Below are the House Democratic Caucus priorities for the 2024 Legislative Session. Explanation of the progress bars are described below.
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High-Quality Education
Expanding opportunities to build more early learning facilities (HB 2195)
Removes limitations to allow a dedicated revenue source to help build more high-quality early learning facilities.
Dual & Tribal Language (HB 1228)
Creates a more inclusive and multicultural learning environment and will help increase the bilingual workforce.
Additional funding for public schools for materials, supplies, and operating costs (HB 2494)
Updates and increases per pupil amounts for materials, supplies, and operating costs in state prototypical school funding formulas beginning in the 2023-24 school year.
Public School Instructional Materials (HB 2331)
Having access to a diverse range of books in our public school libraries and classrooms is important for the cultural enrichment of our students. This bill safeguards this value while establishing transparent guidelines to receive feedback from parents or guardians and requires at least one parent serve on the local instructional materials committee.
Equipping teachers and schools to limit isolation and restraint (HB 1479)
Giving educators the tools they need to reduce the number of incidents involving isolation and restraint in our K-12 system. This bill also provides a path to eliminate the harmful practice of isolation for our elementary school children. This is important to foster safe learning environments for all students.
Raising the special education enrollment funding cap (HB 2180)
Continuing Democratic efforts to fund special education without a cap, this increases the existing cap which will help school districts meet that need and address rising costs.
Equity in continuing education (HB 1377)
This will expand the number of providers of continuing education of equity-based practices while creating processes to ensure high quality education and transparency in course offerings.
Expanding Housing Access and Keeping People in their Homes
Rent Stabilization: Ending excessive rent increases (HB 2114)
Rents are skyrocketing and Washington renters deserve stability now. This will cap rent increases so that renters have predictability and stability.
Transit-oriented housing (HB 2160)
Helps set housing goals around rail and bus rapid transit stops to help develop more density and housing for Washington families.
Creating a Department of Housing (HB 2270)
Washington deserves an efficient, one-stop shop where all housing and homelessness programs are located and can work together collaboratively and efficiently to ensure housing for every person in our state.
Creating more flexible living options through co-living (HB 1998)
Co-living is a flexible, efficient, affordable option for people to have their own private rooms and bathrooms while sharing communal spaces, like kitchens or living rooms. This bill paves the way for co-living housing to help address rising housing costs and reflect the needs of different communities.
Workforce housing programs (HB 1892)
Washington has a housing crisis, and this program will help local jurisdictions as they seek to build affordable housing for low income households.
Residential housing regulations (HB 2071)
Tasks the state building code council with coming up with recommended changes to bring multiplex housing code in line with one- and two-unit housing code, making it easier to build triplexes, quads, and other multiplex housing options.
An Economy that Works for Families
Limiting the cost of Epipens and inhalers to $35/month (HB 1979)
Democrats have lowered the price of insulin to $35/month. Now, we are capping the cost of a 30-day supply of inhaler corticosteroids and two autoinjector Epipens to $35.
Supporting striking workers (HB 1893)
When workers go on strike, they don’t have income to keep their families fed and housed. Meanwhile, the corporate executives on the other side of the bargaining table are still getting a paycheck. This bill provides up to four weeks of unemployment benefits to striking workers so that they have the financial support to strike a fair bargain with their management.
Increasing access to the Washington College Grant (HB 2214)
This ensures that, for families on public assistance programs, students are pre-qualified for the Washington College Grant, the state’s free or reduced tuition program.
Increasing cost of living allowances for retired public workers (HB 1985)
Providing our retired teachers and public workers a much-needed, one-time increase to help keep up with rising costs.
Making subsidized child care more accessible (HB 2111)
Streamlines requirements for subsidized child care, removing outdated references and offering clarity to enhance efficiency.
Solar consumer protections (HB 2156)
Protecting consumers from bad actors in the solar market.
Improving access to the Working Families Tax Credit Program (HB 1895)
This bill makes it easier to apply for the Working Families Tax Credit and eliminates unnecessary delays so that families get their tax credit faster.
