Politics Bulletin: 23 January 2025

 Seattle City Council

Libraries, Education, & Neighborhoods

CANCELLED. 

Contact for more information: CM Maritza Rivera, (206) 684-8804, or email.

SPECIAL MEETING: Full Council, 1:00 p.m.

On the agenda:

Presentations by finalists for the District 2 Council Seat appointments.

Presentations are three minutes each, and delivered by candidates in alphabetical order by surname:

1. Hong Chhuor
2. Adonis E. Duckworth
3. Thaddaeus J. Gregory
4. Edward C. Lin
5. Chukundi Salisbury
6. Mark A. Solomon

Governance, Accountability, & Economic Development

CANCELLED. 

For more information: Council President Sara E. Nelson, (206) 684-8809, or email.

King County Council

No meetings.

Washington State House of Representatives

The House will meet in a pro forma session at 10:30 a.m.

Committee Meetings:

Community Safety, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Goodman

Ranking Member: Graham

Seattle Members: Davis, Farivar

King County Members: Goodman (chair), Burnett, Obras

On the agenda:

The committee will consider five bills in executive session and may choose to vote them out of committee.

1. H.B. 1091 (Concerning sexually violent predators' ineligibility to earn supervision compliance credit, by Rep. Couture.)
2. H.B. 1119 (Concerning supervision compliance credit, by Rep. Goodman, by request of the Dept. of Corrections.)
3. H.B. 1131 (Concerning clemency and pardons, by Rep. Goodmn.)
4. H.B. 1137 (Establishing uniform policies and procedures with Dept. of Corrections facilities relating to disciplinary proceedings and administrative segregation, by Rep. Peterson.)
5. H.B. 1192 (Concerning disciplinary hearings held by the Dept. of Corrections, by Rep. Simmons.)

Following executive session, the committee will hold a public hearing on the following bills:

1. H.B. 1125 (Providing judicial discretion to modify sentences in the interest of justice, by Rep. Simmons.)
2. H.B. 1233 (Concerning work programs for incarcerated persons, by Rep. Simmons.)

Education, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Santos

Ranking Member: Rude

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

King County Members: Callan, Eslick, Reeves, Steele

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1285 (Making financial education instruction a graduation requirement in public schools, by Rep. Rude.)
2. H.B. 1289 (Gathering survey information to improve the public school system, by Rep. McClintock)
3. H.B 1296 (Promoting a safe and supportive public education system, by Rep. Stonier.)

Environment & Energy, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Doglio

Ranking Member: Dye

Seattle Members: Berry, Hackney, Street

King County Members: Duerr, Hunt (vice chair), Kloba, Stearns

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1303 (Increasing environmental justice by improving government decisions, by Rep. Mena.)
2. H.B. 1329 (Concerning wholesale power purchases by electric utilities under the Washington Clean Energy Transformation Act, by Rep. Hunt.)

Following the public hearing, the committee will proceed to executive session to consider the following three bills. The committee may vote to pass them out of committee.

1. H.B. 1024 (Concerning the leasing authority of the State Parks & Recreation Commission at St. Edward State Park, by Rep. Kloba, by request of the Parks & Recreation Commission.)
2. H.B. 1018 (Adding fusion energy to facilities that may obtain site certification for the purposes of chapter 80.50 RCW, by Rep. Shavers, by request of the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council.)
3. H.B. 1154 (Ensuring environmental and public health protection from solid waste handling facility operations, by Rep. Duerr.)

Housing, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Peterson

Ranking Member: Low
Seattle Members: Reed

King County Members: Entenman, Gregerson, Low (ranking member)

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1204 (Concerning senior shared housing in manufactured home communities, by Rep. Eslick.)

Following the public hearing, the committee will proceed to executive session to consider H.B. 1108 (Creating a Task Force on Housing Cost Driver Analysis, by Rep. Klicker.) The bill may be voted out of committee by members.

Capital Budget, 1:30 p.m.

Chair: Tharinger
Ranking Member: Steele

Seattle Members: Davis

King County Members: Callan (vice chair), Eslick, Salahuddin, Stearns, Steele (ranking member)

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Affordable Housing financing.

Finance, 1:30 p.m.

Chair: Berg

Ranking Member: Orcutt

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

King County Members: Penner, Springer, Walen

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1047 (Creating a sales tax exemption for equipment purchased by Fire Districts in rural counties, by Rep. Dent.)
2. H.B. 1060 (Concerning newspapers and eligible digital content, by Rep. Santos.)
3. H.B. 1094 (Providing a property tax exemption for property owned by a qualifying nonprofit organization and loaned, leased, or rented to and used by any government entity to provide character-building, benevolent, protective, or rehabilitative social services, by Rep. Walen.)

