Looking for a summary of our Top Bills?
These are the bills we deem major and significant. Click the image below.
Are you looking for a summary of our Top Bills for 2026? These are bills we deem major and significant. If so, use the filter below.
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Citizenship & Immigration
Concerning agencies, firefighters, prosecutors, and general or limited authority law enforcement, extending eligibility for employment to all United States citizens or persons legally authorized to work in the United States under Federal Law.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5068 devalues American citizenship by allowing non-citizens to be hired in several important government positions, including law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and prosecuting attorneys’ offices. It replaces long-standing U.S. citizenship or permanent residency requirements with a broad standard allowing anyone legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law. While framed as a workforce expansion measure, the bill alters foundational public trust roles that carry extraordinary powers, including arrest authority, firearm possession, prosecutorial discretion, and access to sensitive criminal justice systems. That is to say, for instance, non-citizens could arrest, use deadly force against, and prosecute American citizens.
By lowering eligibility thresholds across multiple RCW sections at once, the bill undermines accountability, loyalty to constitutional obligations, and public confidence in the justice system. Law enforcement officers and prosecutors exercise sovereign powers on behalf of the state, and many voters reasonably expect those roles to be reserved for citizens or permanent residents with a durable legal status and long-term ties to the community.
The bill also creates practical risks for agencies by increasing complexity around firearms authorization, federal compliance, and immigration-status verification, exposing local governments to legal uncertainty and potential liability. Although SB 5068 requires background checks, those checks cannot substitute for the stability and clarity that citizenship or permanent residency requirements provide in positions involving deadly force and prosecutorial authority. This approach risks eroding public trust at a time when confidence in the criminal justice system is already fragile. For these reasons, SB 5068 should be rejected in favor of reforms that strengthen recruitment while preserving clear, high standards of American citizenship for those entrusted with the state’s most powerful responsibilities.
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Addiction & Mental Health
Updating the endangerment with a controlled substance statute to include fentanyl or synthetic opioids.
Bill Summary
SB 5071 expands the crime of “endangerment with a controlled substance” from only meth‑related substances to also cover fentanyl and synthetic opioids when a child is exposed, ingests, inhales, or comes into contact with them. This legislation updates child endangerment laws to address the fentanyl crisis, which aligns with a tough‑on‑crime, anti‑drug stance rather than a harm‑reduction‑only approach. The bill lowers the required mental state from “knowingly and intentionally” to “knowingly or recklessly,” so prosecutors can reach adults who are grossly careless around kids even if they did not specifically intend to hurt them. It keeps it a class B felony with substantial sentencing ranges, meaning exposing kids to these drugs is treated as a serious violent wrong, not a minor offense.
Fentanyl exposure is killing and severely harming children. Child advocacy centers report large increases in referrals for kids exposed to dangerous drugs, including fentanyl. Treating this as felony endangerment is consistent with a protective view of children and family. The bill directly targets adults who permit children to be in environments where fentanyl or synthetic opioids are present (including smoke/vapor), reinforcing parental and caregiver responsibility instead of excusing neglectful or addicted adults at kids’ expense.
The statute expressly excludes situations where controlled substances are administered during legitimate health‑care services or pursuant to a valid prescription, protecting doctors, nurses, and parents following medical guidance. Employees, interns, volunteers, and contractors of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families acting in the scope of their official duties are also protected from criminal liability, so the law focuses on actual offenders, not child‑welfare workers trying to help. By narrowing the bill to fentanyl and synthetic opioids in the substitute version, lawmakers limited the reach of the statute to the most lethal street drugs rather than creating an overly broad tool that could sweep in low‑risk or marginal situations.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5093 reportedly aims to enhance the dignity and respect afforded to individuals experiencing pregnancy loss in Washington State. It suggests that individuals should be able to seek medical assistance without the fear of civil or criminal liability, addressing concerns related to legal provisions that could lead to investigations of certain abortions and pregnancy losses. The bill clarifies that the removal of these provisions does not affect the requirements for reporting births or deaths, including fetal deaths, nor does it impede coroners’ ability to investigate deaths under suspicious circumstances, provided such investigations do not criminalize the individuals who experienced the loss.
Disturbingly, the bill does remove explicit language that allows investigations into deaths resulting from known or suspected abortions, premature birth, or stillbirths. As a result, this restricts the ability of medical examiners and coroners to thoroughly investigate cases where coercion, abuse, or medical malpractice may have played a role in pregnancy loss. Removing legal provisions for investigating pregnancy loss could decrease accountability in cases of medical negligence or illegal abortion procedures. Furthermore, while the bill mandates reporting pregnancy loss in correctional institutions, it does not extend this reporting requirement to other settings, which reduces overall transparency in maternal health outcomes. Those of us with strong pro-life views oppose any legal changes that could be perceived as reducing state oversight of abortion-related matters, even if the bill is framed around dignity in pregnancy loss. Please oppose this legislation.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5097 amends the interscholastic activities statute to require that the voluntary nonprofit governing school sports adopt written competitiveness rules that: ensure opportunities for all student athletes to compete at appropriate levels regardless of gender identity; appropriately consider the effects of physiological and hormonal variation, including rules that permit the exclusion of individual competitors from girls’ athletics events and contests where the competitor would have an unfair advantage based on endocrine characteristics; clarifies penalty rules so students are not punished unless they knowingly violate rules or gain a significant competitive advantage, while still allowing proportionate penalties for coaches and administrators who break eligibility or competitiveness rules; and applies these requirements statewide to interscholastic athletics, giving school districts clear legal cover to maintain sex‑based fairness and safety standards in girls’ sports.
