- Legislative updates for disability advocates
- Sign up for advocacy days and support
- Bills of interest to the DD community.
- Register here for Employment Supports Advocacy Day
Next week is the first cutoff for bills – they need to pass out of the policy committee in their chamber of origin – and committees are busy this week considering amendments. Bills with fiscal notes move on to the budget writing committees for consideration, while bills addressing revenue are being heard in finance committees.
New this year: More bills to even out our regressive tax structure, either through granting reprieves or credits to lower income individuals and families, or by increasing taxes on the wealthy. HB 1496 (being heard Thursday in House Finance) would implement a capital gains tax. Half the revenue would fund early learning, the other half would go into the state general fund.
Our position: The Arc of King County supports state progressive revenue measures to address the inequality embedded in our tax code and to increase funding to support inclusive communities that benefit people with I/DD of all ages, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with I/DD.
- Board of Directors resolution on progressive revenue
ADVOCACY TIP: If a bill you support passes out of committee, it is always a good idea to thank legislators for their work. Sponsors are listed on the bill page; you can see how committee members voted by clicking on committee majority and minority reports.
- You can view hearings on TVW, or from the committee meeting pages.
HEARD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8
House Finance; 10 am
HB 1477 - Implementing the national 988 system to enhance and expand behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services
Sponsors: Orwall, Davis, Ortiz-Self, Callan, Simmons, Johnson, J., Goodman, Ryu, Ormsby, Valdez, Frame, Berg, Bergquist, Harris-Talley, Chopp, Macri, Peterson, Pollet
- Directs the Department of Health to designate crisis hotline centers that meet standards related to technology and the ability to identify and deploy community crisis resources for persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
- Requires behavioral health administrative services organizations to have community-based rapid crisis response services for persons who contact the 988 Crisis Hotline in need of stabilization services.
- Establishes a 988 Crisis Hotline System Director to provide direction and oversight in the implementation and administration of the 988 Crisis Hotline and behavioral health crisis system.
- Creates an implementation coalition to monitor the implementation of the 988 Crisis Hotline System and the improvements to behavioral health crisis services
- Establishes the Statewide 988 Behavioral Health Crisis Response Line Tax on phone lines to fund the crisis hotline centers and response services.
Testimony is closed
-
HB 1460 - Closing the digital divide by establishing excise taxes on telecommunications services to fund the expansion of the universal service programs in Washington.
Sponsors: Gregerson, Taylor, Simmons, Johnson, J., Lekanoff, Santos, Slatter, Dolan, Peterson, Callan, Ormsby, Morgan, Bateman, Bergquist, Ramel, Thai, Valdez, Pollet, Lovick, Macri, Chopp, Hackney, Ortiz-Self, Riccelli, Kloba, Harris-Talley
- Establishes the following programs: Senior Call-Check Service and Notification Program; Washington Lifeline Program; Universal Teleconnect Service Program; Digital Equity Opportunity Grant Program; and Digital Equity Planning Grant Program.
- Modifies the existing Universal Communications Services Account to create a Universal Services Account for receipt of revenues and expenditures of programs under the Act.
- Establishes a monthly $0.25 telephone and voice over Internet protocol tax on all switched access lines in the state.
- Establishes a monthly $0.25 Internet access tax imposed on all Internet access service subscriptions in the state.
Testimony is closed
-
HB 1035 - Providing local governments with options to grant rent relief and preserve affordable housing in their communities.
Sponsors: Kloba, Ryu, Ortiz-Self, Duerr, Wylie, Tharinger, Ramel, Gregerson, Valdez, Hackney, Callan, Santos, Pollet, Harris-Talley
- Authorizes cities and counties to create an affordable housing incentive program.
- Authorizes an affordable housing incentive program to provide a six-year property tax exemption to certain qualifying properties.
- Establishes various program requirements and administrative provisions
Testimony is closed
-
House Children, Youth & Families; 1:30 pm
HB 1451 - Concerning the entitlement date and definition for the early childhood education and assistance program.
