Politics Bulletin: 7 February 2025

Seattle City Council

Sustainability, City Light, Arts, & Culture, 9:30

Chair: Alexis Rinck (Citywide)

Vice Chair: Cathy Moore (5/North)

Members: Rob Saka (1/West), Mark Solomon (2/South), Dan Strauss (6/Northwest)

On the agenda:

1. MA 03071 (Heather Hargesheimer, International Special Review District Board, by Mayor Harrell.)

King County Council

No scheduled meetings.

Washington State House

The House will convene at 9:55 for a pro forma session.

Committee Meetings

Consumer Protection & Business, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Amy Walen

Ranking Member: Stephanie McClintock

Seattle Members: Berry, Ryu, Santos

King County Members: Kloba, Reeves, Steele, Walen (chair)

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1505 (Correcting obsolete or erroneous references in statutes administered by the Insurance Commissioner, by Rep. Walen, by request of the Insurance Commissioner.)
2. H.B. 1530 (Modernizing payment systems by expanding consumer-friendly transaction options for registered tow truck operators and regulated businesses, by Rep. Walen.)
3. H.B. 1516 (Conducting a study of insurance coverage options for permanently affordable homeownership units, by Rep. Hill.)

Early Learning & Human Services, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Steve Bergquist

Ranking Member: Carolyn Eslick

Seattle Member: Bergquist (chair)

King County Members: Burnett (asst ranking), Goodman, Penner, Taylor

On the agenda:

The committee will convene in executive session to consider the following six bills. The committee may vote some or all of them out of committee.

1. H.B. 1130 (Concerning utilization of developmental disability waivers, by Rep. Farivar.)
2. H.B. 1211 (Concerning the duty of clergy to report child abuse and neglect, by Rep. Walen.)
3. H.B. 1248 (Improving the effectiveness of juvenile justice programs by providing ongoing evaluations and clarifying juvenile diversions practices, by Rep. Couture.)
4. H.B. 1390 (Repealing the Community Protection Program, by Rep. Goodman, by request of the Dept. of Social & Health Services.)
5. H.B. 1391 (Improving developmentally appropriate alternatives for youth outside the formal court process, by Rep. Cortes.)
6. H.B. 1544 (Improving the risk assessment process used when investigating alleged child abuse and neglect referrals, by Rep. Rule.)

Following the executive session, the committee will proceed to public hearing for the following two bills:

1. H.B. 1724 (Improving access and practices related to portable orders for life-sustaining treatment, by Rep. Paul.)
2. H.B. 1752 (Concerning concurrent jurisdiction for courts of limited jurisdiction over juvenile misdemeanor cases, by Rep. Duerr.)

Healthcare & Wellness, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Dan Bronoske

Ranking Member: Joe Schmick

Seattle Members: Davis, Macri

King County Members: Obras, Thai

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Medicare and the Insurance Commissioner's Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) Program.
2. H.B. 1603 (Requiring guaranteed issue of Medicare supplemental coverage to an individual who voluntarily disenrolls from a Medicare Advantage plan and enrolls in Medicare Parts A and B, by Rep. Berg.)
3. H.B. 1639 (Requiring entities offering Medicare Advantage coverage in Washington to provide certain disclosures to consumers, by Rep. Bernbaum.)
4. H.B. 1754 (Requiring Medicare supplemental insurance to be offered on a guaranteed issue basis during an open enrollment period, by Rep. Thai.)

Following the public hearing, the committee will proceed to executive session to consider the following three bills, and may vote some or all out of committee.

1. H.B. 1291 (Concerning cost sharing for maternity services, by Rep. Rule.)
2. H.B. 1394 (Concerning the retention of hospital medical records, by Rep. Parshley.)
3. H.B. 1430 (Concerning advanced practice registered nurse and physician assistant reimbursement, by Rep. Simmons.)

State Government & Tribal Relations, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Sharlett Mena

Ranking Member: Kevin Waters

Seattle Member: Farivar

King County Member: Stearns (vice chair)

On the agenda:

1. H.C.R. 4403 (Renaming the Joel Pritchard State Library, by Rep. Tharinger.)
2. H.B. 1759 (Designating the twelfth day of December as The Day of the 12s, by Rep. Mena.)

Following the public hearing, the committee will proceed to executive session to consider the following five bills, and may vote some or all out of committee.

1. H.B. 1381 (Improving meaningful access to elections by increasing language assistance, by Rep. Shavers.)
2. H.B. 1146 (Improving access and removing barriers to voting in jails and state hospitals, by Rep. Simmons, by request of the Secretary of State.)
3. H.B. 1055 (Enhancing access to public records, by Rep. Abbarno.)
4. H.B. 1631 (Establishing the State Marine Forest, by Rep. Nance.)
5. H.B. 1628 (Creating the Fire Service Policy Board, by Rep. Bronoske.)

