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Legislative Reports
2024: CVSO Program / Peer Support Services
The 2026 Legislative Session began on January 12, 2026. Below are lists of bills that may impact Veterans, Families or Military Members. (This list is not an endorsement of any proposal by WDVA.)
Visit https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ for more detailed bill information. To watch committee hearings, visit Home - TVW.
| Bill Number | Title | Sponsor (Combined) | Status | Bill Summary | Hearing Dates | |
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| HB 1073 | National guard retention | (Leavitt) | S State Gov/Trib | Creates a Washington National Guard retention program. Directs the Adjutant General to study retention needs, determine eligibility criteria, and determine the amount and schedule of retention bonuses. Requires the Military Department to report on retention needs and recommendations every three years. |
Feb 6, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 9, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| 2ESHB 1541 | Veterans affairs adv. comm. | TEDV(Abell) | S Rules 2 | Modifies the membership of the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee. |
Feb 3, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 16, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 8:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SHB 2088 | Dietitian licensure compact | PEW(Leavitt) | S Health & Long-T | Enacts the Dietician Licensure Compact. |
Jan 27, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 19, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Health & Long-Term Care at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| HB 2417 | Military code/victim rights | (Keaton) | S State Gov/Trib | Changing the Washington code of military justice so that it includes certain protections for victims of an offense while serving within the organized militia (including the WA National Guard). |
Feb 16, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 8:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| ESHB 2534 | Military families/education | ED(Shavers) | S Rules 2 | Makes changes to school district requirements for enrolling children of military families, transferring their education records, and providing them with services and accommodations |
Feb 2, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Education at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 18, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| E2SSB 5098 | Weapons in certain areas | TRAN(Valdez) | H Civil R & Judi | Prohibits weapons at certain park facilities where children are likely to be present, certain state or local public buildings, and county fairs when the fair is open to the public. Requires facilities where weapons are prohibited to, as soon as practicable, post signage at common public access points alerting the public to the prohibitions. The prohibition against carrying weapons at libraries, certain zoos and aquariums, and transit stations and facilities do not apply to persons who maintain a valid concealed pistol license, or the activities of color guards and honor guards related to burial or interment ceremonies. |
Apr 4, 2025 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Apr 7, 2025 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SB 5420 | Veteran benefits access | (Lovick) | H Tech, Econ Dev | Expands eligibility for certain pension, retirement, and veterans' benefits based on military service. Adds federal commissioned corps to definition of uniformed services. Expands type of military service that qualifies military spouses and dependents for pension and retirement benefits, license moratoria, and veterans' employment. |
Feb 18, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SSB 5827 | Veterans/discharge def. | SGTE(Gildon) | H State Govt & Tr | Allows an individual to provide a predischarge certification to claim the veterans' civil service preference. |
Feb 2, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 9, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SSB 5901 | On-base school construction | EDU(Christian) | H Cap Budget | Excludes school instructional facilities located on military bases from a district's inventory of available instructional space for purposes of determining state funding assistance eligibility. Provides that the computed state funding assistance percentage must be increased by an additional 15 percent for any project located on a military base. |
Feb 9, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 26, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| 2SSB 6035 | Voting services | WM(Kauffman) | H State Govt & Tr | Directs county auditors and the Secretary of State to schedule meetings with federally recognized Indian tribes to discuss various matters relating to voting access on Indian reservations and tribal land. Authorizes the Secretary of State to employ an electronic ballot portal for service voters, overseas voters, voters with a disability, and any voter who is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and resides on an Indian reservation. |
Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 25, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SB 6046 | Civil air patrol | (Wagoner) | H Tech, Econ Dev | Establishing the Washington division of civil air patrol as part of the Washington military department. |
Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 25, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
| Bill Number | Title | Sponsor (Combined) | Status | Bill Summary | Hearing Dates | |
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| SHB 2152 | Cannabis/health facilities | HCW(Kloba) | S Health & Long-T | Permitting the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients in specified health care facilities. |
Feb 19, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Health & Long-Term Care at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Health & Long-Term Care at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| HB 2264 | Unemployment ins./layoffs | (Berry) | S Labor & Comm | Allows a person to access unemployment insurance benefits when voluntarily participating in an employer-initiated layoff or reduction in force plan so long as their termination is the result of the plan. |
Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 23, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| HB 2289 | Operating budget, supp. | (Ormsby) | H Approps | Feb 23, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 25, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Appropriations at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| HB 2295 | Capital budget, supplemental | (Tharinger) | H Cap Budget | Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 26, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Capital Budget at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SHB 2411 | Shared leave | SGOV(Salahuddin) | S State Gov/Trib | Expands the types of events that qualify a state employee for the leave sharing program to include employees who are victims of a hate crime and employees whose absence from work is due to the involvement of that employee or that employee's relative or household member in an immigration enforcement action. |
Feb 16, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 8:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SHB 2420 | Small works roster limits | CB(Zahn) | S State Gov/Trib | Increasing small works roster contract limits. |
Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SHB 2475 | Language access | SGOV(Ortiz-Self) | S State Gov/Trib | Requires the Office of Equity to develop uniform guidelines for state agencies to provide consistent delivery of language-accessible public programs, activities, and services. Requires the Office of Equity to collaborate with certain groups to develop a proposal for addressing the statewide shortage of qualified interpreters and translators. Provides that state agencies must report to the Office of Equity and the Office of Financial Management regarding processes, timelines, and necessary resources for implementation of the guidelines. |
Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SHB 2492 | Apprenticeships/wellness | LAWS(Nance) | S Labor & Comm | Requires state registered apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades to provide apprentices with at least two hours of behavioral health and wellness training |
Jan 30, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| E2SHB 2637 | PRA/personal information | APP(Gregerson) | S State Gov/Trib | Expands the types of personal information exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act. |
Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| E2SSB 5061 | Public works wages | TRAN(Conway) | H Exec Action | Requires public works contracts to adjust minimum hourly wages annually based on the latest prevailing wages. |
Feb 18, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 20, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SB 5998 | Operating budget, supp. | (Robinson) | S Ways & Means | Feb 23, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 25, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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| SB 6003 | Capital budget, supplemental | (Trudeau) | S Ways & Means | Feb 24, 2026 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 4:00 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. Feb 26, 2026 Scheduled for executive hearing in the Senate Ways & Means at 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action. |
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