How to Look Up a Bill

How to Look up a Bill is a step‑by‑step visual guide that shows Washington citizens exactly how to find, read, and track bills on the state legislature’s website.

Purpose

• Equips Defenders and engaged citizens to quickly locate specific bills or initiatives impacting biblical values, family policy, and civic freedom in Washington State.
• Helps users move from confusion about the legislative process to confident, informed engagement with real-time bill information.

Main Steps Covered

• Step 1: Go to leg.wa.gov, the official Washington State Legislature homepage.
• Step 2: Click “Bill Information” on the left side of the homepage to enter the main bill search portal.
• Step 3: Type the bill number you want to search (for example, 1189) into the “Bill number” box under “Search by Bill Number.”
• Step 4: Select either “Bill” (e.g., HB or SB) or “Initiative,” depending on the type of measure.
• Step 5: Choose the correct biennium or session years (such as 2023–24, 2021–22, etc.).
• Step 6: Click “Search” to open the bill status page for that measure.

What You Can See On A Bill Page

• Clarifies that “HB” means House Bill and “SB” means Senate Bill, with examples like HB 1189 and SB 5166.
• Shows how to view the “Bill Status‑at‑a‑Glance,” including current status, location in the process (committee, floor, governor), and links to text, documents, and even hearing or floor videos.

Extra Tools Highlighted

• Points to standard and advanced reports, including bill status reports, committee reports, floor activity reports, roll call votes, and bills by sponsor for deeper research.
• Encourages users to send comments to legislators, sign up for email or RSS notifications, and stay updated throughout the session.

Connection To FPIW’s Mission

• Positioned within FPIW’s broader call to “defend and advance biblical values in the public square,” helping believers actively track and respond to legislation affecting life, family, religious liberty, and other key issues.
• Reinforces the Defender commitment to pray, sign initiatives, vote with a biblical worldview, engage during session, and recruit others into civic discipleship.