Fix Democracy First – Legislative Week February 13, 2023

WA Democracy Legislative Newsletter – February 13, 2023

Washington State Democracy Legislation & *Action Needed*

We encourage you to contact your local legislators in support of bil*9ls listed below, as well as other legislation you support. You can find your local legislators HERE.

CALENDAR NOTE: Friday, February 17th is the last day for bills to pass out of their respective policy committee. If bills are not voted out of these committee by Friday, they will not be moving forward this session, but will have an opportunity to be heard again in the 2024 session. 

*Please note things move quickly during the legislative session, and some of the info shared may change. Please check each bill page for the latest information.

Current Legislation & Action Needed This Week:

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Supports Media Literacy:

SB 5102 – Concerning school library information and technology programs

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Jan 23rd. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Feb 6th. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st Substitute) (Majority Report). And refer to Senate Ways & Means.
• Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on Feb 14th at 4:00 PM. (Committee Materials)
• Bill Summary: Ensures ALL students in ALL districts have access to a school library information technology program with a trained, certified teacher-librarian. Addresses issues such as media literacy, intellectual freedom, e-book licensing, and levy passage requirements. The rise of misinformation and disinformation available through the internet necessitates comprehensive instruction by a qualified teacher-librarian in information literacy, digital citizenship, and media literacy for all K-12 students.

*ACTION NEEDED for SB 5102*

Sign in PRO HERE before the public hearing on Feb 14th

*Sign in by 3 pm on Feb 14th, at least one hour before the hearing.

Please also register your support for SB 5102 HERE

SB 5626 – Expanding and enhancing media literacy and digital citizenship in K-12 education.

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Feb 6th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Scheduled for executive session in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Feb 13th at 1:30 PM. (Committee Materials)
• Bill Summary: Relates to expanding and enhancing media literacy and digital citizenship in K-12 education. Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to establish a program for the purpose of expanding the capability of school districts to integrate media literacy and digital citizenship into given subject areas through teacher support.

Please register your support for SB 5626 HERE

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Enhancing Automatic Voter Registration (2 bills):

SB 5112 – Updating processes related to voter registration.

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Jan 10th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Jan 13th. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. Referred to Senate Transportation committee.
• Public hearing held in the Senate Transportation Committee on Jan 30th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Transportation on Feb 2nd. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. 
• Placed on second reading by Rules Committee. Headed to the Senate Floor for a possible vote. 

*ACTION NEEDED for SB 5112*

Contact Senators to vote YES on SB 5112!

Please also register your support for SB 5112 HERE

HB 1229 (Companion bill to SB 5112)– Updating processes related to voter registration.

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Feb 7th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at on Feb 15th at 1:30 PM. (Committee Materials)

Bill Summary: The improved system would automatically register voters who provide a document proving their US citizenship during visits to DMV. They will then receive a notice by mail giving them the opportunity to opt out. 

Please register your support for HB 1229 HERE

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Campaign Contributions by Controlled Entities (2 bills):

SB 5207– Concerning campaign contributions by controlled entities

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Jan 24^th. You can view the public hearing HERE
• Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Jan 27^th. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st Substitute) (Majority Report). Minority; do not pass. (Minority Report). Minority; without recommendation. (Minority Report)
• Placed on second reading by Rules Committee. Headed to the Senate Floor for a possible vote. 

Bill Summary:

• Requires aggregation of campaign contributions made by an individual person with contributions made by any entities directed or controlled by that individual to determine whether contribution limits are reached.
• This includes any entities majority-owned by that person that do not act independently when making contribution decisions.
• Requires that limited liability corporations (LLCs) that are not classified as corporations under the federal tax code (a) be in business for at least one year and (b) file a declaration with the
• Public Disclosure Commission that the LLC was not solely created for the purposes of making campaign contributions before making a campaign contribution in Washington.

*ACTION NEEDED for SB 5207*

Contact Senators to vote YES on SB 5207!

Please also register your  support for SB 5207 HERE

HB 1426 (Companion bill to SB 5207) – Concerning campaign contributions by controlled entities

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Jan 27th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Feb 1st. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st Substitute) (Majority Report). Minority; do not pass. (Minority Report)
• Referred to House Rules Committee for review.

Please register your  support for HB 1426 HERE

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Enhancing Voting Rights Act (2 bills):

SB 5047 – WA Voting Rights Act Enhancements

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Jan 20th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Jan 27th. (Committee Materials). Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st Substitute) (Majority Report). Minority; do not pass. (Minority Report)
• Passed to Senate Rules Committee for second reading.

Bill Summary:

• Provides that persons or organizations who file a notice of intent to challenge an election system under the Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) may recover costs incurred in conducting the necessary research, if the notice causes the political subdivision to adopt a remedy that is approved by the court.
• Grants standing to organizations to challenge election systems under the WVRA on behalf of their members.
• Permits counties to increase the number of county commissioners to prevent a violation of the WVRA against members of an Indian tribe.
• Makes several language changes to other aspects of the WVRA.

