Editor’s Note: The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Washington sent this legislative newsletter on Jan. 8, 2023. 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.

Action Alerts

Click on the links below to learn more about bills currently being reviewed in the state legislature. You can “take action” on these most pressing bills by sending a suggested, editable email to legislators, encouraging them to vote to promote the League issue in question.

Abolish Advisory Votes

The Senate State Government and Elections Committee holds a public hearing Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. on SB
5082 Abolishing Advisory Votes. The League of Women Voters supports eliminating “advisory votes” from
the ballot because they are costly, confusing, nonbinding, and do not change any existing laws. By law,
they are required to appear first on the ballot, and can contribute to “ballot fatigue,” forcing voters to
confront a question that, contrary to the wording, is not a binding referendum.

Use the link below to sign in PRO in support of SB 5082: Abolishing Advisory Votes.

Sign in Pro

Use this link to contact the Senate State Government and Elections Committee members to ask them to vote yes on SB 5082.

/Contact Committee

This Week in the Legislature

Washington State Legislature Opens 2023 Session January 9th

Welcome to the first issue of the 2023 League of Women Voters of Washington Legislative Newsletter! The 2023 Legislative Session opens on Monday, January 9th, and this year will be in person. But due to the popularity and ease of remote access, many meetings and hearings will be available on line, as was the case last year.

This newsletter is published every Sunday during the legislative session, and will provide ongoing updates and avenues for taking action. You can sign up to receive it via email by sending a subscription request to info@lwvwa.org.

Our work is divided into three areas:

• Making Democracy Work ®
• Climate Change and Natural Resources
• Social and Economic Policy

You can see our Legislative Agenda here, with links to in-depth descriptions of our positions and issues, along with contact information for our Issue Chairs. We have 13 Issue Chairs, our volunteer lobbyists who work to achieve our legislative goals; their bio’s and pictures are here. Also, LWVWA contracts with Lobbyist Nancy Sapiro who provides logistical and strategic advice.

All of our advocacy is based on well-researched and member-approved positions, which you can review here, these are for both the League of Women Voters of Washington and League of Women Voters of the United States.

How to use this Newsletter

This newsletter will provide 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 defeating a bill.

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 from the Legislature here on how to testify.

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. 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!

The 2023 Legislative Issues

LWVWA Legislative Issues From the 2023 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 | No updates this week

Money in Politics | No updates this week

Education | No updates this week

Redistricting | No updates this week

Environment

Climate Crisis and Energy | No updates this week

Forests | No updates this week

Growth Management | No updates this week

Solid Waste Management | No updates this week

Transportation | No updates this week

Social and Economic Policy

Housing and Homelessness | No updates this week

Health Care | No updates this week

Behavioral Health | No updates this week

Children’s Services | No updates this week

Child Custody and Support | No updates this week

Early Care and Education of Young Children | No updates this week

Criminal Justice | No updates this week

Revenue | No updates this week

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Calendar

• Democracy Lobby Week, Co-sponsored with Fix Democracy First, February 6-9, register here.

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Other Ways to Follow the State Legislature

• Washington State Legislature website.
• Washington State’s public affairs TV network.