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Alliance For Gun Responsibility Legislation Priorities:

We know that the Washington legislature has a daunting task ahead as they work to chart a path out of the pandemic. We need to make sure they recognize that gun violence prevention must be part of that path. Please help us advocate for our bold policy agenda!

 

League of Women Voters of Washington State

2022

 

 Legislative Issues and Updates

Click on "Learn More" for Action Alerts and detailed updates on bills. 

 

Disability Rights Washington

Disability Rights Washington provides a weekly update each Saturday morning during the 2022 Legislative Session. If you are interested in receiving this weekly newsletter, please subscribe to Disability Rights Washington’s Legislative Newsletter!

 

Washington State Democrats  2022 Legislative Priorities

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Washington State Democrats, as citizens of the planet, place the well-being of the people as our highest priority. We believe in the values of community, empathy, equality, tolerance, opportunity, and the common good of the interdependent world we share. These are our 2022 Washington State legislative priorities.

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Fiscal Responsibility & Revenue Reform

• Pass a Fair Share Tax

• Make the Estate Tax more progressive

• Require that tax breaks/exemptions be accounted for and displayed as part of our operating budget

• Create the Washington State Investment Trust so we have our own publicly owned state bank

 

Climate Action & Environmental Protection

• Protect riparian regions in the Growth Management Act.  

• Modify the Growth Management Act to include climate change and public transit components, and to close sprawl loophole

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by expanding building standards, and financing electrification of buildings

• Renew Recycling Act modernize recycling system so packaging will truly be reusable, compostable, or recyclable

• Support changes needed to address the governor’s veto on the clean energy and Clean Fuel Standard 

• Fund the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act

 

Police Accountability

• Require truly independent prosecutions of deadly force incidents

• Remove barriers for victims/families to sue and hold officers and departments accountable for misconduct, including elimination of qualified immunity as a defense. 

• Restrict the use of solitary confinement

 

Social Justice & Racial Equity

• Advance human rights by repealing the state’s unenforceable death penalty statute

• Implement the recommendations of the AGO’s Hate Crimes advisory Working Group

• Provide public reimbursement to Northwest Indian College for non-native students.

• Uphold tribal fishing rights by improving water quality and removing barriers to fish passage

 

Electoral Reform

• Repeal statewide “advisory votes” for bills that increase or recover revenue. 

• Overhaul how ballot titles are developed to eliminate abusive practices like ballot title shopping

• Create a citizen initiative review (CIR) process to evaluate initiatives

• Phase out odd-year elections 

• Move the state primary election from August to May and adjust associated dates & timelines 

• Allow a simple majority of voters to authorize school district bonds

• Require a fiscal impact statement for any ballot measure that will repeal, levy, or modify any tax or fee.

 

Education

• Expanded support for Career and Technical Education

• Ensure deaf and hard of hearing children have a fluent first language by kindergarten with LEAD-K

• Support our educators by restoring cost of living (COLA) increases for Plan 1 retirees

• Expanded support for mental health services in public schools

• Support Retention of marginalized students with less than a median income with small “Bridge Grants” for food, housing, childcare so that they can complete Higher Ed and Apprenticeship Credentials to fill workforce shortages

 

Stronger Rural Washington 

• Reauthorize tax for economic development and public facilities in rural Washington

• Make it easier for public utility districts to provide broadband connectivity to all Washingtonians

• Create the occupation of dental therapist to improve oral hygiene care for rural and tribal communities

• Grow the Nurse-Family Partnership to serve more of Washington’s rural counties

 

Healthcare

• Fully support an implementation of single payer universal healthcare in Washington State

• Pass the Keep Our Care Act to ensure future healthcare consolidations do not perpetuate discriminatory restrictions to reproductive, gender-affirming, or end-of-life care or exacerbate affordability barriers

• Increase access to Death with Dignity

• Support Immigrant Health Care to ensure basic health care for undocumented immigrants.

• Reform drug pricing

• Support Safe Staffing of Hospitals to address the critical nurse shortage in Washington

• Amend the Long-Term Care Trust Act to equitably distribute benefits to all workers.

• Allocate funding to expand the establishment of Medically Assisted Treatment Centers to aid communities impacted by substance abuse and opioid addiction.

 

Attainable and sustainable Housing

• Prevent foreclosures by expanding resources for families that belong to communities of color

• Create middle housing near transit and in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing.

• Create housing that is attainable, sustainable, and equitable for all persons

 

Labor Rights

• Pass the Silenced No More Act to prevent corporations from using Non-Disclosure Agreements to silence victims of harassment and discrimination.

• Pass the Worker Protection Act allowing whistleblowers to bring action for violations of workplace protections.

 

Public Safety and Gun Responsibility

• Ban open carry at election offices, official public meetings, and public buildings

• Support the Treatment and Recovery Act to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs

• Ban the sale of military grade weapons, modifying accessories, and ammunition to civilians

• Prioritize treatment over penalties for drunk driving, especially for repeat offenders

• Bring back parole for all and create a Community Review Board to reduce incarceration rates

• Provide for the elimination of cash bail

 

Emergency Readiness and Pandemic Response 

• Increase funding for geologic hazards mapping plus earthquake, tsunami, and landslide readiness

• Amend our RCWs to reduce reliance on recurring emergency proclamations during pandemics

 

Technology

• Adopt the People’s Privacy Act

• Strengthen our state’s digital defenses to protect critical data like our voter rolls

• Secure public cyber resources and means of gathering public input against abuse by bots

• Bar the use of facial recognition technology by state agencies and local governments

• Implement right to repair legislation

 

Transportation

• Improvements to passenger and freight rail by investing in Amtrak on existing corridors and additional rural corridors. 

• Ensure that carbon pricing revenue from the Climate Commitment Act is not used for projects that are eligible for funding from gas taxes. 

• Pass a transportation package that focuses on equitable transit investments and road maintenance without expansion of capacity for automobiles.