Agriculture & Natural Resources, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Kristine Reeves

Ranking Member: Tom Dent

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Reeves (chair), Springer

On the agenda:

The committee will hear a briefing on food security, then proceed to executive session to consider the following four bill. The committee may vote to pass some or all out of committee.

1. H.B. 1048 (Concerning a rangeland fire protection association pilot project, by Rep. Dent.)
2. H.B. 1294 (Extending the Pesticide Application Safety Committee, by Rep. Dent.)
3. H.B. 1309 (Addressing the impacts of burrowing shrimp on bottom culture shellfish farming through integrated pest management research, by Rep. McEntire.)
4. H.B. 1389 (Extending the expiration date for reporting requirements on timber purchases, by Rep. Bernbaum.)

Following the executive session, the committee will proceed to public hearing on H.B. 1735 (Prohibiting the force-feeding of birds, by Rep. Parshley.)

Civil Rights & Judiciary, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Jamila Taylor

Ranking Member: Jim Walsh

Seattle Member: Farivar (vice chair)

King County Members: Burnett, Entenman, Goodman, Salahuddin, Taylor (chair), Thai, Walen

On the agenda:

The committee will convene in executive session to consider the following four bills. The committee may vote some or all out of committee.

1. H.B. 1620 (Concerning limitations in parenting plans, by Rep. Taylor.)
2. H.B. 1403 (Simplifying condominium construction statutes, by Rep. Taylor.)
3. H.B. 1621 (Authorizing superior courts to appoint housing court commissioners, by Rep. Macri.)
4. H.B. 1065 (Concerning family burial grounds, by Rep. Walsh.)

Labour & Workplace Standards, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Liz Berry

Ranking Member: Suzanne Schmidt

Seattle Members: Berry (chair), Scott (vice chair)

King County Member: Obras

On the agenda:

The committee will convene in executive session to consider the following nine bills. The committee may vote to pass some or all of the bills out of committee.

1. H.B. 1128 (Establishing a Childcare Workforce Standards Board, by Rep. Fosse.)
2. H.B. 1155 (Prohibiting non-competition agreements and clarifying non-solicitation agreements, by Rep. Berry.)
3. H.B. 1213 (Expanding protections for workers in the State Paid Family & Medical Leave Program, by Rep. Berry.)
4. H.B. 1332 (Concerning transportation network companies, by Rep. Obras.)
5. H.B. 1335 (Protecting military spouses from employment discrimination, by Rep. Richards.)
6. H.B. 1398 (Concerning factors which are considered in interest arbitration for adult family home providers, by Rep. Scott.)
7. H.B. 1402 (Concerning job postings requiring driver's licenses, by Rep. Scott.)
8. H.B. 1511 (Concerning Washington State Ferries captains, by Rep. Parshley.)
9. H.B. 1524 (Concerning workplace standards and requirements applicable to employers of isolated employees, by Rep. Obras.)

Local Government, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Davina Duerr

Ranking Member: Mark Klicker

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Duerr (chair), Hunt, Zahn

On the agenda:

The committee may convene in executive session to consider the following four bills. The committee may vote some or all out of committee.

1. H.B. 1562 (Increasing the availability of baby diaper changing stations, by Rep. Hunt.)
2. H.B. 1529 (Increasing opportunities for cities to utilize county resources for road construction & maintenance, by Rep. Griffey.)
3. H.B. 1600 (Modifying the fee to support family services, by Rep. Eslick.)
4. H.B. 1688 (Concerning electric security alarm systems, by Rep. Parshley.)

Following the executive session (or directly from the start of the committee, if there isn't an executive session) the committee will hear testimony on H.B. 1684 (Concerning water recreation facilities, by Rep. Thai, by request of the Dept. of Health.)

Finance, 1:30 p.m.

Chair: April Berg

Ranking Member: Ed Orcutt

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

King County Members: Penner, Springer, Walen

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1307 (Easing the financial burden on families by removing sales and use tax on diapers and essential childcare products, by Rep. Caldier.)
2. H.B. 1318 (Providing a sales and use tax exemption for children's diapers, by Rep. Rule.)
3. H.B. 1340 (Exempting prepared food from sales tax, by Rep. Manjarrez.)
4. H.B. 1751 (Establishing a sales and use tax exemption for required course materials at public institutions of higher education, by Rep. Timmons.)

