WSNA in Olympia — 2025 Legislative Session

The Washington State Legislature has reached the midpoint of its 2025 session, with lawmakers working long hours on the floor and in caucus as they approach the March 12th deadline for bills to pass out of their chambers of origin. As of this week, 1,051 House Bills have been introduced and 519 have made it to the Rules Committee for further consideration. In the Senate, 805 bills have been introduced with 271 entering the Senate Rules process. Bills that do not clear this stage of Rules committee "pulls" and floor action — unless deemed "necessary to implement the budget" (NTIB) — are generally considered dead for the session. However, it’s worth noting that no bill is entirely off the table until the biennium ends.

On the heels of Governor Ferguson’s budget cut exercise last week, labor supported organizations - such as Invest in Washington Now and Balance Our Tax Code - highlight how legislators can address the ~$12 billion budget shortfall in a fair and more equitable manner. The organizations are advocating for revenue solutions that will support working families and our lowest-income residents. With drastic budget cuts and no additional revenue, our state has to choose between schools and childcare, bridges and transit, housing and healthcare.

HB 1162 was voted unanimously off the House floor on Wednesday night! It now heads to the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee for further consideration. Stay tuned for opportunities to engage and educate your State Senator on this bill. Please take a moment to thank your Representative for supporting this bill.

Given the increasing frequency and severity of WPV in Washington state and nationwide, we are grateful that all House of Representatives are standing with nurses and healthcare workers by voting YES on this bill.

SB 5041 passed off the Senate floor on Friday with a few amendments. The amendments cap the UI benefits to 12 weeks, direct the Employment Security Department to report on the prevalence of strikes in Washington state and their impact on the unemployment insurance trust fund and employers, and if passed, the law will expire on December 31, 2035. The bill only applies to striking workers, as “lockout” is no longer a qualifying event for UI.

The bill will run through a similar legislative process in the House.

HB 1430 passed off the House floor on Monday with an amendment. The amendment requires commercial insurance plans to reimburse ARNP and PA care at the same rate as physicians for only primary care and behavioral health services. The bill will now make its way through a similar legislative process in the Senate, starting in the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee.

The legislature considers hundreds of bills outside our own legislative priorities. Here is a list of bills we’re watching as they move through the legislative process that may impact members. We will continue adding bills to this list as we move through the legislative session. Click on any of the links to learn more about each bill and where it is in the legislative process.

HB 1416, increasing tobacco and vapor products taxes

HB 1879, concerning meal and rest breaks for hospital workers

HB 1784, concerning medical assistants

SB 5101, expanding access to leave and safety accommodations to include workers who are victims of hate crimes or bias incidents

HB 1203/SB 5183, prohibiting the sale of certain tobacco and nicotine products

HB 1334, modifying the annual regular property tax revenue growth limit

SB 5503, concerning public employee collective bargaining processes

HB 1560/SB 5638, funding health care access by imposing an excise tax on the annual compensation paid to certain highly compensated hospital employees

SB 5240, concerning anaphylaxis medication in schools

SB 5387, concerning the corporate practice of medicine

SB 5493, concerning hospital price transparency

HB 1531, preserving the ability of public officials to address communicable diseases

HB 1022, creating a home for heroes program.

HB 1220, concerning appropriate response to assaults by individuals in behavioral health crisis.

HB 1308/SB 5345,(Senate companion is DEAD), concerning access to personnel records

HB 1213/SB 5539, (Senate companion is DEAD), expanding protections for workers in the state paid family and medical leave

HB 1069/SB 5044 (Senate companion is DEAD), allowing bargaining over contributions for certain supplemental retirement benefits

HB 1686/SB 5561 (Senate companion is DEAD), creating a health care entity registry

HB 1622/SB 5422 (Senate companion is DEAD), allowing bargaining over matters related to the use of artificial intelligence

HB 1155/SB 5437 (Senate companion is DEAD), prohibiting noncompetition agreements and clarifying non solicitation agreements

HB 1672, (DEAD), addressing technology used by employers in the workplace

SB 5335, (DEAD), establishing the rural nursing education program

How does a bill become a law?

Washington State Labor Council’s 2025 Legislative Priorities

On Tuesday, February 25th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget proposal that outlines nearly $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid and other healthcare programs.

Tell your member of Congress how important Medicaid is to your community and healthcare access! You will be directed to AFT’s action alert, where you first fill out your information, and then the letter you send to your Member of Congress which can be edited before submittal if you choose to do so.

More than 1.1 million people in Washington are enrolled in Medicaid. Cuts would take away revenue from hospitals, especially in rural and remote areas. The proposal to reduce the federal match rate for states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would force Washington to pay an extra $1.2 billion a year to maintain its Medicaid expansion, when our state is already facing a severe budget shortfall.

Learn more about Medicaid here.