Legislative Update: We’re halfway there

— from Governor Jay Inslee’s Office —

Legislators marked the halfway point of the 60-day 2020 legislative session this past week. There will be a flurry of action on the floors of the House and Senate next week ahead of a Feb. 19 deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin.

On Wednesday, the House passed a bill to make race-based hair discrimination illegal in the state. It was approved on a bipartisan vote, 87-10. Meanwhile, governor-requested legislation regulating high-capacity magazines for firearms remains alive in the House awaiting floor action.

The governor’s proposed clean fuel standard, already passed by the House, awaits action in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy and Technology. The legislation would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels with little financial impact on consumers.

Governor-request legislation to implement recommendations to improve state developmental disability service institutions awaits floor action in both the House and Senate. The recommendations were made to the Legislature by the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a joint project of the University of Washington and Washington State University.

The Senate version of the Clean Air Rule awaits action on the floor. The bill clarifies the Legislature’s intent when it passed the Clean Air Act in 1967 to let the Department of Ecology regulate both direct and indirect emitters of greenhouse gasses.

Also in the Senate is the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. It requires domestic workers such as nannies, gardeners and house cleaners be paid the minimum wage and overtime, and be provided breaks for meals and rest. It also requires workers receive adequate notification prior to the termination of their employment and protects workers from employer retribution for exercising their rights.

The 60-day session is scheduled to run through March 12.