Following public hearing on the above bills, the committee will proceed to executive session to further consider the following three bills, and may vote those bills out of committee:

1. H.B. 1004 (Increasing the personal property tax exemption, by Rep. Leavitt.)
2. H.J.R. 4200 (Concerning taxation of personal property, by Rep. Schmidt.)
3. H.B. 1126 (Standardizing notification provisions relating to local tax rate changes and shared taxes administered by the Department, by Rep. Walen, by request of the Dept. of Revenue.)

Appropriations, 4:00 p.m.

Chair: Ormsby

Ranking Member: Couture

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

King County Members: Burnett, Callan, Gregerson (vice chair), Penner (asst. ranking member), Spring, Thai

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1156 (Concerning volunteer firefighter participation in the state deferred compensation program, by Rep. Steele.)
2. H.B. 1260 (Concerning administrative costs associated with the document recording fee, by Rep. Schmidt.)
3. H.B. 1270 (Concerning automatic deferred compensation enrollment for county, municipal, and other political subdivision employees, by Rep. Bronoske, by request of the Dept. of Retirement Systems.)
4. H.B. 1300 (Transferring dedicated account for certain professional licenses to the Business and Professions Account, by Rep. Donaghy, by request of the Dept. of Licensing.)
5. H.B. 1349 (Concerning the purchase of Pension Service Credit for authorized leaves of absence, by Rep. Griffey, by request of the LEOFF Plan 2 Retirement Board.)

Transportation, 4:00 p.m.

Chair: Fey

Ranking Member: Barkis

Seattle Members: Hackney, Reed (vice chair)

King County Members: Duerr, Entenman, Hunt, Low (asst. ranking member), Taylor
On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1061 (Providing additional parking flexibility in residential neighborhoods, by Rep. Low.)
2. H.B. 1371 (Concerning parking privileges for veterans, by Rep. Orcutt.)
3. H.J.M. 4000 (Extending the naming of Martin Luther King , Jr. Way, by Rep. Gregerson.)
4. H.J.M. 4001 (Concerning Russ Blount Memorial Bridge naming, by Rep. Fey.)

Washington State Senate

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

Committee Meetings

Business, Financial Services, & Trade, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Kauffman

Ranking Member: Dozier

Seattle Members: Hasegawa

King County Members: Fortunato, Kauffman (chair), Stanford

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5109 (Concerning the Mortgage Lending Fraud Prosecution Account, by Sen. Kauffman.)
2. S.B. 5141 (Requiring the experience-rated group disability income insurers to include all applicable rating factors and credibility formulas in rate manual filings with the Insurance Commissioner, by Sen. Cortes.)
3. S.B. 5207 (Requiring refunds to consumers for early cancellation of term-based subscriptions to electronic media services, by Sen. MacEwen.)
4. S.B. 5251 (Concerning lodging tax revenues, by Sen. Christian.)
5. S.B. 5280 (Protecting consumers of virtual currency kiosks, by Sen. Kauffman, by request of the Dept. of Financial Institutions.)
6. S.B. 5294 (Transferring dedicated accounts for certain professional licenses to the Business & Professions Account, by Sen. Gildon, by request of the Dept. of Licensing.)

Health & Long-Term Care, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Cleveland

Ranking Member: Muzzall

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Orwall (vice chair),  Slatter

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Healthcare Affordability
2. S.B. 5064 (Creating an Advisory Council on Rare Diseases, by Sen. Liias.)
3. S.B. 5019 (Concerning prepacked medication distribution, by Sen. Chapman.)
4. S.B. 5244 (Providing an exemption for Women, Infants, & Children Program staff to perform hematological screening tests, by Sen. Riccelli, by request of the Dept. of Health.)

Early Learning & K-12 Education, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Wellman

Ranking Member: Harris

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Wellman (chair), Claire Wilson (vice chair, early learning)

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Issues related to rural school districts.
2. S.B. 5008 (Supporting the use of assessment, diagnostic, and learning tools in public schools, by Sen. Braun.)
3. S.B. 5009 (Modifying the Student Transportation Allocation to accommodate multiple vehicle types for transporting students, by Sen. Braun.)
4. S.B. 5120 (Expanding the Learning Assistance Program, by Sen. Nobles, by request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.)
5. S.B. 5177 (Considering the experiences of historically marginalized and under-represented groups when identifying professional development resources on certain topics, by Sen. Nobles.)