Washington State Senate

The Senate will convene at 12:30 p.m. for session, and remain in session until approximately 3:30 p.m.

Committee Meetings

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

Chair: Annette Cleveland

Ranking Member: Ron Muzzall

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Orwall (vice chair), Slatter

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Corporate practice of medicine
2. S.B. 5387 (Concerning the corporate practice of medicine, by Sen. Robinson.)
3. S.B. 5324 (Aligning the implementation of application programming interfaces for prior authorization with federal guidelines, by Sen. Cleveland.)
4. S.B. 5395 (Making improvements to transparency and accountability in the prior authorization determination process, by Sen. Orwall.)
5. S.B. 5557 (Codifying emergency rules to protect the right of a pregnant person to access treatment for emergency medical conditions in hospital emergency departments, by Sen. Krishnadasan.)

Labour & Commerce, 8:00 a.m.

Chair: Rebecca Saldaña

Ranking Member: Curtis King

Seattle Members: Alvarado, Saldaña (chair)

King County Members: Ramos, Stanford

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Workers' compensation
2. S.B. 5548 (Concerning workers' compensation benefits, by Sen. Shewmake.)
3. S.G.A. 9140 (Robert Battles, Member of the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals.)

Following the public hearing, the committee will proceed to executive session to consider the following 11 bills, and may vote some or all of them out of committee.

1. S.B. 5330 (Protecting consumers from spiked drinks, by Sen. Dhingra.)
2. S.B. 5265 (Expanding minimum requirements for electrical inspectors to include certain out-of-state experience, by Sen. King.)
3. S.B. 5090 (Updating the Professional Engineers' Registration Act, by Sen. Liias, by request of the Board of Registration for Professional Engineers & Land Surveyors.)
4. S.B. 5061 (Requiring certain wages in public works contracts to be at least the prevailing wage in effect when the work is performed, by Sen. Conway.)
5. S.B. 5381 (Establishing department authority to ensure payment is received from the self-insured employer after a self-insured group or municipal employer has their self-insurer certification withdrawn, by Sen. Conway, by request of the Dept. of Labour & Industries.)
6. S.B. 5433 (Exempting exclusive bargaining representatives for Dept. of Corrections employees from certain provisions related to coalition bargaining, by Sen. Ramos.)
7. S.B. 5400 (Supporting local news journalism, by Sen. Liias.)
8. S.B. 5041 (Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers, by Sen. Riccelli.)
9. S.B. 5023 (Providing labour market protections for domestic workers, by Sen. Saldaña.)
10. S.B. 5336 (Concerning protections for isolated employees, by Sen. Orwall.)
11. S.B. 5408 (Allowing for corrections to wage and salary disclosures, by Sen. King.)

Environment, Energy, & Technology, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Sharon Shewmake

Ranking Member: Matt Boehnke

Seattle Members: none

King County Members: Dhingra, Ramos, Slatter (vice chair), Wellman

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5033 (Concerning sampling or testing of biosolids for PFAS chemicals, by Sen. Jeff Wilson.)
2. S.B. 5450 (Increasing transparency regarding sewage-containing spills, by Sen. Slatter.)
3. S.B. 5519 (Reducing environmental impacts associated with the operation of certain ocean-going vessels, by Sen. Lovelett.)

Following the public hearing, the committee will hear the following six bills in executive session, and may vote some or all out of committee.

1. S.B. 5175 (Concerning the Photovoltaic Module Stewardship & Takeback Program, by Sen. Shewmake, by request of the Dept. of Ecology.)
2. S.B. 5241 (Adding fusion energy to facilities that may obtain site certification for the purposes of Chapter 80.50 RCW, by Sen. Liias, by request of the Energy Facilities Siting & Evaluation Council.)
3. S.B. 5236 (Concerning emissions of greenhouse gases used for anesthetic purposes, by Sen. Slatter.)
4. S.B. 5174 (Concerning wood burning devices, by Sen. Shewmake, by request of the Dep. of Ecology.)
5. S.B. 5360 (Concerning environmental crimes, by Sen. Trudeau.)
6. S.B. 5036 (Strengthening Washington's leadership and accountability on climate policy by transitioning to annual reporting of statewide emissions data, by Sen. Boehnke.)

Housing, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Jessica Bateman

Ranking Member: Keith Goehner

Seattle Members: Alvarado (vice chair), Salomon

King County Members: Goehner (ranking), Orwall

On the agenda:

1. S.G.A. 9181 (Michone Preston to be a member of the Housing Finance Commission.)
2. S.B. 5580 (Concerning the registration of certain corporations and trusts that own single-family homes and condominium units, by Sen. Orwall.)
3. S.B. 5587 (Concerning affordable housing development in counties not closing the gap between estimated existing housing units within the county and existing housing needs, by Sen. Cleveland.)
4. S.B. 5591 (Creating a Sales & Use Tax Remittance Program for affordable housing, by Sen. Bateman.)
5. S.B. 5613 (Concerning the development of clear and objective standards, conditions, and procedures for residential development, by Sen. Salomon.

