LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF WASHINGTON: Legislative Newsletter (Jan. 10, 2022)
Editor’s Note: The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Washington sent this legislative newsletter on Jan. 10, 2022. Our mission at the Voter Interests Project is to monitor elected officials and ballot measures; we generally do not report on the activities of non-profit organizations. However, the LWV Whidbey Island chapter conducts candidate forums during most election cycles, and are therefore of particular interest to voters. The LWV of Washington’s website states, “The League is a Nonpartisan Source You Can Trust”; however, the LWV does take positions on public policy. Our observation is that their policy positions inform their management of voter forums. Therefore, we believe it to be of interest to our readers to know the positions for which the LWV advocates. Hence, our publication of their legislative newsletter.
Washington State Legislature Starts
Welcome to the League of Women Voters of Washington Legislative Newsletter! The Washington State Legislature 2022 session opens Monday, January 10. All hearings, meetings, and voting will be virtual again this year. This newsletter is published weekly on Sundays through the legislative session and will provide ongoing updates and avenues to take action. Many hearings are scheduled for the first week, so check the issue pages for the outlook.
The LWVWA Lobby Team is poised to take action on relevant bills in our key areas—
- Making Democracy Work®
- Natural Resources and Climate Change
- Social and Economic Policy
See the full 2022 Legislative Issues list below with links to the details and contact data for each Lobby Team Issue Chair. We have a corps of 8 volunteer lobbyists who use League positions to examine, respond to, and inform State League members on proposed legislation. LWVWA also contracts with Lobbyist Nancy Sapiro to provide logistical and strategic advice.
How to Use this Newsletter
This newsletter will provide future Action Alerts on issues where LWVWA has identified a need for concerted action. These Alerts will provide background information and an editable email sent to your own state Representatives and Senators on bills requiring critical input from the community. Legislators have told us how valuable massive responses are in supporting or killing a bill. Leadership has told us that our emails were the only ones they received on some issues and absolutely made the difference in it passing.
If you find a bill of interest to you or one recommended by an Issue Chair, you may provide written and oral testimony yourself at a Committee hearing. Find suggestions on testimony from the Legislature here. To sign in with your position on a bill, start here. Select the House or the Senate, the Committee, the date and time, then the bill number. Note the instructions along the way. Finally, the most effective testimony is when you speak for yourself and explain your personal interest in the bill. The LWVWA Issue Chair will provide testimony for the League in accordance with League positions and after coordinating with other Issue Chairs.
In the Status and Actions Needed for Legislative Issues section below, you can follow links to our Issue Chairs’ updates on the bills they are tracking to either support or oppose, as well as links to our Issue Papers which give a deeper overview into each Issue and what we expect for the upcoming session. You can also contact an Issue Chair to ask questions or volunteer to help!
Calendar and Events in the final section below will list upcoming legislative process dates, and events you can share and attend.
Getting More Information
Another way to get information is TVW, Washington’s public affairs network. The station provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of Washington State Legislature sessions and coverage of the Washington State Supreme Court and public affairs events. And as always, the Washington State Legislature website has links to helpful legislative information of all kinds.
You are encouraged to invite others to take action by sharing the Legislative Newsletter subscription link, Action Alerts, and Calendar Events. Expanding the League’s impact helps us to Empower Voters and Defend Democracy as a community!
LWVWA Legislative Issues From the 2022 Washington State Legislative Session
Click on an issue to learn more about session results on bills the League supported and “This Week’s Updates” to read the issue chair’s report on this past week.
Democracy
Elections | This week’s updates
Money in Politics | This week’s updates
Education | This week’s updates
Natural Resources and Climate Change
Climate and Energy | This week’s updates
Forests | No updates this week
Rivers | No updates this week
Transportation | No updates this week
Social and Economic Policy
Housing and Homelessness | No updates this week
Health and Behavioral Health | This week’s updates
Revenue | No updates this week
Calendar
- JAN 24-27: LWVWA Lobby Week, Co-Sponsored with Fix Democracy First
Other Ways to Follow the State Legislature
- Washington State Legislature website, leg.wa.gov.
- Washington State’s public affairs TV network, TVW.org.
