The 2021 Legislative Session begins on January 11, 2021 and will run for 105 consecutive days. Below are lists of bills that may impact Veterans, Families or Military Members. (This list is not an endorsement of any proposal by WDVA.)
Click here to find information on the Governor's Budget Proposal for WDVA.
Visit https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ for more detailed bill information.
| Bill Number | Title | Sponsor (Combined) | Status | Bill Summary | Hearing Dates | |
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| SHB 1250 | Purple heart state | SGOV(Orcutt) | S Pres Signed | FN Requested. SHB: Designates Washington as a Purple Heart State that honors people who have received the Purple Heart award. Authorizes various agencies to erect signs recognizing that Washington is a Purple Heart State and to accept gifts or donations to assist efforts related to Washington being a Purple Heart State. Creates three accounts in the custody of the State Treasurer where the gifts and donations received by the specified agencies must be deposited. The substitute bill: (1) clarifies that provisions allowing military agencies to erect signs and accept gifts and donations apply to all state military and military affairs agencies; and (2) creates three accounts in the custody of the State Treasurer where the specified agencies are required to deposits any gifts and donations received pursuant to this act into their respective account. |
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| SHB 1314 | Veteran diversion/invol comm | CRJ(Young) | S Pres Signed | FN Requested, SHB: Requires a facility to inquire about a person's veteran's status after arrival in a behavioral health facility and coordinate with Veteran's Health Administration facilities if the person is a veteran or eligible for veteran's services. The substitute bill provides that the inquiry into a person's veteran's status must occur during the period of time in which a person is being held for evaluation by a DCR, as opposed to the period of time in which medical clearance is being done by a mental health or substance use disorder professional. The requirements on the facility to report admission to the VHA system are removed, as well as the requirement to request a transfer and release of a person to an accepting VHA facility. Instead, the facility is required to ask the person whether he or she is amendable to treatment at a VHA facility, and if so, the DCR must first refer the person to a VHA facility capable of meeting the person's needs for behavioral health treatment. Finally, the substitute provides that the DCR, the VHA, and the facility where the person is located will work together to coordinate transport to a VHA facility. |
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| SHB 1438 | Property tax/health expenses | FIN(Orcutt) | H ref/S recede | SHB: Expands which medical expenses can be deducted when calculating "combined disposable income" for the purposes of property tax relief programs. The substitute bill clarifies that the changes made to the exemption program are not subject to Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee review and do not expire after 10 years, but are instead permanent |
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| SB 5032 | Alt public works contracting | (Hasegawa) | S Passed FP | Extends the use of alternative public works contracting procedures until July 1, 2031. • Amends the duties and membership of the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board. Amends the design-build, general contractor/construction manager, and job order contracting procedures. Requires the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board to develop best practices for increasing and sustaining access to contracting opportunities in alternative public works for minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses, and small businesses, and report to the Legislature any recommendations for changes to the statute by June 30, 2022. |
| Bill Number | Title | Sponsor (Combined) | Status | Bill Summary | Hearing Dates | |
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| SHB 1016 | Juneteenth | APP(Morgan) | S Pres Signed | SHB: Designates June 19, commonly known as Juneteenth, as a state legal holiday. The substitute bill adds a null and void clause, making the bill null and void unless funded in the operating budget. |
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| HB 1023 | Predesign requirements | (Steele) | Del to Gov | Increases the threshold for non-higher education capital construction projects requiring predesign to $10 million, which establishes the same threshold for all capital project types. Provides the Office of Financial Management (OFM) the authority to waive some or all predesign requirements on capital projects exceeding the $10 million threshold. • Requires the OFM to notify the legislative fiscal committees of any waivers. |
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| E2SHB 1073 | Paid leave coverage | APP(Berry) | Del to Gov | E2SHB: Provides temporary alternate eligibility for Paid Family Medical Leave claims through June 30, 2022. |
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| SHB 1074 | Fatality reviews | HCW(Peterson) | S Rules 2 | SHB: Allows local health departments to establish overdose and suicide fatality review teams to review overdose or suicide deaths and develop strategies to prevent future overdose and suicide deaths. |
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| 2SHB 1076 | Workplace violations/qui tam | APP(Hansen) | S Ways & Means | 2SHB: Authorizes a qui tam action for enforcement of various employment laws under which a relator on behalf of an agency may pursue relief. Specifies the distribution of any penalties or damages awarded. |
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| HB 1080 | Capital budget 2021-2023 | (Tharinger) | H subst for | |||
| HB 1087 | Family/med leave continuity | (Berry) | Del to Gov | HB: Specifies that the Family Leave Act as it existed prior to January 1, 2020, applies to valid claims based on conduct before that date and the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act applies to claims after that date. |
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| HB 1093 | Operating budget, 2nd supp. | (Ormsby) | H Approps | |||
| HB 1094 | Operating budget 2021-2023 | (Ormsby) | H Rules R | |||
| ESHB 1120 | Long-term services/emergency | HCW(Tharinger) | S 2nd Reading | ESHB: Changes requirements relating to background checks for long-term care workers. Alters certain regulatory requirements relating to long-term care facilities in the event of a pandemic, natural disaster, or other declared state of emergency. Changes licensing requirements for nursing assistants. The substitute bill: removes provisions relating to nurse delegation; requires rules adopted pursuant to authority granted in response to a pandemic, natural disaster, or other declared emergency are effective only during the pandemic, disaster, or emergency. clarifies that the language regarding retroactivity applies to the changes made by the bill and not to the current law; and •harmonizes terms describing the emergency situations throughout the bill. |
