OLYMPIA – Every year the Washington House Democrats Members of Color Caucus reviews newly introduced legislation to determine which bills will most effectively advance the MOCC agenda of supporting, aiding, and protecting marginalized communities and communities of color.
This year the MOCC’s decision was influenced by the highly volatile political climate that is fueled by the increasing violence towards immigrants and minority groups in Washington and across the country.
Immigrant Worker Protections & labor
- HB 2105: Immigrant worker protections (Ortiz-Self) – Protects immigrant workers by requiring notice of imminent federal inspections, prohibits employers from voluntarily sharing worker records, and provides additional legal pathways for the Attorney General and injured workers to prosecute violations and seek damages.
- HB 2355: Labor protections for domestic workers (Thomas) – Establishes labor protections for domestic workers and allows domestic workers to seek remedies for violations of the labor protections.
Food Security
- HB 2238: Statewide food security (Reeves) – Adds oversight of food security coordination and food system performance monitoring to the Department of Agriculture and directs the WSDA to develop a statewide food security strategy.
Juvenile Rehabilitation/Judicial reform
- HB 2389: Modified sentencing for juvenile offenders (Cortes) – Considers targeted intervention or sentence modification for individuals who have committed certain criminal offenses while under the age of 18 to prioritize rehabilitation when safe to do so, and allows the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to take action when a JR facility is overcrowded and not able to serve its rehabilitative purposes.
- HB 1125: Allowing judicial discretion for modified sentences (Simmons) – Incentivizes rehabilitation by allowing merit-based sentence review of sentences that no longer serve the interests of justice.
Protect our Democracy, Ensure Fair Elections
- HB 1710: Compliance with the WA Voting Rights Act of 2018 (Mena) – Ensures that changes to local election systems will not jeopardize the ability of a protected class to participate in the voting process.
- HB 1750: – Creating guidelines for voter suppression claims under the Washington Voting Rights Act (Hill) – Provides a technical update to the Washington Voting Rights Act that clarifies standards for courts to decide voter suppression claims.
- HB 1916: Amending voter registration challenges and managing voter registration lists (Doglio) – Clarifies rules and guidelines for county auditors in maintaining voter registration lists and processing voter registration challenges to make the process more uniform and protect voters from unnecessary challenges.
House Democratic Caucus Priorities Endorsed by the MOCC
For the 2026 session the House Democratic Caucus has prioritized legislation that is in direct response to the terrorization of immigrant communities authorized by the federal government and carried out by immigration enforcement agents. The tactics used by ICE officers are unnecessarily brutal and inhumane and contradict the HDC’s firm commitment to the safety and well-being of all Washingtonians, regardless of immigration status.
The MOCC follows the HDC in prioritizing the safety of our immigrant communities and American citizens who are peacefully exercising their right to protest in accordance with First Amendment rights.
- HB 2173: Use of face coverings worn by immigration agents (Cortes) – Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings while interacting with the public.
- HB 2332: Regulating the use of license plate cameras (Salahuddin) – Provides regulatory guardrails around how information collected from license plate cameras could be used and distributed to limit the abuse of such data, including for immigration enforcement.
The MOCC will continue prioritizing legislation that protects the civil rights and safety of all communities in Washington who have historically faced targeting and discrimination.
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