings scheduled today for the Seattle City Council.

King County Council

The Board of Health

The Board will meet at 1:00 p.m.

The Board is chaired by King County CM Teresa Mosqueda.

The Board's membership includes members of the King County Council, members of the Seattle City Council, members of certain other City Councils in King County, Public Health Facilities & Providers, Consumers of Public Health, Community Stakeholders, and representatives of the American Indian Health Commission.

Seattle Members: CM Joy Hollingsworth, CM Robert Kettle, C.Pres. Sara Nelson; Alternate: Mayor Bruce Harrell.

King County Council members: CM Jorge Barón, CM Reagan Dunn; Alternate: CM Sarah Perry.

Other King County City Council members: CM Amy Lam (Sammamish), CM Cheryl Rakes (Auburn); Alternates: CM Amy Falcone (Kirkland), CM Barbara de Michele (Issaquah).

Public Health Facilities & Providers: Dr. Butch de Castro Ph.D., Dr. Lisa Chew M.D., Katherine Gudgel; Alternate: Dr. Patricia Egwuatu, D.O.

Consumers of Public Health: Quiana Daniels R.N., Dr. Mustafa Mohammed M.D.; Alternate: Dr. LaMont Green D.S.W.

Community Stakeholders: Christopher Archiopoli, Victor Loo; Alternate: Francoise Milinganyo.

American Indian Health Commission: CM Jolene Williams (Snoqualmie Indian Tribe); Alternate: CM Angela Young (Snoqualmie Indian Tribe).

ON THE AGENDA:

1. Approval of the minutes (21 November 2024).
2. Public Comment.
3. Report by Chair Mosqueda.
4. Report by Dr. Faisal Khan, Director of Public Health.
5. Election of the 2025 Chair & Vice Chair.
6. Resolution BOH 25-B01: Designating the order in which the Vice Chairs of the Board of Health may act in the absence of the chair in 2025.
7. Briefing: Authority & Scope of the Board of Health.
8. Briefing: 2025 Board of Health Workplan.
9. Briefing: Proposed On-site Sewage/Septic Code Revisions.
10. Briefing: Update on the Hazardous Waste Management Program.
11. Briefing: Update on State Legislative Actions.
12. Reports by individual Members of the Board.

Regional Water Quality Committee

The Committee will meet at 3:00 p.m.

The Board is chaired by King County CM Claudia Balducci.

The Board's membership includes King County Councilmembers, Seattle City Councilmembers, members of select City Councils in King County, and representatives of certain Sewer/Water Districts within King County.

King County Councilmembers: CM Reagan Dunn & CM David Upthegrove.

Seattle City Councilmembers: CM Joy Hollingsworth & CM Robert Kettle; Alternate: CM Rob Saka.

Other King County City Councilmembers: CM Conrad Lee (Bellevue), CM Laura Mork (Shoreline), CM Jessica Rossman (Medina), CM Sarah Moore (Burien); Alternates: CM Penny Sweet (Kirkland) & CM Yolanda Trout-Manuel (Auburn).

Representatives from Sewer/Water Districts: Chuck Clarke (Woodinville Water) & Lloyd Warren (Sammamish Plateau Water); Alternate: Ryika Hooshangi (Sammamish Plateau Water)

ON THE AGENDA:

1. Approval of minutes (4 December 2024)
2. Report by Chair Balducci
3. Report by the Chair of the Metropolitan Water Pollution Abatement Advisory Committee
4. Report by the Director of the Wastewater Treatment Division
5. Selection of the 2025 Vice Chair
6. Resolution RWQC-2025-01: Declaring the committee's support of the Wastewater Treatment Division's Regional Wastewater Plan Update scoping document.
7. Briefing: Regional Wastewater Services Plan Update
8. Briefing: 2025 Work Program

Washington State House of Representatives

The House convenes at 10:30 for a pro forma session.

Committee Meetings

Education

The Committee meets at 8:00 a.m.