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| SHB 1124 | Nurse delegation/glucose | HCW(Cody) | S Rules 2 | SHB: Allows a registered nurse to delegate glucose monitoring and testing to a registered or certified nursing assistant or a certified home care aide. The specified frequency with which a registered nurse must supervise and evaluate a person to whom the nurse has delegated insulin injections is eliminated. Instead, the supervision and evaluation is governed by requirements to be established by the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission in rule. |
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| 2SHB 1127 | COVID-19 health data privacy | APP(Slatter) | H Passed FP | FN Requested, 2SHB: Restricts a covered organization's ability to collect, use, or disclose Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) health data. Specifies prohibited purposes for collecting, using, or disclosing COVID-19 health data. Exempts COVID-19 health data from disclosure under the Public Records Act. MORE |
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| ESHB 1141 | Death w/ dignity act access | HCW(Rude) | S 2nd Reading | Allows advanced registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and osteopathic physician assistants to perform the duties of an attending or consulting medical provider under the Death with Dignity Act (Act). Reduces the 15-day waiting period between the first and second requests for medications under the Act to 72 hours. Prohibits employing health care providers from contractually prohibiting an employee health care provider from participating in the Act while outside of the scope of employment and not on the employing health care provider's premises. Requires hospitals to submit their policies regarding access to end-of-life care and the Act to the Department of Health. |
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| SHB 1218 | Long-term care residents | HCW(Bateman) | S Passed 3rd | FN Requested, SHB: Requires long-term care facilities to develop comprehensive disaster preparedness plans. Requires long-term care facilities to be responsive to incoming communications with the public and accommodate resident access to communication equipment. Requires long-term care facilities to maintain a current resident roster and contact information about each resident and any resident representative. Requires long-term care facilities to post notice of any stop placements or limited stop placements that have been imposed on the facility. Directs the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and Department of Health (DOH) to develop training materials to educate local health jurisdictions about the state's long-term care system and the rights of residents. Provides residents of long-term care facilities the right to visitation by an essential support person during times when resident visitation is limited. Requires DSHS and DOH to consult with interested stakeholders to develop a report and guidelines on epidemic preparedness and response for long-term care facilities. |
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| E2SHB 1274 | Cloud computing solutions | APP(Hackney) | C 40 L 21 | FN Requested: 2SHB: Permits state agencies to locate new and existing information or telecommunications investments within third-party, commercial cloud computing services, and requires agencies to give preference to using the cloud over the state data center. Creates a task force, chaired by the Chief Information Officer and consisting of legislators and representatives from various interest groups, to review the impact on labor of transitioning to third-party cloud computing services and the needs for retraining that would accompany such a shift. |
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| HB 1328 | Disease control info./PRA | (Pollet) | S 2nd Reading | Exempts from public disclosure under the Public Records Act personal information which may reveal the identity of an individual and that is submitted to or obtained by an agency for the purpose of investigating, controlling, preventing, or protecting the public from any disease, notifiable condition, or condition constituting a threat to the public health. |
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| HB 1367 | Medicaid appropriations | (Ormsby) | C 5 L 21 | Modifies funding sources for certain Medicaid- eligible COVID-19 related expenses incurred in calendar year 2020. Attributes funding for these expenses to a combination of the Budget Stabilization Account and federal Medicaid matching funds, rather than the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), freeing up CRF for other allowable uses. |
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| ESHB 1368 | Federal funding/COVID-19 | APP(Ormsby) | C 3 L 21 | ESHB: Appropriates $2.2 billion in federal funding 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 for K-12 public schools, public health, healthcare, assistance to individuals and families, housing assistance, and business assistance. |
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| E2SHB 1477 | National 988 system | APP(Orwall) | S 2nd Reading | E2SSB: Requires the Department of Health and Health Care Authority to collaborate to establish state crisis call center hubs and an enhanced crisis response system to prepare for implementation of the 988 crisis hotline. Establishes a Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee to plan for implementation of the 988 crisis hotline and crisis response system enhancements. Imposes a tax on radio access lines, voice- over Internet protocol service lines, and switched access lines to fund activities related to an enhanced crisis response. (WDVA not an assigned member of the implementation team or crisis response improvement strategy committee. The committee is directed to seek input from 'veterans'.) |
Apr 12 Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 9:00 AM |
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| SB 5021 | Retirement benefits/furlough | (Hunt) | C 12 L 21 | Senate Bill Report: Provides that specified public pensions will not be reduced as a result of compensation reductions that are part of a public employer's expenditure reduction efforts during the 2009-2021 and 2021-23 fiscal biennia. Provides that the pension benefit of an employee covered by a pension system that is administered by the DRS is not reduced as a result of participation in an employment insurance shared work program. |
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| ESSB 5061 | Unemployment insurance | LCTA(Keiser) | C 2 L 21 | |||
| SB 5083 | Capital budget 2021-2023 | (Frockt) | S subst for | |||
| SB 5091 | Operating budget, 2nd supp. | (Rolfes) | S Ways & Means | |||
| SB 5092 | Operating budget 2021-2023 | (Rolfes) | S subst for | |||
| ESSB 5097 | Paid leave coverage | LCTA(Robinson) | H Passed 3rd | SSB: Changes the definition of family member. Modifies the requirements for certain employment protections upon return from leave. Modifies which employees are eligible for continuation of health benefits during leave. |
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| ESSB 5115 | Health emergency/labor | LCTA(Keiser) | S Passed FP | FN Requested, SSB: Creates an occupational disease presumption for frontline workers during a public health emergency for the purposes of workers' compensation. Requires employers to notify L&I when a certain percentage of their workforce becomes infected during a public health emergency. Requires employers to provide written notice to employees on the premises and their union of potential exposure to the infectious or contagious disease during a public health emergency. |
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| SSB 5185 | Health care consent | LAW(Pedersen) | H Passed 3rd | SSB: Establishes a presumption that a person has the capacity to make health care decisions, if they are of age and not subject to a guardianship. Allows a health care provider to overcome the presumption of capacity by reasonably determining that the person has demonstrated an inability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a health care condition or proposed treatment. Changes terminology referring to persons who have an appointed guardian, and persons who are competent or not legally competent, to instead refer to whether or not the person has capacity. |
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| ESSB 5190 | Health care workers/benefits | LCTA(Holy) | H Passed 3rd | SSB: Makes health care workers eligible for unemployment insurance benefits for workers who are terminated or left work to quarantine during a public health emergency. Provides presumptive workers' compensation coverage for health care workers who contract the disease that is the subject of a public health emergency. |
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| ESSB 5229 | Health equity continuing ed. | HLTC(Randall) | S Passed FP | ESSB: Requires the rule-making authority for each health profession to adopt rules requiring health care professionals to complete health equity education training at least once every four years. Requires health equity courses to teach skills that enable a health care professional to care effectively for patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities, varying in race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, religion, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. |
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| E2SSB 5237 | Child care & early dev. exp. | WM (Wilson, C.) | H Passed 3rd | E2SSB: Establishes a new account for child care and early learning purposes and includes a non-exhaustive list of spending goals and strategies. Expands eligibility and decreases co-payments in the Working Connections Child Care Program and expands eligibility in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. Provides increased rates, training, grants, supports, and services for child care and early learning providers. Increases prenatal-to-three supports for providers and families. (The Governor shall appoint one representative from WDVA – the Military Spouse Liaison – to the Early Learning Advisory Council.) |
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| SSB 5254 | Protective devices/health | LCTA(Salomon) | H Spkr Signed | SSB: Requires an employer that does not require a specific type of personal protective equipment (PPE) to accommodate an employee's or contractor's voluntary use of that PPE during a public health emergency, subject to certain conditions. Changes in Sub: The requirement that an employer that requires PPE must provide the required equipment at no cost to the employee is removed. A requirement that the voluntary use of the PPE not conflict with standards for the specific type of equipment established by the Department of Health or L&I is added. A provision authorizing employers to verify that the voluntary use of the PPE meets all regulatory requirements for workplace safety and health is added. |
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| SSB 5271 | Health care injury/COVID-19 | LAW(Wagoner) | H Spkr Signed | SSB: Provides a method for determining the standard of care during the state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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| E2SSB 5395 | State resources/remote work | WM (Hunt) | H 2nd Reading | FN Requested: Authorizes state agencies, defined as any branch, department, or unit of the state government, to provide state employees with office supplies, services, and other materials necessary to effectively work from home. Allows agencies to reimburse state employees, subject to appropriation, for additional necessary expenditures incurred since April 1, 2020, for supplies that are needed to carry out tasks within the employee's scope of employment and related to the services directly performed for the agency, with exceptions. Requires the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to adopt policies and procedures for the purchase or reimbursement of supplies, services, and other materials. Authorizes state employees to use state Internet resources outside of normal business hours during the proclaimed state of emergency in direct response to COVID-19 for certain social activities that have no expense to the state. Requires the OFM to establish and lead a work group to review issues related to working in a remote environment and provide recommendations on policies to more effectively allow state employees to work remotely. |
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| SSB 5425 | Unempl. extended benefits | LCTA(Stanford) | Del to Gov | SSB: Allows unemployment insurance claimants to be eligible for extended benefits regardless of whether their 52-week benefit year has expired. Allows the state's extended benefit program to "trigger on" without having to wait the 13 weeks between extended benefit periods. Amends a job search provision, for the purposes of federal conformity, regarding denying extended benefits for failing to accept an offer of, or apply for, suitable work. |
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| ESSB 5432 | Cybersecurity/state gov. | ENET(Carlyle) | S Passed FP | SSB: Creates the Office of Cybersecurity within the Office of the Chief Information Officer. |
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