Following public hearing on the above bills, the committee will proceed to executive session to further consider the following two bills, and may vote to pass them out of committee:

1. S.B. 5181 (Amending the Parents Rights Initiative to bring it into alignment with existing law, by Sen. Claire Wilson.)
2. 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, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Dhingra

Ranking Member: Holy

Seattle Members: Salomon, Valdez

King County Members: Dhingra (chair), Fortunato, Wagoner

On the agenda: 

The committee will begin in executive session to consider 14 bills and may vote to pass a bill or bills out of committee.

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. 5037 (Enacting the Uniform Custodial Trust Act, by Sen. Holy, by request of the Uniform Law Commission.
4. S.B. 5071 (Updating the Endangerment with a Controlled Substance Statute, by Sen. Braun.)
5. S.B. 5122 (Enacting the Uniform Anti-Trust Pre-Merger Notification Act, by Sen. Trudeau, by request of the Uniform Law Commission.)
6. S.B. 5093 (Concerning dignity in pregnancy loss, by Sen. Dhingra.)
7. S.B. 5202 (Ensuring the efficacy of judicial orders as harm reduction tools that increase the safety of survivors of abuse and support law enforcement in their efforts to enforce the law, by Sen. Salomon.)
8. S.J.M. 8006 (Concerning the Limited License Legal Technician Program, by Sen. Torres.)
9. S.B. 5147 (Reviewing laws related to criminal insanity and competency to stand trial, by Sen. Torres.)
10. S.B. 5060 (Creating a Law Enforcement Hiring Grant Program, by Sen. Holy.)
11. S.B. 5068 (Concerning agencies, firefighters, prosecutors, and general or limited authority law enforcement, extending eligibility for employment to all United States citizens or persons legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law, by Sen. Lovick.)
12. S.B. 5209 (Explicitly listing the Dept. of Labour & Industries in the definition of Limited Authority Law Enforcement Agency while not granting new enforcement authority, by Sen. Lovick, by request of the Dept. of Labour & Industries.)
13. S.B. 5224 (Concerning officer certification definitions, processes, and commissioning, by Sen. Lovick, by request of the Criminal Justice Training Commission.)
14. S.B. 5099 (Establishing additional requirements for the business operations of licensed firearms dealers, by Sen. Lovick.)

Following executive session, the committee will begin a public hearing on the following bills:

1. S.B. 5169 (Concerning testimony of children, by Sen. Nobles.)
2. S.B. 5142 (Providing owners of real estate taken through eminent domain by school districts, or sold under threat of eminent domain, the opportunity to purchase the real estate back when it is not put to intended public use, by Sen. Hasegawa.)
3. S.B. 5198 (Concerning training as an alternative to driver license suspension for the accumulation of certain traffic infractions, by Sen. Valdez, by request of the Dept. of Licensing.)

Agriculture & Natural Resources, 1:30 p.m.

Chair: Chapman

Ranking Member: Short

Seattle Members: Saldaña

King County Members: Wagoner

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Dept. of Fish & Wildlife organizational review
2. S.B. 5303 (Extending the water supply milestone for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Plan to 2035, by Sen. Warnick.)
3. S.B. 5305 (Concerning the new environmental accelerator for salmon recovery and ecological resiliency projects, by Sen. Muzzall.)

Higher Education & Workforce Development, 1:30 p.m.

Chair: Nobles

Ranking Member: Warnick

Seattle Members: none

Washington Members: Slatter

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Degree Attainment
2. S.B. 5275 (Modifying funding and award levels for the Passport to Careers Program and eligibility for the Washington College Grant, by Sen. Nobles.)
3. S.B. 5304 (Expanding eligibility for the Students Experiencing Homelessness & Foster Youth Program to an accredited tribal college, by Sen. Kauffman, by request of the Student Achievement Council.)
4. S.B. 5308 (Establishing the Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program and requiring student notifications, by Sen. Hansen.)

Following the public hearings, the committee will proceed to executive session to consider the following two bills, and may vote one or both bills out of committee.

1. S.B. 5110 (Providing tuition waivers for tribal elders at Washington's community and technical colleges, by Sen. Kauffman, by request of the State Board for Community & Technical Colleges.)
2. S.B. 5158 (Concerning student athlete insurance, by Sen. Valdez.)