Seattle Membership: Santos (chair), Bergquist, Scott, Pollet

King County Membership: Callan, Reeves

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: The COVID-19 Pandemic and the K-12 System

Environment & Energy

The Committee meets at 8:00 a.m.

Seattle Membership: Berry, Hackney, Street

King County Membership: Hunt (Vice Chair), Duerr, Kloba, Stearns

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Clean Energy Transformation Act Update
2. H.B. 1071 (Implementing strategies to achieve higher recycling rates within Washington's existing solid waste management system, by Rep. Fey.)
3. H.B. 1253 (Expanding the ability of consumer-owned utilities to enter into joint use agreements, by Rep. Ybarra.)

Housing

The Committee meets at 8:00 a.m.

Seattle Membership: Alvarado, Reed

King County Membership: Entenman, Gregerson

On the agenda: 

1. H.B. 1075 (Expanding housing supply by supporting the ability of public housing authorities to finance affordable housing developments, by Rep. Walen.)

The committee will also meet in executive session to further discuss the following bills & vote on their approval:

1. H.B. 1003 (Addressing Service of Notice by Mail in cases involving forcible entry & forcible and unlawful detainer, by Rep. Abbarno.)
2. H.B. 1022 (Creating a Homes for Heroes program, by Rep. Connors.)

Community Safety

The Committee meets at 8:30 a.m.

Seattle Membership: Farivar, Davis

King County Membership: Goodman (chair), Obras

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1131 (Concerning clemency and pardons, by Rep. Goodman.)

The committee will also meet in executive session to further discuss the following bills & vote on their approval:

1. H.B. 1052 (Clarifying a hate crime offense, by Rep. Ryu.)
2. H.B. 1149 (Preventing cruelty to animals, by Rep. Hackney.)

Capital Budget

The Committee meets at 1:30 p.m.

Seattle Membership: Alvarado (vice chair), Davis

King County Membership: Callan (vice chair), Salahuddin, Stearns

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Former Governor Inslee's proposed 2025-27 Capital Budget & 2025 Second Supplemental Capital Budget
2. H.B. 1216 (Concerning the capital budget, by Rep. Tharinger, by request of the Office of Financial Management.)
3. H.B. 1202 (Concerning state general obligation bonds & related accounts, by Rep. Tharinger, by request of the Office of Financial Management.)

Finance

The Committee meets at 1:30 p.m.

Seattle Membership: Street (vice chair), Santos, Scott

King County Membership: Springer, Walen

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Uniformity & other constitutional considerations in tax policy.
2. H.B. 1004 (Increasing the personal property tax exemption, by Rep. Leavitt.)
3. H.J.R. 4200 (Concerning the taxation of personal property, by Rep. Schmidt.)

Appropriations

The Committee meets at 4:00 p.m.

Seattle Membership: Macri (vice chair), Bergquist, Pollet, Ryu, Street

King County Membership: Gregerson (vice chair), Callan, Springer, Thai

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Committee Guidelines
2. Briefing: State Pension systems

Transportation

The Committee meets at 4:00 p.m.

Seattle Membership: Reed (vice chair), Hackney

King County Membership: Duerr, Entenman, Hunt, Taylor

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Report from the Traffic Safety Commission
2. Briefing: Report from the Department of Licensing.

Washington State Senate

The Senate convenes at 12:30 p.m. for a pro forma session.

Committee meetings

Business, Financial Services, & Trade

The Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m.

Seattle Members: Hasegawa

King County Members: Kauffman, Stanford

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Overview of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner
2. S.B. 5016 (Concerning pre-arrangement funeral services, by Sen. Lovick.)
3. S.B. 5108 (Regulating service contracts and protection product guarantees, by Sen. Kauffman.)
4. S.J.M. 8005 (Requesting that Congress enact legislation that would reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions that were in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act, by Sen. Hasegawa.)

Health & Long-Term Care

The Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m.

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Orwall (vice chair), Slatter
On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Access to health insurance coverage
2. S.B. 5084 (Concerning health carrier reporting, by Sen. Robinson.)