Sponsors: Sullivan, Lekanoff, Thai
- Delays the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) entitlement from the 2022-23 school year to the 2026-27 school year.
- Requires the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature with an implementation plan to meet the ECEAP entitlement by September 2, 2022.
- Requires the DCYF to adopt rules outlining the requirements related to educational activities and comprehensive services required to meet the ECEAP entitlement requirement by January 1, 2023.
Our take: The implementation plan addresses logistics like braiding funds and that seem to be barriers to districts offering inclusive early learning. It would help communities leverage ECEAP, Head Start, developmental programs, and private programs to offer high quality, inclusive early learning.
Unforuntately, there is an amendment that would drop the planning process from the bill, so this just becomes a vehicle to delay making ECEAP an entitlement. Another early learning bill similarly delays making ECEAP an entitlement. Once ECEAP does become an entitlement, however, students served under IDEA must be admitted; currently special education status is one qualifier for ECEAP, but space is limited and access uneven for children with disabilities. Generally, unless a child is also low-income, special education status will not earn you a spot in ECEAP.
Here are the parts of planning process that we liked; the proposed amendment strikes all of them. We are hopeful some may resurface as a budget proviso or next session.
- Requires an implementation plan by September 2022 and adoption of certain rules. Of interest to disability advocates, the plan requires:
- Description of how funding streams can be combined, including funds for developmental preschools, Head Start, local government preschools, Title I
- Description of how combined funding streams can build high-quality, inclusive preschool programs that can be delivered in a variety of public or private settings;
- Estimates of unmet need by geographic location, by age and type of program;
- A tool kit to be made available on the DCYF's website for potential preschool program operators to implement a high-quality, inclusive preschool program.
Testimony is closed
-
House Health Care & Wellness; 1:30 pm
HB 1411 - Expanding health care workforce eligibility.
Sponsors: Simmons, Davis, Santos, Valdez, Berry, Fitzgibbon
- Prohibits the Department of Social and Health Services (Department) from automatically disqualifying a person who has a criminal record containing certain crimes from:
(1) having unsupervised access to, working with, or providing care to a vulnerable person; or
(2) acting as a long-term care worker or vocational and employment services provider.
- Establishes a work group to identify an informed consent process to allow older adults and people with disabilities to hire an individual with a criminal record that would otherwise disqualify the person from providing paid home care services.
- Authorizes the Department to exercise its discretion regarding whether to permit or prohibit a person with a certificate of opportunity of restoration to have unsupervised access to children, vulnerable adults, or individuals with mental illness or developmental disabilities.
- The crimes and the specified minimum times are:
- Selling drug paraphernalia after at least three years have passed;
- Selling marijuana to a person under the age of 21 years old after at least three years have passed;
- Theft in the first degree after at least five years have passed;
- Robbery in the second degree after at least five years have passed;
- Extortion in the second degree after at least five years have passed;
- Assault in the second degree after at least five years have passed; and
- Assault in the third degree after at least five years have passed.
- While the Department may not automatically disqualify a person, the Department or an employer under contract with the Department has the discretion to consider any of the convictions when conducting a character, competence, and suitability review regarding a person to be employed in a position caring for, or having unsupervised access to, a vulnerable adult.
Testimony is closed
-
Senate Health & Long Term Care* 1:30 pm
SB 5399 - Concerning the creation of a universal health care commission.
Sponsors: Randall, Cleveland, Das, Dhingra, Frockt, Hunt, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Nguyen, Nobles, Robinson, Saldaña, Stanford, Van De Wege, Wellman, Wilson, C.
- Establishes the universal health care commission
Testimony options/Senate – Written testimony will be accepted until 1:30 pm Tuesday
HEARD TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9
House Housing, Human Services & Veterans; 8:00 am
HB 1441 - Prohibiting discrimination against prospective tenants for unpaid rent or eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sponsors: Morgan, Macri, Simmons, Berry, Johnson, J., Davis, Valdez, Taylor, Wicks, Fitzgibbon, Ramel, Bergquist, Chopp, Gregerson, Peterson, Ormsby, Pollet, Hackney, Thai, Berg, Harris-Talley
- Prohibits a landlord from discriminating against a prospective tenant based on unpaid rent or an eviction that resulted from unpaid rent that accrued during an eviction moratorium.
- Imposes civil penalties for violations.
Testimony options/House (written testimony take to 8 am 2/10)
-
Education; 8:00 am
HB 1444 - Providing trauma-informed counseling and supports to students who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sponsors: Rule, Wicks, Simmons, Berry, Johnson, J., Taylor, Orwall, Ryu, Fitzgibbon, Ramel, Wylie, Pollet, Thai, Harris-Talley
- Creates, temporarily, a limited school mental health staff certificate for Department of Health licensed or certified mental and behavioral health professionals, for the purpose of providing trauma-informed counseling and supports to students who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Requires school districts to employ one person with either a school counselor certificate or a temporary mental health staff certificate for every 150 students, beginning with the 2021-22 school year and through July 1, 2025.
Testimony options/House (written testimony deadline 8 am 2/10)
-
Senate Housing & Local Government; 8:00 am
SB 5390 - Increasing housing supply through the growth management act and housing density tax incentives for local governments.
Sponsors: Liias, Gildon, Nguyen, Saldaña
- Amends the elements of a comprehensive plan to ensure consideration of multifamily housing units and housing targets.
- Increases urban densities within urban growth areas (UGAs) in buildable land areas to six net dwelling units per acre.
- Creates real estate excise tax density incentive zones within UGAs in buildable lands areas.
-
House Finance; 1:30 pm
HB 1465 - Making the estate tax more progressive by exempting small estates, reducing estate taxes on medium estates, increasing the estate tax on larger estates, and addressing equity in homeownership and homelessness.
Sponsors: Orwall, Ramel, Ryu, Wylie, Frame, Ormsby, Valdez, Pollet, Thai, Chopp, Macri, Harris-Talley
- Makes changes to the Washington estate tax, including increasing the exclusion amount, changing deductions, and making changes to the rates and rate structure.
- Creates the Equity in Housing Account to be funded by 10 percent of the estate tax revenues.
Testimony options/House (written testimony deadline 1:30 pm 2/10)
-
HJR 4204 - Concerning a constitutional amendment providing for a residential real property exemption from property taxes levied for state purposes.
Sponsors: Harris-Talley, Berg, Wicks, Peterson, Ortiz-Self, Simmons, Gregerson, Chapman, Berry, Frame, Thai, Pollet, Ormsby, Davis, Ramel
- Amends the Washington Constitution to allow for a legislatively enacted residential real property tax exemption from the state levy of up to $250,000 of equalized assessed value.
Testimony options/House (written testimony deadline 1:30 pm 2/10)
-
Senate Ways & Means; 4:00 pm
SSB 5294 - Concerning the creation of statewide epidemic preparedness and response guidelines for long-term care facilities.
- Requires the Department of Health to consult with interested stakeholders to develop a report and guidelines on epidemic preparedness and response for long-term care facilities
Testimony options/Senate (written testimony deadline 4 pm 2/10)
-
SSB 5147 - Addressing learning loss by exploring alternative school calendars
Sponsors: Hawkins, Wellman, Billig, Dhingra, Frockt, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Muzzall, Nobles, Rivers, Saldaña, Wilson, C.
- Directs OSPI to establish a program to allow up to 30 school districts to provide 180 instructional days over the course of the entire calendar year.
-
- Establishes that in order to participate in the programs, a school district must have a minimum enrollment of 500 students, a maximum enrollment of 10,000 students, and a majority of students qualify for free and reduced price meals.
-
- Requires OSPI to distribute funds to participating school districts based on a specific formula, subject to appropriation.
-
- Requires OSPI to report on various program outcomes.
Testimony options/Senate (written testimony deadline 4 pm 2/10)
UPCOMING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Finance; 8:00 am
HB 1496 - Creating a more progressive tax system in Washington by enacting an excise tax on sales and extraordinary profits of high valued assets.
