On May 17, 2025, Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson signed 51 bills into Washington State Law. These bills span from public welfare to development, contributing to the reconstruction of different programs for benefits, education, and policies. Want to know more about these bills? Here are some of the bill’s summaries:
Bill 5790
This bill regards the cost-of-living adjustments for academic and classified employees of Washington State community and technical colleges. It establishes that each college district and technical college board of trustees will receive an allocation for cost-of-living on a fiscal year basis by increasing employee salaries and mandatory salary-related benefits, in accordance with the yearly increase of the index for cost-of-living.
Bill 5014
This bill maintains the electronic and physical security of election and voting infrastructures, introducing new requirements for the operation and maintenance of voting systems and detection systems.
Bill 5079
This bill extends the collection period and notices, adjusts the time frames of collection, and allows the Department of Social and Health Services to waive all collection efforts for unintentional overpayments by the aged, blind, or disabled assistance programs.
Bill 5478
This bill enhances the public employees’ benefits board that improves health care coverage and insurance options for employees and their dependents, allowing the board to have the power to impose penalties on agencies that fail to comply.
Bill 5769
This bill renames the transitional kindergarten program as the “transition to kindergarten program”. It focuses on key development requirements: an eligibility framework, prioritizing low-income families and further assessments.
Bill 5361
This bill amends existing laws on the American Society of Addiction Medicine 4th Edition (ASAM 4) criteria’s implementation timeline; treatment guidelines for addictive, substance-related, and co-occurring conditions.
Bill 5786
This bill regulates the licensing process and framework of alcohol sale and consumption; it increases licensing, permit, and endorsement fees. It also provides additional provisions for short-term rental operators, including non profit organizations and educational institutions.
Bill 5192
This bill improves the distribution and allocation of state funding for school districts that emphasizes transparency through per-pupil allocation reports. It outlines the funding for supplemental instruction and services for students who are economically disadvantaged or face language barriers, mandating the allocations for transitional bilingual instruction and programs for students identified as highly capable.
Bill 5394
This bill enhances the management of the Developmental Disabilities Administration’s no-paid services caseload. It mandates two hired permanent, full-time employees that will regularly review and maintain the caseload, stating their roles and the responsibilities of the program.
Bill 5077
This bill expands voter registration services, allowing agencies to implement automatic voter registration and updates. It revises the discretion standards for agencies involved, specifying their roles and responsibilities to maintain confidentiality of the information as well as providing assistance to individuals with disabilities.
Bill 1409
This bill establishes the reduction of carbon intensity in transportation fuels, outlining a schedule for annual percentage decreases. It introduces compliance measures and corrective action orders for non-compliance.
Bill 5390
This bill adjusts the cost and benefits of the Discover Pass and day-use permits, increasing the Discover Pass from $30 to $45.
Bill 1975
This bill amends the Climate Commitment Act, improving its regulations, mechanisms, and jurisdictions. It introduces requirements related to compliance instrument markets, modifying reporting regulations.
Bill 1462
This bill promotes the transition to alternatives for environmentally sustainable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and introduces a regulatory framework for the production of hydrofluorocarbons.
Bill 1473
This bill addresses a budget stabilization account for the wildfires in Washington, declaring a state of emergency for immediate action.
Bill 5583
This bill changes the regulations of recreational fishing and hunting licenses, establishing new requirements for licenses and imposing penalties for non-compliance.
Bill 1497
This bill emphasizes the improvement of waste management systems and its organic materials, establishing new requirements and implementing color-coded containers. It introduces an Organic Grant Program that oversees complicity of facilities to the program. It establishes policies that enhance the farm-to-school program.
Bill 1293
This bill establishes new penalties for individuals who improperly dispose of waste: payments for cleanup cost based on the severity of the offense. This reclassifies the infraction for littering.
Bill 1539
This bill establishes a Children’s Social Equity Land Trust that will leverage sustainably managed forested lands that will direct their revenue towards child care grants.
Bill 1382
This bill enhances Washington State’s all-payer claims database, specifically by modernizing its reporting requirements, data disclosure standards, and the selection criteria for the lead organization that manages the database. It mandates data security and privacy processes that protect patient identifiers. It also introduces new protocols for patient data requests that emphasize confidentiality.
Bill 1102
This bill enhances Washington veteran support and services, expanding the veterans service officer program that assists the access to federal benefits. It mandates the provision of information by the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding its available services to veterans within 90 days of their discharge.
Bill 1371
This bill expands eligibility of parking privileges for individuals with disabilities to veterans with specific conditions, updating the criteria and eligibility.
Bill 1213
This bill establishes regular outreach of responsibilities to employers, enhancing the program for Washington’s paid family and medical leave program.
Bill 1633
This bill mandates new requirements for public work contract biddings, specifying a time frame and documentation for requests and other contracting methods.
Bill 1109
This bill allows public facilities districts to impose a sales and use tax under the conditions of: public facilities were created before certain dates and public facilities have commenced construction of regional centers by specified deadlines. It modifies the expiration of tax and specifies that the tax must match with funds from other public or private sources, and the collected money can only be used for specified purposes.
Bill 1162
This bill enhances the preventative procedures of workplace violence in health care settings, requiring each location to develop and implement a violence prevention plan that is updated annually. It must address various factors that contribute to workplace violence, such as security measures, staffing patterns, job design, and employee training. It also requires timely investigations in the matter of workplace violence incidents.
Bill 1651
This bill enhances teacher residency and apprenticeships programs with a teacher residency model. It clarifies the different roles and structures included in the program. The bill requires the residency to include at least 900 hours of preservice clinical practice, co-teaching with a preservice mentor, and the provision of funding and stipends for both residents and mentors.
Bill 1440
This bill aims to standardize property owner protection and processes, requiring law enforcement agencies to notify property seizures to the owners within a set amount of days.
Bill 1096
This bill provides homeowners flexibility in homeownership, requiring regulations to facilitate lot split process as well as specific conditions for approval.
Bill 1573
This bill standardizes the period of taking oath of office for elected officials of counties, cities, towns, and special purpose districts.
Bill 1878
This bill requires individuals under 25 to complete a driver training education course before obtaining their initial driver’s license, improving safety for young drivers. It revises application fees and adjusts the driver’s instruction permit’s age requirement. It regulates speed safety camera systems and outlines the responsibilities of vehicle owners.
Bill 1990
This bill establishes a framework that securitizes financing for electrical, gas, and water companies in Washington State, enhancing its service tariff provisions and reducing consumer expenses.
In regards to the following bills remaining bills, detailed information can be found through this link: https://governor.wa.gov/official-actions/bill-actions.