Early Learning & K-12 Education

The Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m.

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Wellman (chair), Claire Wilson

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Implementation of the Common Online Platform for High School and Beyond Plans
2. S.B. 5095 (Concerning school districts' authority to contract indebtedness for school construction, by Sen. Dhingra.)
3. S.B. 5186 (Concerning school district elections, by Sen. Krishnadasan.)
4. S.J.R. 8200 (Amending the Constitution to allow 55% of voters voting to authorize school board bonds, by Sen. Cortes.)
5. S.B. 5190 (Allowing school districts to request extensions to state energy performance standard deadlines for K-12 school buildings, by Sen. Wellman.)

Law & Justice

The Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m.

Seattle Members: Salomon, Valdez

King County Members: Dhingra (chair)

On the agenda:

The Committee will meet in executive session to continue debate on, and possibly vote on, the following bills:

1. S.B. 5006 (Making updates to Washington's corporation acts, by Sen. Pedersen by request of the Washington State Bar Association.)
2. S.B. 5065 (Prohibiting the use of elephants and bears in travelling animal acts, by Sen. Liias.)
3. S.B. 5021 (Concerning retention of court exhibits, by Sen. Wagoner.)
4. S.B. 5067 (Lowering the legal blood alcohol limit to determine DUI and other associated criminal charges, by Sen. Lovick by request of the Traffic Safety Commission.)
5. S.B. 5098 (Restricting the possession of weapons on the premises of state or local public buildings, parks or playground facilities where children are likely to be present, and county fairs and county fair facilities, by Sen. Valdez.)

The Committee will then hear public testimony on the following bills:

1. S.B. 5133 (Concerning departures from the guidelines for caregiver status, by Sen. Claire Wilson, by request of the Administrative Office of the Courts.)
2. S.B. 5105 (Concerning offenses involving fabricated depictions of minors, by Sen. Orwall.)
3. S.B. 5094 (Concerning sexually explicit depictions of minors, by Sen. Dhingra.)
4. S.B. 5037 (Enacting the Uniform Custodial Trust Act, by Sen. Holy by request of the Uniform Law Commission.)

Agriculture & Natural Resources

The Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m.

Seattle Members: Saldaña
King County Members: none

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5076 (Establishing a Puget Sound Nonspot Shrimp Pot Fishery License, by Sen. Muzzall.)
2. S.B. 5092 (Providing a Sales-and-Use-Tax Exemption for qualifying farm machinery and equipment, by Sen. Boehnke.)
3. S.B. 5117 (Concerning agriculture and protecting agribusiness, by Sen. Muzzall.)
4. S.B. 5157 (Concerning the direct sale of valuable materials for habitat restoration projects, by Sen. Salomon.)
5. S.B. 5170 (Concerning boundary line adjustments on public lands owned or managed by the Department of Natural Resources, by Sen. Short.)
6. S.B. 5212 (Concerning filing of adjudication claims for pre-Code uses of groundwater and surface water in the Water Resource Inventory Area 1 water rights adjudication, by Sen. Shewmake.)

Higher Education & Workforce Development

The Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m.

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Slatter

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: WA Guaranteed Admissions Program
2. S.B. 5110 (Providing tuition waivers for tribal elders at Washington's community and technical colleges, by Sen. Kauffman by request of the Board for Community and Technical Colleges.)
3. S.B. 5164 (Providing student navigational supports to increase postsecondary enrollment, by Sen. Nobles.)
4. S.B. 5115 (Creating the Washington Dream Act Service Incentive Program, by Sen. Valdez.)
5. S.B. 5158 (Concerning student athlete insurance, by Sen. Valdez.)

Local Government

The Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m.

Seattle Members: Salomon (chair)

King County Members: none

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5055 (Promoting agritourism in Washington, by Sen. Warnick.)
2. S.B. 5053 (Concerning formation of Public Facilities Districts, by Sen. Warnick.)
3. S.B. 5089 (Concerning rural county coroners and medical examiners, by Sen. Chapman.)
4. S.B. 5018 (Concerning the geographic composition of County Weed Boards, by Sen. Jeff Wilson.)