Sponsors: Senn, Walen, Davis, Johnson, J., Ramel, Bergquist, Macri, Gregerson, Simmons, Sells, Peterson, Bateman, Berry, Lekanoff, Frame, Fitzgibbon, Duerr, Hackney, Slatter, Kirby, Thai, Chopp, Valdez, Riccelli, Pollet, Ormsby, Harris-Talley, Stonier
- Implements a capital gains tax.
- Beginning January 1, 50% deposited into a Fair Starts for Kid account, to pay for early learning and childcare, and 50% deposited into the general fund.
- Beginning July 1, 2025, 60% deposited into a Fair Starts for Kid account, to pay for early learning and childcare, and 40% deposited into the general fund.
-
HB 1247 – Allowing an additional property tax exemption for seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities leasing land in a mobile home park or manufactured housing community.
Sponsors: Thai, Stokesbary, Ramel, Ryu, Robertson, Leavitt, Bateman, Fitzgibbon, Shewmake, Chapman, Johnson, J., Senn, Frame, Riccelli, Chopp, Wylie, Wicks, Simmons, Boehnke, Berry, Davis, Tharinger, Walsh, Eslick, Goodman, Peterson, Santos, Valdez, Cody, Chambers, Kloba, Ramos, Kirby, Bronoske, Gregerson, Macri, Callan, Paul, Sells, Bergquist, Ormsby, Pollet, Slatter, Stonier, Taylor, Harris-Talley
- Allowing an additional property tax exemption for seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities leasing land in a mobile home park or manufactured housing community.
-
HB 1248 - Allowing leased land in a mobile home park or manufactured housing community to qualify for the senior, veteran, and persons with disabilities property tax exemption.
Sponsors: Orcutt, Caldier, Sutherland, Young
-
House Children, Youth & Families; 10:00 am
Work Session: Overview of housing, residential treatment, and placement options for youth
-
House Environment & Energy; 1:30 pm
HB 1490 - Maintaining residential electricity and heating service for low-income households and households with people with disabilities.
Sponsors: Harris-Talley, Ramel, Macri, Simmons, Berry, Lekanoff, Johnson, J., Duerr, Ortiz-Self, Hackney, Slatter, Ryu, Taylor, Orwall, Chopp, Dolan, Riccelli, Bateman, Ormsby, Morgan, Frame
- Extends the winter shutoff moratorium and energy assistance requirements to apply to rural electric cooperatives in addition to municipal electric utilities, public utility districts, and investor-owned utilities.
-
- Establishes a year-round energy service shutoff moratorium for low-income households or households with people with disabilities.
-
House Appropriations; 3:30 pm
SHB 1044 - Creating prison to postsecondary education pathways.
Sponsors: Leavitt, Simmons, Johnson, J., Eslick, Lovick, Kloba, Lekanoff, Wylie, Bateman, Senn, Goodman, Bronoske, Valdez, Callan, Ramos, Hackney, Morgan, Ormsby, Fey, Frame, Santos, Davis, Pollet, Bergquist
- Permits the Department of Corrections (DOC) to implement postsecondary education certificate and degree programs at state correctional institutions.
- Modifies the DOC's educational goals for incarcerated persons to include special education services and postsecondary education certificates or degrees.
- Requires the DOC to establish a process for identifying, assessing, and accommodating incarcerated persons with learning disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and cognitive impairments.
- Requires the DOC to assist with filing financial aid forms and to provide unofficial transcripts to incarcerated persons who participated in postsecondary education programs any time the person completes a program, is transferred to another facility, or is released.
- Requires the DOC to consider an incarcerated person's educational programming when considering transfers to other facilities and when releasing a person to their county of origin.
- Requires the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to study and report on enrollment, completion, and recidivism rates of incarcerated persons in the postsecondary education system post release.
- Requires an annual report from the DOC and other state agencies that includes a variety of data and information on incarcerated persons and postsecondary education.
