JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

You are here: Home / What We Do / Legislative Advocacy / 2024 Legislative Priorities

2024 Legislative Priorities

JUUstWA will be following a number of well-respected organizations’ legislative recommendations this year, as well as having a few of our own.  These priorities will change, sometimes significantly, as we get further into the legislative process so be welcome to return here and see what may have changed.  Official bill names and numbers will be provided once they become available.

To review and monitor bills, go to leg.wa.gov.  Click on Bill Information from the left menu.  In the “Search by Bill Number” box, type the four digit number of the bill and click the “Search” button.  This will bring to a profile page of the bill providing bill background and text(s), progression through the legislative process, links to comment and more.

Live bills for this session are as follows:

  • HB 1368 Requiring and funding the purchase of zero emission school buses. Signed by the Governor.
  • HB 1589 Supporting Washington’s clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future.  Signed by the Governor.
  • SB 5427 Concerning people who have been targeted or affected by hate crimes and bias incidents.  Signed by the Governor.
  • SB 5241 Concerning material changes to the operations and governance structure of participants in the health care marketplace (health care equity- Keep Our Care Act). Ran out of time in the Senate Rules Committee.  Hopefully see it return next session.
  • HB 1228 Building a multilingual, multiliterate Washington through dual and tribal language education. – Signed by the Governor.
  • HB 1879 Renaming the STI Curriculum after John McCoy. – Signed by the Governor.

For environmental issues, we’ll be following the leads of the Environmental Priorities Coalition and Front and Centered.  These include:

  • HB 1368 Requiring and funding the purchase of zero emission school buses.
  • HB 2253/SB 6113 Concerning fair access to community solar – Died in the House Committee on Environment & Energy.
  • HB 1589 Supporting Washington’s clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future.
  • HB 2070 Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Act (EPC/F&C) – Died in House Appropriations Committee.
  • HB 2049 Re-WRAP Act (EPC) – Died in the House Rules Committee.
  • Environmental Justice 40  Investing Public Monies relating to the Heal Act (F&C).

For social justice issues, we’ll be following the leads of the Faith Action Network and the ACLU including, but not limited to:

  • Immigration
    • Budget Item:  Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign.
    • HB 1095/SB 5109 Unemployment Benefits for Undocumented Workers. – Dead
    • HB 1866 Concerning the academic and support needs of children of seasonal farmworkers. – Died in House Education Committee.
    • SB 6021 Reducing fees and expenses for services for people confined to correctional facilities. – Died in Senate Committee on Ways & Means.
    • Funding for legal and emergency services for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
  • Criminal Justice Reform / Law Enforcement
    • HB 1025 Creating a private right of action for harm from violations of the state Constitution or state law by peace officers. – Died in House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee.
    • HB 1062 Concerning deception by law enforcement officers during custodial interrogations. – Died in House Rules Committee.
    • HB 1087 Solitary Confinement Reform. – Dead
    • HB 1445 Concerning law enforcement and local corrections agency misconduct through investigations and legal actions. – Died in House Rules Committee.
    • HB 1513 Traffic Safety for All Act. – Died in House Rules Committee.
    • HB 2001 Providing judicial discretion to modify sentences in the interests of justice.  Died in Senate Law & Justice Committee (opposite chamber).  Hope to see this one again next year.
    • HB 2027 Better Accountability for Law Enforcement. – Died in the House Committee on Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry.
    • HB 2065 Recalculating sentencing ranges for currently incarcerated individuals whose offender score was increased by juvenile convictions. Died in Senate Ways and Means Committee (opposite chamber).  Hope to see this one next year.
    • SB 5427 Concerning people who have been targeted or affected by hate crimes and bias incidents.
    • SB 6021 Reducing fees and expenses for services for people confined to correctional facilities. – Died in Senate Committee on Ways & Means.
  • Healthcare
    • SB 5241 Concerning material changes to the operations and governance structure of participants in the health care marketplace (health care equity- Keep Our Care Act).
  • Economic
    • SB 5486 Investing in Washington families and creating a more fair tax system by enacting a narrowly tailored property tax on extreme wealth derived from the ownership of stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible property. – Dead
    • SB 5961 Improving housing stability for tenants.  – Died in the Senate Committee on Housing.

For First/American Indian Nations

  • HB 1228 Building a multilingual, multiliterate Washington through dual and tribal language education. – Delivered to the Governor.
  • HB 1332 – 2023-24 Supporting public school instruction in tribal sovereignty and federally recognized Indian tribes. Died in Senate Ways and Means Committee (opposite chamber).
  • HB 1879 Renaming the STI Curriculum after John McCoy. – Delivered to the Governor.
  • HB 2107 Enabling the preservation of cultural treaty harvesting rights of Indian tribes by providing free licenses issued under Title 77 RCW to tribal members. – Died in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.