Essential information on each bill is below. For more details, click on the bill number – e.g., “SB 5000.” The new page will show the progress of the bill, videos of debate, and the link to send a comment to your legislator about the bill.
Bill Summary
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5106, sponsored by Senator Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, proposes amending Washington state law to officially recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state holidays. Under the current draft of the legislation, the bill would list both the existing and proposed state holidays, explain how each holiday is observed, and clarify procedures for observing holidays that fall on weekends. It also details paid and unpaid leave for state employees, allowing additional leave for religious reasons, and recognizes various commemorative days without granting them official holiday status.
Other states, including New York and Michigan, have sponsored similar legislation. In recent years, some school districts on the East Coast have expanded school calendars to include Muslim and Hindu holidays. For example, New York added Diwali (the Hindu “Festival of Lights”) as a school holiday last year. It is worth noting that Muslims comprise less than 1% of both Washington State’s population and the U.S. population, yet there is ongoing discussion about officially recognizing certain Muslim holidays at both state and local levels.
As a Christian organization existing within what we consider a Christian nation, we cannot support the proposed legislation for several reasons. First, Easter—arguably the most prominent Christian observance—does not have federal or state holiday status. Christmas, historically celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ, is increasingly referred to as a “winter holiday” by schools and federal organizations to avoid offending non-Christians. In similar fashion, we believe designating Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state holidays would offend Christians and other religious groups in Washington State.
While Senate Bill 5106 aims to acknowledge and accommodate the diversity of religious observances, our organization maintains that creating additional state holidays for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha is unnecessary. If this bill were to pass, how many other religious groups will press to have their unique celebrations recognized as state holidays?
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5117 is a critical measure designed to protect and enhance Washington’s agricultural economy. It mandates that all public entities analyze the impact, explore alternatives, and employ interdisciplinary approaches when making decisions affecting agriculture. The bill requires state agencies to include detailed economic impact statements that assess both short-term and long-term effects on our farming community. Specifically, it directs the Office of Financial Management to develop a fiscal note process that accurately gauges the regulatory costs incurred by agricultural operations. This systematic approach will help prevent policies that could inadvertently harm the $14 billion agricultural industry in Washington.
By ensuring that every significant agency action undergoes an agricultural economic assessment, SB 5117 safeguards the interests of over 32,000 farm operations. It also promotes a balanced use of agricultural land for production, habitat, carbon sequestration, and conservation. The bill’s comprehensive framework empowers decision-makers to consider both economic and environmental factors, protecting our national heritage of agriculture. With these measures in place, our agricultural communities can thrive even as new challenges emerge. By supporting SB 5117, we reinforce a commitment to agriculture, protect jobs, and encourage responsible development that respects both farming traditions and future growth.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5122 enacts the Uniform Antitrust Premerger Notification Act in WA State, establishing a framework for premerger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. It outlines filing requirements, and establishes confidentiality provisions regarding the submitted documents. Specifically, it mandates that individuals or entities filing a premerger notification must submit an electronic copy of the Hart-Scott-Rodino form to the attorney general. Additionally, the bill includes provisions for reciprocity, allowing the attorney general to share information with counterparts in other states that have enacted similar laws, provided those states have adequate confidentiality protections. It also establishes civil penalties for noncompliance with the filing requirements and emphasizes the importance of uniform application of the law across jurisdictions.
This unneeded legislation requires companies to file additional premerger notifications with the WA State Attorney General, beyond federal requirements, creating redundant oversight without any clear benefits. Disturbingly, it provides more control for the attorney general over state businesses – which are already over-regulated. This bill will impose extra administrative tasks and compliance costs on businesses operating within the state. Introducing state-level premerger notification requirements will also lead to longer review times, potentially delaying business transactions and affecting companies’ strategic plans. While the bill includes provisions to keep submitted information confidential, expanding access to sensitive business data at the state level will certainly raise concerns about data security and the potential for unauthorized disclosures. Finally, additional regulatory requirements could deter companies from pursuing mergers or acquisitions in Washington, potentially impacting the state’s economic growth and competitiveness.
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Education
Expanding protections for certain students to promote inclusivity in public schools.
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 5123, sponsored by two far-left Democrats, redefines gender identity in Washington law and forces radical changes in how anti-discrimination laws are enforced in public schools. The bill suggests that students can be male, female, both simultaneously, or neither. It is a clear-cut legislative assault on common sense and biology.
Under this law, students can demand access to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports based on their “self-declared” gender identity, regardless of biological reality or school district polity. Furthermore, anyone who questions or refuses to comply with these absurd identities risks being accused of discrimination. The bill’s sponsors insist this legislation is about inclusivity; however, they refuse to address the obvious potential for abuse.
Young girls forced to undress and shower in the presence of boys will have no legal recourse. By allowing boys to participate in girl’s sports, the bill paves the way for further elimination of girls sports. Biological males, regardless of their physical advantages, will further dominate competitions, taking scholarships and inflicting serious injuries upon female athletes. This is already happening, with regularity, across the country. Washington Democrats have decided that promoting radical gender ideology is more important than protecting the integrity of girl’s sports. Ironically, this so-called “progress” comes at the expense of the very group feminism once sought to protect and empower.
By codifying these definitions into law, Washingtonians would be forced to affirm and accommodate beliefs they know to be fundamentally wrong. This goes far beyond respecting individuals — it coerces participation in an ideology that rejects biological reality. School staff would face lawsuits for not accommodating gender pronoun preferences or failing to allow a boy on a girls’ team. Schools would be teaching children that gender is fluid and infinite, even when it contradicts parents’ values or basic scientific understanding.
In passing this bill, Washington Democrats would show how out of touch they’ve become. Voters didn’t get more blue in Washington. Yet the legislative priorities seem to imply otherwise. After the 2024 election, one might expect them to moderate their approach, but instead, they’ve doubled down on the very agenda voters rejected. This isn’t governance; it’s ideological warfare.