Increasing grant amounts to keep families afloat (HB 2415)
When families are in short-term financial distress, the Diversion Cash Assistance program is there to keep families afloat, and this bill expands that payment to help families from falling into deeper financial trouble.
Waiving time limit for vulnerable families on TANF (HB 2007)
This supports families in financial distress by expanding the time limit exemptions for cash assistance programs like TANF, broadening eligibility to ensure vulnerable families don’t face abrupt cutoffs of vital support.
Standardizing health plans on the marketplace (HB 2361)
The health care marketplace is confusing and knowing the difference between plans is important to make sure you’re getting the right plan with the right value for you and your family. This bill standardizes more plans on the marketplace so you can compare apples to apples, knowing that your co-pays and other costs will be the same no matter which plan you choose.
Waiving interest accrued on unemployment insurance overpayments (HB 1975)
This is all about fairness. Due to the volume of claims during the pandemic, some people started accruing interest on overpayments of benefits while waiting for the Employment Security Department to respond, and this bill makes sure that interest isn’t charged until next year.
Expanding the Equal Pay Opportunities Act (HB 1905)
This bill expands the Equal Pay Opportunities Act to other protected classes to ensure that everyone is paid equally and fairly.
Creating the Economic Security for All Grant Program (HB 2230)
This creates the Economic Security for All Program to promote economic inclusion and self-sufficiency for people with low incomes.
Support for individuals and families (HB 2368)
Modernizing and improving how we support the economic and social integration, as well as the basic needs, of immigrants and refugees arriving in Washington. This bill will provide the critical support these individuals and families deserve.
Making sure your gas taxes go to state highways (HB 1964)
When you pay for gas at the pump, the fuel tax is included in the price. But sometimes distributors keep your tax instead of paying it to the state. Those taxes are for state highway construction and maintenance, so this bill will help our Department of Licensing go after bad actors and make sure your taxes aren’t going into their pockets.
Community Safety
Protecting the public from gun violence by requiring firearms dealers to keep guns secure (HB 2118)
Requires accurate inventory records and standardized guidelines for securing inventory to reduce gun thefts.
Protecting the public from gun violence by requiring rapid reporting when a gun is stolen (HB 1903)
Stolen firearms are often used in crimes, so if someone’s legally purchased firearm is stolen, they must report the theft within 24 hours of discovering the weapon is missing.
Protecting the public from gun violence by requiring guns turned into buyback programs be destroyed (HB 2021)
We don’t want Washington state to be an arms dealer. Inspired by an investigation that showed many alarming instances where firearms initially seized by WSP were later sold and used in new crimes and suicides, this bill ensures that unwanted weapons are dealt with safely and responsibly by requiring all buyback programs to destroy, not sell, the guns.
Removing the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse (HB 1618)
Child sex abuse is under reported and this will help empower survivors with the tools to hold their predators accountable.
Protecting minors from fabricated intimate or sexually explicit images (HB 1999)
This bans the creation of fabricated intimate or sexually explicit images and depictions of minors.
Curbing catalytic converter theft (HB 2153)
Building upon the success of 2022’s HB 1815, which has led to a dramatic decline in catalytic converter thefts in our state, this aims to effectively control the buying and selling of catalytic converters, thereby diminishing illegal activities in this trade.
Automated traffic safety cameras (HB 2384)
This helps clarify how cities and counties can choose to establish speed camera programs while still maintaining privacy protections. Studies show that fixed camera sites can reduce injury by up to 25 percent and fatalities by up to 32 percent
Prohibiting license plate covers (HB 1963)
Cracked, tinted, faded, or blurry license plate covers makes them illegible which can impact law enforcement’s ability to uphold the law or identify suspects.
Providing longevity bonuses to State Patrol troopers (HB 2357)
This helps reduce retirements at Washington State Patrol by offering large longevity bonuses to those nearing retirement. We rely on state troopers to keep our roads safe.
Ending child marriage (HB 1455)
This ends the practice of child marriage in Washington state once and for all.