Transportation

The Committee will meet at 4:00 p.m.

Seattle Members: Valdez

King County Members: Ramos (vice chair), Goehner, Fortunato

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Introduction to the Traffic Safety Commission
2. Briefing: Introduction to the Transportation Commission
3. Briefing: Introduction to the Department of Licensing
4. Briefing: Introduction to the State Patrol

Ways & Means

The Committee will meet at 4:00 p.m.

Seattle Members: Frame (vice chair, finance), Hasegawa, Pedersen, Saldaña

King County Members: Sanford (vice chair, operating), Dhingra, Kauffman, Wellman, Claire Wilson

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Special education service delivery, access, funding formulae, and spending.
2. Briefing: Higher education enrollment and financial aid.

United States House of Representatives

The House will convene at 9:00 a.m. E./6:00 a.m. P.

The House will invite up to ten Representatives (five Democrats, five Republicans) to speak on any topic for one minute.

Following conclusion of the One Minutes, the House will debate H.R. 30 Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act (by Rep. Mace of South Carolina). The debate will last no longer than one hour, with Democrats and Republicans each being allotted 30 minutes.

The bill has 54 cosponsors, all Republicans, and no members from Washington co-sponsor the bill.

The House will conduct first votes at approximately 10:30 a.m. E./7:30 a.m. P., and last votes will commence at approximately 11:00 a.m. E./8:00 a.m. P.

Committee Meetings

Veterans' Affairs

The Committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. E./6:00 a.m. P.

The Committee will consider business establishing rules, a work plan, appointing Members and Staff, as well as Subcommittee chairs, vice chairs, ranking members, and vice ranking members.

No members of the Washington delegation sit on the Committee.

Rules

The Committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. E./7:00 a.m. P.

The Committee will consider business establishing rules of business.

No members of the Washington delegation sit on the Committee.

United States Senate

The Senate will convene at noon.

Following remarks by Majority Leader Thune and Democratic Leader Schumer, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 5 Laken Riley Act (by Sen. Britt of Alabama.)

Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs

The Committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. E./6:00 a.m. P.

The Committee will examine the Remain in Mexico policy, and consider a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the President is authorized to, and should, take immediate and necessary action to secure the southwest border of the United States.

The Committee will also establish rules.

Neither of Washington's Senators serve on the Committee.

Energy & Natural Resources

The Committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. E./7:00 a.m. P.

The Committee will hold a Confirmation Hearing on Doug Burgum, for Secretary of Interior.

Senator Cantwell is a member of this Committee.

Environment & Public Works

The Committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. E./7:00 a.m. P.

The Committee will hold a Confirmation Hearing on Lee Zeldin, for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Neither of Washington's Senators serve on the Committee.

Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs

The Committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. E./7:00 a.m. P.

The Committee will hold an organizational meeting, & proceed to a Confirmation Hearing on E. Scott Turner to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Neither of Washington's Senators serve on the Committee.

Judiciary

The Committee will meet at 10:15 a.m. E./7:15 a.m. P.

The Committee will continue the Hearings on the expected nomination of Pamela J. Bondi to be Attorney General.

Neither of Washington's Senators serve on the Committee.

Finance

The Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. E./7:30 a.m. P.

The Committee will hold a Confirmation Hearing on Scott Bessent, for Secretary of the Treasury.

Senator Cantwell serves on this Committee.

The President & Vice President

The President

At 2:00 p.m. E./11:00 a.m. P., the President & First Lady will attend the Department of Defense Commander-in-Chief Farewell Ceremony at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall, where the President will deliver remarks.

The Vice President

At 2:00 p.m. E./11:00 a.m. P., the Vice President & Second Gentleman will attend the Department of Defense Commander-in-Chief Farewell Ceremony at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall.