The Washington State Legislative Session started January 9, and already there are plenty of bills that need our attention. Check out our legislative agenda for 2023, followed by actions you can take right now to influence our elected officials toward justice!
Legislative Agenda
There’s a LOT happening in Olympia, from reproductive rights laws, to police accountability, to housing justice, and more. To make sense of it all we’re taking a two-tiered approach to help prioritize:
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- Tier 1 legislation is made up of bills PJALS staff will actively seek ways to promote. Not only will we collaborate with allies, but we’ll plan our own events and invite others to join in!
- Tier 2 legislation is also very important to us. We’ll support Tier 2 priorities by joining sign-on letters, making statements, and participating in other efforts led by our partners. However, PJALS staff will not lead the planning on any actions around Tier 2 bils.
All of these priorities reflect the PJALS values of racial and economic justice, decriminalizing poverty, and ending systemic racism in our carceral-legal systems statewide.
Tier 1 Legislation
Tier 1 legislation is pulled from the priorities of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Tenants Union of Washington, the Free to Walk Coalition, and the Drug Decriminalization Coalition (staffed by the ACLU of WA). All of this work is being done in the context of Statewide Coalitions of which PJALS is an active member.
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- Traffic Safety for All – HB 1513 – sponsored by Rep. Chipalo Street
- Access to Fairness Act – HB 1025 – Sponsored by Rep. My-Linh Thai
- AG Investigation and Reform Bill – sponsored by Rep. Drew Hansen
- Independent Prosecutor for Police Use of Deadly Force – Sponsored by Rep. Monica Stonier
- End Jaywalking laws in WA State – SB 5383 sponsored by Sen. Saldaña; HB 1428 sponsored by Rep.
- Invest in homelessness prevention
- Invest in eviction prevention to prevent homelessness.
- Prevent unfair, abusive, and extreme rent increases.
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Tier 2 Legislation
The entire legislative agenda of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Tenants Union of Washington, Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho. These agendas focus on police accountability, housing justice, and reproductive rights.
As Available – We will respond to requests from leaders of impacted communities to the best of our abilities and capacity.
Legislative Action Hours are back!
Join an hour of community action via Zoom, during which we’ll learn about important state legislation and reach out to our elected state officials! Keep an eye on our social media channels for upcoming Legislative Action Hours and sign ups.
Legislative session brings with it a flurry of important bills, and many opportunities to lobby our elected officials for justice. Thank you for being part of our community of action.