*ACTION NEEDED for SB 5047*

Contact members of Senate Rules Committee to place SB 5047 on second reading so it can move to the Senate floor for a vote!

Please register your support for SB 5047 HERE

HB 1048 (Companion bill to SB 5047) – WA Voting Rights Act Enhancements

Status & Hearings:

• Public haring held in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Jan 13th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Jan 20th. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st Substitute) Minority; do not pass.
• Referred to House Rules Committee to review.

Please register your support for HB 1048 HERE

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Improving Access for Jail Voting:

HB 1174 – Improving access and removing barriers to jail-based voting.

Status & Hearings: 

• Public hearing held in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Jan 13th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Jan 31st. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st Substitute) (Majority Report). Minority; do not pass. (Minority Report)
• Referred to House Appropriations Committee. Awaiting fiscal note.

Bill Summary: Establishes standards for staff in jails and county elections administrators to improve education and ballot access for people incarcerated in local county jails. 

*ACTION NEEDED for HB 1174*

Contact members of House Appropriations Committee and ask  for a public hearing for HB 1174!

Please register your support for HB 1174 HERE

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Abolishing Advisory Votes (2 bills):

SB 5082 – Encouraging electoral participation and making ballots more meaningful by abolishing advisory votes.

Status & Hearings: PASSED the Senate! Vote tally: yeas, 30; nays, 18; absent, 0; excused, 1. (View 1st Engrossed) (View Roll Calls). This bill will now move to the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee for a public hearing.

Bill Summary: Repeals the requirement that advisory votes for tax increase legislation appear on the ballot and voters’ pamphlet.

Please register your support for SB 5082 HERE

HB 1158 (Companion bill to SB 5082)– Encouraging electoral participation and making ballots more meaningful by abolishing advisory votes.

Status & Hearings: The Senate bill will be moving forward instead of the House version. 

• No action taken in executive session in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Jan 18th.

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Updating Online Voter Registration (2 bills):

SB 5208 – Updating the process for online voter registration by allowing voter applicants to provide the last four digits of social security number for authentication.

Status & Hearings: PASSED the Senate! Vote tally: yeas, 29; nays, 18; absent, 0; excused, 2. (View Roll Calls) This bill will now move to the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee for a public hearing.

Bill Summary: This would update our online voter registration to allow people to register with their Social Security Number and a submitted signature, expanding access to people without Washington driver’s licenses.

Please register your support for SB 5208 HERE

HB 1443 (Companion bill to SB 5208) – Updating the process for online voter registration by allowing voter applicants to provide the last four digits of social security number for authentication.

Status & Hearings: 

• Public hearing held in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Jan 27th. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations on Feb 7th. Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. (View 1st Substitute) (Majority Report)Minority; without recommendation. (Minority Report). Referred to Rules 2 Review.

Please register your support for HB 1443 HERE

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Call for Constitutional Amendment to Address Money in Elections:

SJM 8002 – Calls on Congress to exercise its authority under Article V of the United States Constitution to regulate money spent on elections.

Status & Hearings:

• Public hearing held in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Feb 10. You can view the public hearing HERE.
• Scheduled for executive session in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Feb 17th at 8:00 AM. (Committee Materials)
• Bill Summary: Similar to Initiative 735, that passed in 2016 with 63% of the vote, calls on Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment and send to the states for ratification, the following:
• The ability to that establish corporations and other legal entities are not actual persons under the law and should be treated differently, especially when it comes elections.
• That the spending of money in elections is NOT a form of free speech.
• That money in elections should be regulated for candidate campaigns and ballot measures, on both a local and national level.
• That prompt disclosure of campaigns contributions is vital for public trust.

Please register your support for SJM 8002 HERE

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Public Financing of Elections for Legislative Races 

HB 1755– Establishing the democracy voucher program for contributions to state legislative candidates.

Status & Hearings: At this point it is looking like this bill will not be scheduled for a public hearing, so unlikely to move forward this session.

Bill Summary:  Creates a democracy voucher program (similar to Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program) to publicly finance legislative political campaigns. The program would provide Washington state residents four $25 vouchers that can be pledged to eligible candidates running for state legislative district offices. It allows eligible WA residents to participate in local government by supporting campaigns and/or running for office themselves.

Please register your support for HB 1755 HERE

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Ranked Choice Voting for Presidential Primaries

HB 1592 – Concerning ranked choice voting in the presidential primary

Status & Hearings: At this point it is looking like this bill will not be scheduled for a public hearing, so unlikely to move forward this session.

Bill Summary:  Allows the presidential primary to be conducted using ranked choice voting, unless a party has fielded two or fewer candidates, in which case the presidential primary for that party shall be conducted in substantially the same manner as a state primary under this title.

Please register your support for HB 1592 HERE

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