LEGISLATURE 2023-24: What New Laws Can We Expect to See this Year? (PC)
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What New Laws Can We Expect to See this Year?
Watch out for your pocketbook – the Legislature is about to be in session!
Since December 4th, several hundred new bills have been introduced, or prefiled, in anticipation of the 2024 legislative session which begins on January 8th. How do you know what to expect?
Here is a list of the prefilied bills. As you can see, there is a substantial list of possible new laws that cover many issues. Here are some interesting examples:
HB 1868 (Whalen, Berry – D) – which would outlaw gas powered lawn equipment by 2026
HB 1871 (Walsh, Graham – R) – prohibiting the requirement of COVID vaccination for ferry employees
HB 1872 (Graham, Walsh, Volz, Christian – R) Requiring accountability from any organization that receives money for the homeless
HB 1902 (Berry + about 20 other Democrats) – requiring people to purchase a permit to be able to purchase a firearm.
SB 5820 (Wilson, J & Padden – R) Establish protections for people who are participating in their constitutional right to gather signatures on Initiatives
Those are just a few of almost 300 bills that have been introduced so far – with two weeks to go. Let us also not forget that the bills from the 2023 session that didn’t pass are back alive.
HB 1832 (Fey, Mena, Doglio, Ramel – D) A pay-per-mile tax on drivers
SB 5770 (Pedersen + about 15 other Democrats) Raising the cap on property tax increases from 1% to 3% which would triple the amount your property taxes could increase
Why do legislators draft certain legislation? There are many reasons. With almost 2000 bills to consider right now, the vast majority try to fix a problem pointed out by someone. These are usually non-controversial bills. You will find that there are often legislators from both parties signed on the bill. That doesn’t mean the bill is perfect. Throughout the legislative session, people from all sides will weigh in, and amendments will be made to try to get the bill into a perfect state before passage. That’s the entire purpose of the legislative process.
But there are other bills that are definitely trying to push an agenda. You can sometimes see what the agenda is from the bill itself. Many have what is called “an intent section”. It is at the beginning of the bill, and begins by saying “The Legislature finds…(some problem)”. This paragraph or two will provide you with insight into the thinking of the sponsoring member.
For example, look at the intent section of HB1868, the bill that bans gas-powered lawnmowers. It begins, “The legislature finds that gasoline powered and diesel-powered landscaping and other outdoor power equipment emit a host of air pollutants…” This explanation goes on for a paragraph or two, and then it gives you a “therefore” section to tell you why this bill will fix the problem. Not every bill has one, but if it does, it explains the “why” of a bill.
Of course, the intent section doesn’t cover the harm the bill does. Every bill helps some group/business, but that same bill creates harm, as well. Take this example. How well would an electric lawnmower hold up if you had a three-acre property? Even if it would work to keep that property up to standards, what is the added expense of purchasing and maintaining electric landscaping tools. What about landscaping companies or parks departments? The replacement of gas-powered equipment with electric would increase costs dramatically. That means fewer people can afford the landscape companies and more taxes would be needed to keep up the parks. Or maybe the parks would have to be shut down for lack of maintenance funds.
Every bill helps one group but harms another. Legislators need to be told both sides. Then they need to decide if the good outweighs the harm. That is a matter of opinion, and it is something you need to weigh in on, if you have strong feelings about an issue. The more people who support or oppose a bill, the more it influences what they do in Olympia.
One more thing I will note here. Sometimes a legislator signs onto or even sponsors a bill that sounds great, but after the public weighs in, they decide the harm is greater than the good created. They will either try to pull the bill from consideration altogether or they will work with different groups/people to fix the parts that are problematic. That is the purpose of the process. Get input from all sides and then figure out what is best for the people. Of course, “what is best for the people” is an opinion. You may believe that forcing everyone to use an electric lawnmower is an ultimate benefit that outweighs the harm. I don’t. What do you think?
Keep your eyes on Olympia for the next few months until the end of session. For right now, check back to the prefiled bill page a few times over the next couple weeks. Get involved and be sure to pass on vital information to your friends and neighbors.