-
SHB 1061 - Concerning youth eligible for developmental disability services who are expected to exit the child welfare system.
Sponsors: Senn, Dent, Leavitt, Wicks, Slatter, Wylie, Simmons, Kloba, Ortiz-Self, Gregerson, Callan, Young, Morgan, Frame, Santos, Rule, Davis
- Prioritizes eligible individuals who exited a dependency proceeding within the last two years for Medicaid waivers administered by the Developmental Disability Administration (DDA) when there is funded capacity.
- Requires the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to provide a report detailing the number of youth involved in the child welfare system who are enrolled clients of the DDA and expected to exit child welfare services after reaching the maximum age that those youth can receive child welfare services.
- Requires the DCYF to convene a shared planning meeting that includes DDA staff for youth who are dependent and may be eligible for DDA services when the youth is between ages 16 and 16-1/2 for purposes of planning for the youth's transition to adulthood.
-
SHB 1227 - Protecting the rights of families responding to allegations of abuse or neglect of a child.
Sponsors: Ortiz-Self, Callan, Senn, Dolan, Fitzgibbon, Ramos, Davis, Santos, Macri, Gregerson, Young, Ormsby
- Modifies the standard used by hospitals, law enforcement, and courts to authorize detention or removal of a child from a parent.
- Requires the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to make continuing efforts to place children with relatives and requires such placement unless there is no relative capable of ensuring the basic safety of the child.
- Requires the court to release a child to a parent unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that removal of the child is necessary to prevent imminent physical harm and that the evidence show a causal relationship between the conditions in the home and imminent physical harm to the child.
-
BILLS ADVANCING THIS WEEK:
- SB 5284 – Eliminating Subminimum wages. Passed to Rules for consideration for a floor vote
- SB 5376 – Promoting awareness of the governor’s office of the education Ombuds. Passed to Rules for consideration for a floor vote
- HB 1366 – Requiring school districts to prioritize the
resumption of in-person instruction to certain students following an emergency.
Amended to include students with IEPs and ELL students. Passed out of committee.
- HB 1373 - Promoting student access to information about
behavioral health resources. Amended to require information be posted to social
media sites. Passed out of committee.
MAY BE ADVANCING:
- HB 1218 - Improving health, safety, and quality of life for residents in long-term care facilities. Committee action expected 2/10
- HB 1347 - Concerning exceptional foster care maintenance payments. Committee action expected or 2/11
- HB 1451 - Concerning the entitlement date and definition for the early childhood education and assistance program. Committee action expected 2/11
- HB 1295 - Providing public education to youth in or released from institutional education facilities. Committee action expected 2/11
- HB 1139 - Taking action to address lead in drinking water. Committee action expected 2/12
- HB 1153 - Increasing language access in public schools. Committee action expected 2/1
WAITING FOR LAST STEP
HB1368 – Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through state actions supported by federal funding.
2/1 - Passed the House 61-36, with 1 excused
2/4 – Passed Senate Ways and Means
2/5 – Sent to Rules
- This bill appropriates $2.2 billion of federal funds for K-12 public schools, public health, healthcare, assistance to individuals and families, housing assistance, and business assistance. The funding comes from a combination of the federal Consolidated Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the Coronavirus Relief Fund under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and Medicaid. Specifically, the bill funds:
- $714 million for assistance to K-12 schools, including $46 million for non-public school assistance;
o Requirements: Reopening plans by March 1, 2021; academic, student well-being recovers plans by June 1, 2021
- $618 million for public health, including $438 million for testing and contract tracing;
- $100 million for epidemiology and laboratory grants and $68 million for vaccines—this funding is deposited into a newly created non-appropriated account;
- $365 million for a variety of housing-related items, including rental assistance;
- $240 million for business assistance grants;
- $91 million for other income assistance programs, including $65 million for immigration services, $12 million for disaster cash assistance, $9 million for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and $5 million for food assistance;
- $50 million for a variety of childcare-related items; and
- $26 million for food banks and other food related programs
- 24.5 million to DDA community services for rate enhancements through June 2021
