“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith.” 1 Corinthians 16:13a
Make it easier by auto-filling your PRO-CON form. To do so, create an account with leg.wa.gov, the official site for the Washington Legislature, and then sign-in there first each time. (To auto-fill on your phone, here is a video.)
These bills are for Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
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Education
A hearing on SB 5393 has been scheduled:
SB 5393 closes Rainier School, a residential habilitation center for individuals with profound intellectual and developmental disabilities, by June 30, 2027. The bill mandates that no new admissions will be permitted to Rainier School after the bill’s effective date, and requires the Department of Social and Health Services to relocate current residents over the next two years. This bill fails to provide a realistic, detailed, or adequately funded transition program. There are not sufficient community-based options based upon testimony from families, labor groups and care providers. The plan is vague, underfunded and unrealistic given the lack of existing community capacity. The state doesn’t have the housing, the skilled workforce, or the infrastructure to safely support these residents outside of the centers they currently rely on. Closing Rainier is not just bad policy – it is a moral failure. The State should be investing in this center, not dismantling it. Please register CON on SB 5393 and stand with those who can’t speak for themselves.
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Transportation
A hearing on SB 5444 has been scheduled:
Senate Bill 5444 addresses special license plates in Washington state, implementing several key provisions aimed at reforming and managing the state’s special license plate program. The bill establishes a moratorium on new special license plates until January 1, 2029, and creates a special license work group to conduct a comprehensive review of the current special license plate process. The work group, convened by the Department of Licensing, will examine ways to improve oversight, increase application requirements, modify startup costs, enhance transparency, and develop metrics for discontinuing low-performing special license plates. The bill also adds several new special license plate designs. Each new plate will have a specific design and support a particular cause or organization, with proceeds typically going to related nonprofit organizations or state programs.
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Education
A hearing on SB 5785 has been scheduled:
A decade after the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus led a historic effort to cut tuition and restore affordability in higher education, Washington Democrats are now pushing legislation to undo that important progress, and increase costs for working and middle-class families. Senate Republican leaders are calling out the financial harm this legislation would cause to students and families across the state. SB 5785 proposes to raise tuition by 5% above the statutory cap beginning in the 2026-27 school year. This means every student entering college that year would pay more than $700 extra in their first year at UW, with cumulative increased costs exceeding $3,200 over four years. The impacts of this hike will be felt across the board, with rising costs year after year for families. Adding insult to injury, SB 5785 would also reduce state financial aid by nearly $200 million over the next four years through a complex formula change that will make it harder for families to afford college.
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Taxes
A hearing on SB 5786 has been scheduled:
Senate Bill 5786 is another tax increase. It increases fees for a wide range of liquor licenses, permits, and endorsements. The bill affects nearly every category of alcohol-related business, from small wineries and breweries to restaurants, nightclubs, grocery stores, and even special occasion event hosts. In many cases, fees are raised by 50%, with some licenses—like the spirits importer license and grocery store license—seeing increases from a few hundred dollars to over $2,000. That’s a blunt financial hit that will hurt liveliness, small businesses, and job creation. We need a government that supports—not punishes—local business owners working hard to serve their communities.
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Taxes
A hearing on SB 5801 has been scheduled:
The Washington gas tax is currently 49.4 cents, which is the third-highest in the country. Senate Bill 5801 hikes the state fuel tax by another 6 cents per gallon, with automatic annual inflation adjustments, making driving even more expensive year after year. This tax especially harms rural residents and working-class commuters who depend on their vehicles. Additionally, electric and will face increases in registration fees—up to $275 annually—with those fees also subject to indefinite inflation-based increases. Additionally, the bill nearly doubles rental car and peer-to-peer car share taxes, and it also introduces a $1 per ticket transportation tax on large events, raising the cost of community and sporting activities for families. Worse, toll exemptions for transit buses and vanpools will be eliminated, forcing public transit agencies to either absorb the cost or pass it on to riders. Meanwhile, driver’s license and registration service fees go up across the board, adding more bureaucracy and costs for residents simply trying to stay compliant. SB 5801 nickel-and-dimes Washington residents while eroding public trust and increasing the cost of living. This bill deserves a strong CON vote.
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Transportation
A hearing on SB 5802 has been scheduled:
Senate Bill 5802 seeks to adjust the statutory fund transfers and revenue allocations for transportation in Washington State by amending several existing laws. It introduces new transfer amounts for the Connecting Washington account, starting with $11,658,000 from September 2025 to June 2027 and decreasing to $4,056,000 from September 2029 to June 2031. Additionally, the bill mandates an annual transfer of $31,000,000 from the general fund to the Move Ahead WA flexible account for fiscal years 2026 through 2038, which is a reduction from the previously proposed $57,000,000 for fiscal years 2024 through 2038. The bill also modifies the public works assistance account to facilitate transfers to the Move Ahead WA account and establishes a new tax structure for hazardous substances and petroleum products, specifically allocating funds for transportation stormwater activities.
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Health Care
A hearing on SB 5807 has been scheduled:
Senate Bill 5807 amends existing laws related to wellness incentives for public and school employee health benefit plans in Washington. The bill states that the public employees’ benefits board will discontinue the smart health program by January 1, 2028. The bill retains general support for wellness, preventive care, and chronic disease management; however, it does not propose a specific replacement and suggests no new program is ready to replace Smart Health. Eliminating financial incentives may reduce employee participation in preventive health programs such as smoking cessation and nutrition education. Not surprisingly, less engagement in wellness will likely lead to higher health care costs over time due to preventable conditions. Given the exorbitant salaries of educational administrators and the waste of taxpayer’s money spent on programs such as DEI and comprehensive sexual education, it is sad this bill chooses to forego incentives to improve employees’ health as a means to saving money.