This legislation recognizes that male puberty and endocrine differences can produce substantial performance advantages in speed, strength, and power sports. By directing rule‑makers to consider these realities and allowing exclusion from girls’ events where there is an unfair advantage, it safeguards the level playing field that Title IX was meant to create. Contact and collision sports can pose physical risks when girls are forced to compete against stronger, faster male‑bodied athletes. SB 5097 gives schools a clear mandate to prioritize girls’ physical safety over ideology when setting eligibility rules. High‑school competition often decides who makes varsity, who wins championships, and who gets noticed for college scholarships. Ensuring that girls’ rosters and podiums are not displaced by male competitors protects the pipeline of opportunities for young women.
This bill uses neutral language about physiological and hormonal variation and endocrine characteristics, but its clear purpose is to protect the female category in sports based on objective biology, not subjective identity. By embedding these principles in state law, this legislation protects districts, coaches, and girls from being bullied by shifting administrative guidance or activist pressure when they stand up for female‑only competition and spaces. It doesn’t punish kids for who they are; it sets clear, science‑based eligibility rules so girls don’t lose their teams, records, and scholarships to competitors with male physical advantages.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5105 explicitly covers fabricated or digitally created depictions of minors in sexually explicit conduct and requires that these depictions be obscene, so child‑sex deepfakes and AI images can be prosecuted. Specifically, it expands the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor and related offenses involving depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. It also increases the statute of limitations for certain offenses involving sexually explicit depictions of minors, giving prosecutors more time to hold abusers and exploiters accountable.
This bill eliminates some defenses that have allowed defendants in child‑sex‑depiction cases to escape accountability, tightening the law so technicalities cannot so easily override the protection of children. It provides immunity from criminal liability for people for example, tech workers or printers who encounter such depictions in the ordinary course of processing material and, in good faith, promptly report it to law enforcement, encouraging more tipping‑off of offenders. Additionally, it makes Washington’s law more consistent and up‑to‑date with the realities of online abuse, grooming, and image‑based exploitation, where predators increasingly use synthetic images and deepfakes.
SB 5105 prioritizes the innocence and dignity of children by explicitly targeting any sexually explicit depictions of minors, whether real or artificially generated, reflecting a moral commitment that children must never be used as sexual objects. It focuses on punishing wrongdoers rather than creating new social programs or bureaucracies; there is no appropriation in the bill, so it operates through tougher criminal standards and better tools for prosecutors, not bigger government. Finally, the bill enjoys unanimous Senate support and broad bipartisan backing, indicating a shared, non‑ideological consensus that protecting children from sexual exploitation is a core duty of the state.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5169 updates Washington’s “child hearsay” statute so that out‑of‑court statements by children under 16 about sexual or physical abuse can be admitted when a judge finds they are reliable and the child is unavailable or would be significantly harmed by testifying live. It explicitly allows child forensic interview statements and similar recorded statements to be used, building on existing protections so predators cannot escape justice simply because a young victim is traumatized or unable to repeat everything perfectly in a courtroom. Scripture and Christian ethics emphasize defending “the least of these”; this bill is aimed exactly at that category—children who have been sexually or physically abused and are uniquely vulnerable in the legal process.
Rather than weakening due process, SB 5169 keeps judicial safeguards: the court must hold a hearing, evaluate reliability factors, and consider corroborating evidence before admitting the child’s statement. Without this kind of hearsay rule, prosecutors often must choose between forcing a frightened child to testify in front of the abuser or dropping or weakening charges, which can let offenders return to the community and possibly reoffend. This bill SB lets the system rely more on professionally conducted, developmentally appropriate interviews, which both reduce trauma for the child and give juries a clearer window into what happened.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5240 updates Washington law to strengthen how schools prepare for and respond to life-threatening allergic reactions by ensuring access to epinephrine in both public and private schools. It explicitly allows schools to maintain a supply of epinephrine, including autoinjectors, prescribed in the name of the school and backed by a standing order so it can be used quickly when seconds matter. The bill makes clear that school nurses and trained personnel may use school-supplied epinephrine not only for students with prescriptions on file but also for students who experience a first-time anaphylactic reaction at school. It ensures epinephrine can be used anywhere on school property, on buses, and during field trips or sanctioned activities, and allows trained staff to carry doses off campus. The measure provides important liability protections for school employees, districts, prescribing professionals, and pharmacists when epinephrine is administered in substantial compliance with policy and standing protocols.