Improving construction training and pathways to apprenticeships in state correctional facilities (HB 2084)
This bill will improve the quality and availability of construction-trade apprenticeship-related training programs at correctional facilities, and better prepare incarcerated individuals to successfully reenter their communities and achieve economic stability upon release.
Fraud in Assisted Reproduction (HB 1300)
Ensures that fertility physicians who deceive and exploit patients face tougher penalties and establishes safeguards against future misconduct.
Nothing About Us Without Us (HB 1541)
Addresses the crucial need for including individuals with direct lived experience in shaping policies that directly impact them.
Addressing Fentanyl and Opioids in our Communities
Expanding tribal health care facilities to help address opioid and fentanyl in our communities (HB 2372)
Addressing the opioid and fentanyl crisis by enabling federally recognized tribes to come together to increase the number of health care facilities they operate for treatment and recovery through allowing the transfer of state lands to the tribes.
Fentanyl & Opioid/substance use prevention education (HB 1956)
With the opioid and fentanyl crisis impacting communities at record levels, we need education, prevention, and awareness of the risks of drug use in our schools. Sadly, kids don’t always intentionally misuse drugs and may take something not knowing it is a counterfeit drug laced with something dangerous.
Fentanyl & Opioid prevention at higher education institutions (HB 2112)
This will provide fentanyl and opioid prevention education for college students and requires those schools to make fentanyl test strips and Naloxone readily accessible by students and staff to prevent overdoses.
Supporting youth after inpatient behavioral health treatment (HB 1929)
After inpatient treatment for behavioral health or addiction, our 18-24 year olds often have nowhere to go and end up homeless and without support. This bill provides an innovative approach that helps our young adults transition smoothly back into their communities and reduces the risk of falling into homelessness.
Protecting the Environment and Combating Climate Change
Transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future (HB 1589)
Helps the state’s largest utility decarbonize in an affordable and equitable way by directing more thorough long-range planning and regulatory flexibility.
Helping schools pay for clean school buses (HB 1368)
Diesel buses are stinky, noisy, and bad for the planet and our kids. This bill helps provide grants to schools who want to transition their school bus fleets to clean, quiet, and efficient zero-emission buses.
Extreme Weather Response Grants from the Military Department (HB 1012)
Extreme weather events, including hot and cold spells and severe air quality issues due to wildfire smoke, are increasingly impacting communities across the state. To address this, HB 1012 will establish a grant program designed to support services for vulnerable populations affected by these weather-related challenges. This will help cities respond effectively to the needs of their communities during such events.
Thermal Energy Networks (HB 2131)
Thermal energy networks are the most energy efficient systems available for heating and cooling and they emit no pollution. This bill introduces a pathway to take advantage of a renewable energy source that is all around us.
Simplifying access to energy-efficient building upgrades (HB 1391)
Learning about home or business’s energy efficiency upgrades and determining eligibility for these programs can be a complex maze, especially for underserved communities and those with limited resources or language or cultural barriers. This bill addresses a critical need for centralized information, to simplify access to the existing array of energy upgrade programs for homeowners and small businesses.
Reducing food waste (HB 2301)
Effective waste management is essential for environmental sustainability. This bill creates a program that provides a supply of additional fresh produce in our food banks by purchasing unsold produce from our local farmers, increases opportunities for schools to access grant programs for food and other waste reduction, amends food compost collection service requirements, and implements color standards for disposal bins. By incentivizing food waste reduction, enhancing composting management, and standardizing disposal practices, this bill is a win-win-win in reducing greenhouse gas emissions food that ends up in our landfills, helps reduce hunger in our state, and provides more access to compost for our farmers.
Buy Clean, Buy Fair (HB 1282)
Buy Clean policies combat unfair competition that responsible manufacturers face and put local businesses who are trying to do the right thing for the environment and workers on an equal playing field with their competitors. This policy is the first step toward a carbon-free economy that lifts up workers and does not pit the environment against working people. Jobs provided in the new clean economy must be family-wage jobs. The steel industry has already moved toward making changes to become more sustainable.