The 2020 legislative session officially kicked off in Olympia this week. Because this is an even-numbered year session, we’ll have a limited amount of time to play both offense and defense on the proposals that will affect you and your family every day here in the Evergreen State.
With bills continuing to drop on a daily basis and in rapid succession into the hopper, we wanted to give you an early look at some of the priority bills we’ll be advocating for and against during this year’s 60-day legislative session. We are committed to providing updates to our legislative agenda as more bills are filed, and we’ll be updating our bill tracker (link) as well, so you can stay up-to-date on each of these bills’ progress.
“Our team here at FPIW will be at the Capitol in Olympia every week of the session to keep an eye on these bills,” said Mark Miloscia, FPIW Executive Director and former member of the Washington Senate and House. “With a shortened timeframe, we expect legislators in the majorities to try and cram some of these items through quickly and quietly.”
“With your active participation,” he added, “we’re confident that we can make progress on issues of life, marriage, religious liberty, parental rights, and Christian social justice.”
Here is our early list of bills to watch:
Support
HB 1560: Prohibition of dismemberment abortions (Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick)
HB 1526: Prohibition of abortion once a fetus can feel pain, at 20 weeks (Rep. Luanne Van Werven, R-Lynden)
HB 2201: Prohibiting biological males from competing against biological females in female-only sports (Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick)
HB 1525: Requiring reporting of Potassium Chloride or Digoxin in abortions (Rep. Luanne Van Werven, R-Lynden)
Oppose
SB 5395: Aiming to complete comprehensive sex education (CSE) reform, allowing Planned Parenthood in as the main provider; curricula would encourage sexual experimentation, affirm gender fluidity and same-sex attraction, and teach children how to correctly ask for sex. Similar bills also filed: SB 6175 | HB 2184 | HB 1407
SB 5744: Legalization of underage prostitution; decriminalizing prostitution is not a good idea generally, but especially not for minors. Arrests for underage prostitution often lead to rehabilitation and reunification with families. Similar bills also filed: HB 1775
SB 5683: Universal government visitation rights; would allow government the right to interfere in healthy parent/child relationships under certain conditions. Similar bills also filed: HB 1771
HB 1783: Creating the Office of Equity; intended to create policies that mandate race-based quotas and in decision making at every level of government, in education, and in business.
SB 5142: Forcing Sexism and Gender-based ideology into business; would require corporations to fulfill a quote of “self-identified females” on their board or directors or face a fine of up to $300,000.
SB 6037: Would require every public company listed on a stock exchange to meet certain biological and racial quotas within their board of directors.
It’s never too early to start emailing to your legislators (click here to find our who your legislators are) or you can call the legislative hotline to be connected to their offices directly, toll-free: (800) 562-6000.
If you want to get involved on a deeper level advocating in the legislative process and learning how to navigate your state government, register for one of FPIW’s Olympia 101 courses happening now through mid-March!