At the same time, it respects employee choice by allowing non-nurse staff to file a written refusal to administer epinephrine without risking their job status. The bill reinforces statewide anaphylaxis policy guidelines developed by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in consultation with health experts, parents, and educators, ensuring consistent training and emergency planning. It continues to require individualized emergency care plans and communication strategies so families and schools can work together to prevent exposure and respond effectively. By clarifying reimbursement when personally owned epinephrine is used and allowing donations with proper prescriptions, it also removes practical barriers to maintaining adequate supply. SB 5240 aims to save lives by ensuring rapid access to epinephrine wherever students are learning and playing, provides clear legal protections so staff can act without hesitation, and creates a uniform, medically informed framework that prioritizes student safety in every school across Washington.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5254 makes sweeping changes to Washington’s health care information law by sharply limiting what providers may charge for records, restructuring disclosure obligations, and expanding enforcement remedies. While framed as patient-friendly, the bill imposes a hard $50 cap on record fees regardless of the complexity, volume, or labor required to locate, review, redact, and securely transmit records, even when third-party vendors are involved. This cap risks shifting real administrative costs onto clinics, hospitals, and mental health providers that already operate on thin margins, particularly small practices and rural facilities. By eliminating traditional per-page or time-based cost recovery and requiring new rulemaking by DSHS, the bill creates uncertainty and compliance risk during a transition period.
The mandatory fee-shifting provision—requiring courts to award attorneys’ fees to a prevailing patient—encourages litigation over technical violations rather than cooperative resolution. Over time, this could incentivize defensive practices, slower processing, or more frequent denials to manage liability exposure. The bill also significantly expands the obligation to “assist” designated recipients in obtaining records, a vague standard that may increase workload without clear limits. For providers handling sensitive mental health or sexually transmitted disease records, the administrative burden of navigating overlapping disclosure rules and timelines becomes even more complex. These costs and risks ultimately flow back to patients through higher overall health care costs, reduced access, or longer wait times. Standing against SB 5254 helps to protect provider sustainability and avoid well-intentioned but over-prescriptive mandates that could undermine the very access and quality of care the bill seeks to improve.
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Crime & Public Safety
Imposing community custody after a conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5268 amends RCW 9.94A.701 to require a mandatory term of community custody following a conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm under RCW 9.41.040. Under current law, courts already impose community custody for sex offenses, serious violent offenses, other violent offenses, certain drug crimes, and some gang-related firearm possession cases, but this bill closes a gap by ensuring that all unlawful firearm possession convictions sentenced to Department of Corrections custody carry a period of post-release supervision.
Specifically, it adds unlawful possession of a firearm to the list of offenses that require one year of community custody, regardless of gang affiliation. Community custody places individuals under supervision after release, with conditions that can include reporting requirements, restrictions on firearm access, and compliance with other court-ordered terms. The bill preserves the safeguard that total confinement plus community custody may not exceed the statutory maximum sentence for the crime.
By standardizing supervision for unlawful firearm possession, the measure promotes consistency in sentencing across Washington courts. It recognizes that illegal firearm possession often correlates with elevated public safety risks and that structured supervision can reduce recidivism. Rather than increasing prison time, the bill focuses on monitored reentry, giving corrections officers tools to enforce compliance and intervene early if conditions are violated. SB 5268 strengthens accountability for unlawful firearm possession, enhances community safety through post-release oversight, and does so in a balanced way that respects statutory maximums while closing a clear gap in Washington’s sentencing framework.
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School Safety
Improving school safety by extending penalties for interference by, or intimidation by threat of, force or violence at schools and extracurricular activities and requiring schools to notify the public of such penalties.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5272 extends and clarifies criminal penalties for “interference by, or intimidation by threat of, force or violence” at schools and extracurricular activities, including youth sports. The legislation requires schools to notify the public, through posted notices or policies, about these penalties so parents, students, and spectators know up front that threats and assaults carry serious consequences. The bill grew out of highly publicized incidents of violence against referees, coaches, and others at youth events, especially “rage on the field” episodes. Many parents and churches want sports and school events to model self‑control and sportsmanship; visible notices and real penalties back up those expectations with enforceable standards.
Students, teachers, officials, and volunteers should be able to teach, learn, and serve without fear of being threatened or attacked; enhancing penalties and posting clear warnings helps create a safer, more orderly environment—consistent with the biblical role of government to restrain evil and reward good. By explicitly targeting intimidation and interference at schools and extracurricular events, the bill reinforces respect for legitimate authorities such as teachers, coaches and referees, and discourages the kind of lawless anger that undermines discipline and character formation in kids. SB 5272 does not impose new ideological curriculum or speech codes; it simply tightens consequences for concrete acts of force, violence, or threats in a very specific setting, which aligns with a limited‑government, law‑and‑order approach.