Local Government, 1:30 p.m.

Chair: Salomon

Ranking Member: Torres

Seattle Members: Salomon (chair)

King County Members: Goehner

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Salmon Habitat Recovery Pilot Program
2. S.B. 5155 (Extending a program to streamline the environmental permitting process for salmon recovery projects, by Sen. Salomon.)
3. S.B. 5154 (Clarifying the duties of county auditors, by Sen. Goehner.)
4. S.B. 5221 (Simplifying processes and timelines related to personal property distraint, by Sen. Bateman.)

Transportation, 4:00 p.m.

Chair: Liias

Ranking Member: King

Seattle Members: Alvarado, Valdez

King County Members: Fortunato, Goehner (asst. ranking member), Ramos (vice chair)

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Introduction to local government agencies:
1. Cities, Counties, Ports
2. Transit Agencies, and Metropolitan/Regional Transportation Planning Organizations.

Ways & Means, 4:00 p.m.

Chair: Robinson

Ranking Members: Gildon & Schoesler
Seattle Members: Frame (vice chair, finance) Hasegawa, Pedersen, Saldaña

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

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Pension systems
2. S.B. 5085 (Concerning three of Washington State's closed retirement plans, by Sen. Robinson.)
3. S.B. 5113 (Concerning cost-of-living adjustments for Plan 1 Retirees of the Teachers' Retirement System and Public Employees' Retirement System, by Sen. Boehnke, by request of the Select Committee on Pension Policy.)
4. S.B. 5357 (Concerning actuarial funding of pension systems, by Sen. Conway, by request of the Office of Financial Management.)
5. S.B. 5114 (Paying state retirement benefits until the end of the month in which the retiree or beneficiary dies, by Sen. Boehnke, by request of the Select Committee on Pension Policy.)
6. S.B. 5168 (Concerning the appointment, removal, and salary of the State Actuary, by Sen. Robinson.)
7. S.B. 5306 (Concerning the purchase of Pension Service Credit for authorized leaves of absence, by Sen. Holy, by request of the LEOFF Plan 2 Retirement Board.)

United States House of Representatives

The House meets today at 10:00 a.m/7:00 a.m. for Morning Hour, and proceeds to Legislative Business at noon/9:00 a.m.

The House will allow up to thirty Representatives (up to 15 Democrats and 15 Republicans) to speak on any topic for up to one minute.

Following "One Minutes", the House will consider two bills today, with a possible third:

1. H.R. 471 Fix Our Forests Act (Rep. Westerman of Arkansas.)
1. This bill has 55 cosponsors, notably WA Rep. Dan Newhouse (District 4/Central WA).
2. H.R. 21 Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (Rep. Wagner of Missouri.)
1. This bill has 159 cosponsors, all Republicans.
1. This includes WA Rep. Dan Newhouse (see above)
3. Possibly: H.R. 375 Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act (Rep. Tokuda of Hawai'i.)
1. This bill has one cosponsor, Hawai'i Rep. Ed Case.

Committee Meetings

Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, & Fisheries, 10:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.

Chair: Harriet Hageman, of Wyoming

On the agenda:

1. H.R. 231 Colorado River Basin System Conservation Extension Act of 2025 (by Rep. Hageman of Wyoming.)
2. H.R. 261 Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025 (by Rep. Carter of Georgia.)
3. H.R. 331 (To amend the Aquifer Recharge Flexibility Act to clarify a provision relating to conveyances for aquifer recharge purposes, by Rep. Fulcher of Idaho.)
4. H.R. 635 WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act (by Rep. Stansbury of New Mexico.)

Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, & Hazardous Materials, 10:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.

Chair: Daniel Webster, of Florida

Ranking Member: Dina Titus, of Nevada

On the agenda:

"America Builds: Examining America's Freight & Passenger Rail Network."

Hearing witnesses:

1. Ian Jeffries (President and CEO, American Association of Railroads.)
2. Chuck Baker (American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association.)
3. Joe DaLoisio (Chair, National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association.)
4. Jared Cassity (Alternate National Safety & Legislative Dir., Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation - Transportation Division.)

Appropriations, 10:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.

Chair: Tom Cole, of Oklahoma

Ranking Member: Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut

Washington Members: Dan Newhouse (Central), Marie Perez (Southwest)

Organizational meeting

Budget, 10:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.

Chair: Jodey Arrington, of Texas
Ranking Member: Brendan Boyle, of Pennsylvania

Organizational meeting

Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications & Technology, 10:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.