Following the public hearing, the committee will proceed to executive session to consider the following four bills. The committee may vote some or all out of committee.

1. S.B. 5148 (Ensuring compliance with the housing element requirements of the Growth Management Act, by Sen. Bateman.)
2. S.B. 5298 (Concerning the notice of sale or lease of manufactured/mobile home communities, by Sen. Frame.)
3. S.B. 5470 (Establishing limitations on detached accessory dwelling units outside urban growth areas, by Sen. Goehner.)
4. S.B. 5471 (Authorizing middle housing in unincorporated growth areas and unincorporated growth areas, certain limited areas of more intensive rural development, and fully contained communities, by Sen. Goehner.)

State Government, Tribal Affairs, & Elections, 10:30 a.m.

Chair: Javier Valdez

Ranking Member: Jeff Wilson

Seattle Members: Hasegawa, Valdez (chair)

King County Members: Fortunato, Kauffman

On the agenda:

The committee will convene in executive session to consider the following 14 bills, including one Memorial and one Gubernatorial Appointment. The committee may vote some or all out of committee.

1. S.G.A. 9221 (Gent Welsh, to be Director of the Dept. of Military.)
2. S.B. 5014 (Concerning election security, by Sen. Boehnke, by request of the Secretary of State.)
3. S.B. 5143 (Concerning the Ethics in Public Service Act, by Sen. Gildon, by request of the Legislative Ethics Board.)
4. S.B. 5225 (Concerning candidate filing requirements, by Sen. MacEwen.)
5. S.B. 5152 (Concerning state employee access to peer-reviewed journals, by Sen. Warnick.)
6. S.B. 5049 (Concerning the Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee, by Sen. Jeff Wilson.)
7. S.B. 5338 (Concerning the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee, by Sen. Nobles, by request of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.)
8. S.B. 5106 (Establishing Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state holidays, by Sen. Trudeau.)
9. S.B. 5245 (Concerning the oath of office for members of the State Legislature, by Sen. Krishnadasan.)
10. S.B. 5050 (Concerning the privacy of party selections during presidential primaries, by Sen. Jeff Wilson.)
11. S.B. 5325 (Designating the State Cactus, by Sen. Warnick.)
12. S.B. 5414 (Requiring social equity impact analysis in performance audits and legislative public hearings thereon, by Sen. Hasegawa, by request of the State Auditor.)
13. S.J.M. 8008 (Rescinding prior applications for a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States, by Sen. Krishnadasan.)
14. S.B. 5522 (Concerning the State Capitol Campus, by Sen. Krishnadasan, by request of the Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State.)

United States House

The House convenes at 9:00 a.m./6:00 a.m. for Legislative Business.

The House will proceed with One Minute Speeches (up to five per side, maximum 10 minutes.)

Following One Minutes, the House will consider HR 26 Protecting American Energy Production Act (by Rep. August Pfluger of Texas.)

First votes expected at approximately 10:30 a.m./7:30 a.m.

Last votes expected at approximately 11:15 a.m./8:15 a.m.

Committee Meetings

Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party

Meets at 9:30 a.m./6:30 a.m.

Organizational meeting

Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Meets at 10:00 a.m./7:00 am.

Organizational meeting

United States Senate

The Senate is out until Monday.

The President of the United States

Times provided in Eastern/Pacific format.

11:30 a.m./8:30 a.m. The President welcomes His Excellency Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister of Japan, to the White House.

11:50 a.m./8:50 a.m. The President and the Prime Minister hold a formal lunch.

1:10 p.m./10:10 a.m. The President and the Prime Minister hold a press conference in the East Room.

2:00 p.m./11:00 a.m. The President is expected to make an announcement related to the White House Faith Office, and will sign executive orders in the Roosevelt Room.

3:00 p.m./12:00 noon The President and the First Lady depart the White House en route Joint Base Andrews.

3:10 p.m./12:10 p.m. The President and the First Lady arrive at Joint Base Andrews and depart for Palm Beach International Airport.

5:25 p.m./2:25 p.m. The President and the First Lady arrive at Palm Beach International Airport and depart for Mar-a-Lago

5:50 p.m./2:50 p.m. The President and the First Lady arrive at Mar-a-Lago, where they will remain for the weekend.