WA Legislature passes 3 controversial initiatives as clock counts down for 2024 session

The Washington state Legislature on Monday passed three of the Let’s Go Washington initiatives that have been among the most widely-talked about issues during Washington’s 2024 legislative session.

Senators first debated Initiative 2111 to prohibit income taxes from being imposed on residents by cities, counties or the state. With little debate, the Senate passed the measure 38-11, with all no votes coming from Democrats.

Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, said the initiative was designed to do one thing: codify in law the state’s “longstanding tradition” of not having a tax on personal income. She said it was drafted narrowly enough that it does not apply to other types of taxes. Robinson voted in favor of the initiative.

The Senate then considered and unanimously passed I-2081, an initiative ensuring parents have the right to review education materials, receive notifications, and opt out of the sexual-health education initiative.

While most Democrats have been staunchly opposed to the initiatives, Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said he would vote in favor of I-2081 because most of the requirements are already included in state statute. Pedersen said there were some concerns with how other requirements would interfere with current state laws, but ultimately he voted in favor of the measure.

Senate lawmakers also addressed I-2113, an initiative to rollback limits on police pursuits passed by legislative Democrats in the last few years. Senators voted 36-13 to pass the measure.

Several Democratic lawmakers who were opposed to the legislation spoke during the floor debate.

Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, said it was worth pointing out that not all law enforcement in the state supports the initiative, and that some larger counties and cities in the state have already adopted best practices for pursuits that are more in line with the current law.

“The initiative weakens that standard,” Kuderer said.

Later in the afternoon, House lawmakers also passed the initiatives, starting with police pursuits. It passed with a 77-20 vote after more than an hour of debate.

Rep. Kelly Chambers, R-Puyallup, said she believed all lawmakers in the Legislature have had constituents who have been negatively impacted by law enforcements’ inability to chase down suspects.

She said she was supporting the initiative because she stands for “the rule of law.”

While not all House Democrats were onboard with the initiative, all House Republicans voted in favor. Many members of the House Republican caucus spoke to the initiative on the debate floor, and were thrilled with the passage.

“It’s our job to listen to the people we serve. This is a very good day,” said Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale, in a news release Monday.

The parental rights initiative did not pass as easily in the House, but eventually passed with a 82-15 vote.

House lawmakers then passed the income tax initiative with a 76-21 vote.

The initiatives will go into effect June 5, 90 days after the adjournment of session. They do not require the governor’s signature.

The three initiatives were part of a broader campaign by Let’s Go Washington, a conservative-backed organization to repeal and amend several state laws. The organization spent more than $7 million to get six initiatives certified and brought before the Legislature.

However, leading Democratic lawmakers have said they will not hear the three other initiatives:

• One to repeal the capital gains tax that collected;

• Another to allow people to opt out of Washington’s long-term care program established by the WA Cares Act;

• And another amending parts of the Climate Commitment Act.

Those initiatives will instead go directly to the ballot for voters to consider in November.

Thursday marks the end of the 2024 Washington legislative session, leaving lawmakers only a few more days to wrap up loose ends during this year’s short 60-day session.

Items still on the agenda: the state’s supplemental operating budget, transportation budget and capital budget, which must be voted on before adjournment March 7.

Additionally, lawmakers this week will need to negotiate agreements on bills amended by the opposite chamber before the legislation can be considered passed by the Legislature, and sent off to the governor for signing.

Lawmakers also cleared their last major cutoff date for bills last week, as legislation that was not passed by the opposite chamber Friday will no longer be considered this year.

Here are some of the bills that died last week and will not have further consideration this year:

Striking workers

House Bill 1893 – A bill heavily supported by labor unions in the state, this legislation would have allowed striking workers to access unemployment insurance benefits for up to four weeks. Additionally, workers would have been able to access unemployment insurance benefits during employer-initiated lockouts. After passing the House last month, the bill did not have enough support in the Senate and was not brought to the debate floor before the cutoff.

A companion bill introduced in the Senate also did not pass this session.

Hospital merger

Senate Bill 5241 – Under this legislation, the state Attorney General would have been able to prevent the merger of hospitals in the state if that merger would impact access to emergency care, primary care, reproductive health care, gender affirming care, or end-of-life care. The legislation would have also required the attorney general to hold public hearings on proposed hospital merger transactions.

Lawmakers read the bill onto the floor Friday before going to caucus, but returned hours later to adjourn instead of debate the legislation that included dozens of amendments.

Even year elections

House Bill 1932 – Legislation that would have allowed cities to shift local elections to even-numbered years in the state failed to pass this session, after no action was taken on the bill in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The bill made it out of the House earlier in the session with mixed support from both parties, leading to a 52-45 vote.

Transit-oriented housing development

House Bill 2160 – Requested by the Governor’s Office, this legislation would have allowed more multi-use housing development centered in transit areas in cities governed by the Growth Management Act.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee chose not to take a vote on the bill rendering it dead for the year after a 56-40 vote in the House.

Independent prosecutor’s office

House Bill 1579 – This bill would have established the Office of Independent Prosecutions under the Attorney General’s Office to investigate police use of force cases. Led by an independent counsel, the bill would have authorized the office to file, or decline to file, criminal charges against officers accused of use of force, and to initiate prosecution.

The bill passed the House this session with a 53-44 vote, but no executive session was held on the bill in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. This was the second year the bill was considered by lawmakers.