Chair: Richard Hudson, of North Carolina

Ranking Member: Doris Matsui, of California

On the agenda:

"Strengthening American Leadership in Wireless Technology."

Hearing witnesses:

1. Michael Powell (President & CEO, The Internet & Television Association.)
2. Brad Gillen (Executive Vice President, The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.)
3. Diane Rinaldo (Executive Director, Open RAN Policy Coalition.)
4. Chris Lewis (CEO, Public Knowledge.)

Agriculture, 10:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.

Chair: Glenn Thompson, of Pennsylvania
Ranking Member: Angie Craig, of Minnesota.

Washington Members: Dan Newhouse (Central), Marie Perez (Southwest)

Organizational Meeting

House Administration, 10:00 a.m/7:00 a.m.

Chair: Bryan Steil, of Wisconsin

Ranking Member: Joseph Morelle, of New York

Organizational Meeting

Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs, 1:15 p.m./10:15 a.m.

Chair: Morgan Luttrell, of Texas

Ranking Member: Chris Pappas, of New Hampshire

On the agenda:

"Correcting VA's Violations of Veterans' Due Process & Second Amendment Rights."

Hearing witnesses:

1. Jordan B. Cohen (Analyst of Firearms Policy, Congressional Research Svc.)
2. Scott Szymendera (Analyst of Disability Policy, Congressional Research Svc.)
3. James McCormick (Former Nat'l Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart.)
4. Wayne Reynolds (Nat'l Treasurer, Vietnam Veterans of America.)
5. Nancy Springer (Associate Director, Nat'l Legislative Svc., Veterans of Foreign Wars.)
6. Michael "Top" Washington (MSgt, retired, USMC, Everytown Veterans Advisory Council.)

United States Senate

The Senate meets at 10:00 a.m/7:00 a.m.

Following remarks by Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, the Senate will be in a period of Morning Business, where any Senator can speak on any topic for up to ten minutes.

At approximately 11:00 a.m./8:00 a.m., the Senate will vote on whether or not to end debate on the nomination of John Ratcliffe to be CIA Director.

If the vote passes, there will be up to two hours of debate. Following the close of debate, the Senate will vote on final confirmation.

Following the confirmation or rejection of the nomination, the Senate will vote on whether or not to end debate of the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense.

If the vote passes, there will be up to thirty (30) hours of debate. 

Additional votes are possible.

The Majority Leader has filed requests to end debate on four nominations:

1. John Ratcliffe to be CIA Director
2. Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense
3. Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security
4. Scott Bessent to be Secretary of the Treasury

Committee Meetings

Veterans' Affairs, 9:00 a.m./6:00 a.m.

Chair: Jerry Moran of Kansas

Ranking Member: Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut

Washington Member? Yes, Patty Murray.

On the agenda:

Vote on approving the nomination of Douglas Collins to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Environment & Public Works, 9:15 a.m./6:15 a.m.

Chair: Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia

Ranking Member: Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island

Washington Member? No.

PNW Member? Yes: Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California

On the agenda:

Vote on approving the nomination of Lee Zeldin to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Energy & Natural Resources, 9:30 a.m./6:30 a.m.

Chair: Mike Lee of Utah
Ranking Member: Martin Heinrich of New Mexico

Washington Member? Yes, Maria Cantwell

On the agenda:

1. Considering amending committee rules with regard to quorum.
2. A resolution funding the committee for the Congress
3. Vote on approving the nomination of Doug Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior
4. Vote on approving the nomination of Chris Wright to be Secretary of Energy

Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, 10:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.

Chair: John Boozman of Arkansas

Ranking Member: Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

Washington Member? No

PNW Members? Yes, Adam Schiff of California.

On the agenda:

Confirmation Hearing: Brooke Rollins to be Secretary of Agriculture

The President of the United States

1. 11:00 a.m./8:00 a.m.: The President delivers remarks via video and holds a virtual panel discussion with CEOs as the World Economic Forum in Davos.
2. 12:30 p.m./9:30 a.m.: The President receives an intelligence briefing
3. 2:30 p.m./11:30 a.m.: The President signs executive orders in the Oval Office
4. 3:30 p.m./12:30 p.m.: The President will call His Excellency Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, President of El Salvador.
5. 4:30 p.m./1:30 p.m.: The President will record various video messages.
6. 5:00 p.m./2:00 p.m.: The President will lead a senior staff meeting & swearing-in ceremony.