Legislative Information:

Front & Center

Join us in Olympia for our 2026 Advocacy Day with Front and Centered and Just Transition Voters: an event connecting our community to advocate for our collective environmental justice legislative agenda. 

Event Details

Date: Thursday, February 19, 9:00am–5:00pm
Location: Olympia, WA. We will be gathering at a hub just across the campus of the state capitol.

Sherrilla, can you join us for Advocacy Day this year? We want legislators to have frontline communities and their priorities at the top of their minds as they head into budget negotiations at the end of the session. Your presence at the state capitol will be important for politicians to see that despite all the challenges of the past year, frontline communities are still out here fighting for change.

Join me, Front and Centered coalition members, and our Just Transition Leadership Program cohort so we can learn about advocacy in a safe space and then put what we learned into action! This event will provide you with the skills, connections, and confidence to engage in effective legislative advocacy. Your attendance and meetings with lawmakers will help to advance our Energy Assistance Campaign, Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Act, and our Budget Advocacy campaign. Food, snacks, and refreshments will be available throughout the day.

Last year we had 50 members attend and we were able to meet with 40 different members of the House and Senate. Help us this year by attending and demonstrating our community power! 

Event Highlights

• Olympia Advocacy Training: Online workshops to introduce you to the state legislature and give you the tools to advocate in meetings with lawmakers. These online trainings will be sent to you to view on your own time. 

• Meetings with Legislators: Apply your training during scheduled meetings with Washington State legislators on Thursday, February 19.

• Community Building: Connect with members of the coalition, including Leadership Cohort members and staff

Register for Advocacy Day with Front and Centered and Just Transition Voters

Preliminary Schedule

• Wednesday, Feb. 11 OR Monday, Feb. 16: Virtual check-in from 6:00–7:00 pm with Front and Centered staff to review training, answer questions, and coordinate last-minute logistics. (You only need to attend one session, so choose the date that works best for you!)

• Wednesday, February 18: Some community members and staff will arrive in Olympia ahead of the event.

• Thursday, February 19: Lobby meetings run between 10:00am–4:00pm. Our goal is to have everyone attend at least three meetings.

Organizing Director, Washington Conservation Action:

Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC) priorities to make Washington a healthy, affordable place to live and work.

The weekly digest gives you the latest on the 2026 EPC priorities, our climate, and our communities. Click here to sign up to receive emails from us directly.

 UPDATES

It's Week 2 of the 2026 Washington Legislative Session!

This morning, HB 2515, the bill addressing affordability, transparency, and environmental concerns of data centers, was heard in the House Committee on Environment & Energy. EPC organizations mobilized activists to the Capitol to testify and show support for this bill. The companion Senate bill, SB 6171, is scheduled for a committee hearing tomorrow, January 23.

Concerning data centers, we also support HB 2245/SB 5982, which ensures that all electricity used by data centers complies with Washington's 100% clean energy law. Both bills are being heard in committee executive session in the next six days. 

HB 1607, the Recycling Reform Act, is being heard in the House Appropriations Committee Executive Session next Wednesday, January 28. 

 TAKE ACTION

Data centers have the potential to impact our climate and clean energy goals, energy affordability and reliability, the environment, and communities. HB 2515/SB 6171 addresses the concerns about these emerging facilities. HB 2245/SB 5982 ensures that all electricity used by data centers will comply with Washington's 100% clean energy law.

Urge your representatives support all four bills to ensure data centers are done right!

Sign in PRO for SB 6171 before the hearing on Friday, January 23 at 10.30 a.m.

Send a message now! Sign in PRO on SB 6171

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wildfire Resilience Advocacy Day. Thursday, January 29. Register here.

Join us for Wildfire Resilience Advocacy Day on January 29 to ask legislators to restore full funding for the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account in the 2026 supplemental budget. 

 Yakima Advocacy Day. Saturday, January 24. Register here.

Join to learn how Yakima Valley advocacy groups are advancing environmental justice, healthcare equity, immigration solidarity, food security, and solutions to homelessness.

PSARA TOP ACTION ITEM

Our top priority is SJM 8002, Level the Playing Field. Please click on https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/8002 to send a message to your Senator and Representatives asking them to request of Senate leadership that they pull SJM 8002 from Rules and bring to the Senate floor for a vote. 

HEARINGS WEEK 2 

Our lobbyist, Nancy Sapiro will sign in on all bills for PSARA. Click on the bill links below to go directly to the appropriate site to sign in as an individual.  If you are signing in as an individual, you must sign in at least one hour before the hearing begins. You can sign in for all bills at the same time. You do not have to wait until the day of the hearing to sign in. This is not an exhaustive list of hearings you may be interested in. It does reflect our priorities and some priorities of allies. 

Please note we are con on HB 2103. All other bills we are signing in pro. Have a good week. Best, Pam

Tuesday, Jan. 20

SB 6002 Driver Privacy Protection Senate Law and Justice at 8:00 a.m. pro

HB 2332 Driver Privacy Protection House Civil Rights and Judiciary at 10:30 a.m. pro

SB 5852 Immigrant Worker Protections Senate Labor and Commerce at 10:30 a.m. pro

SB 6045 Collective Bargaining Farmworkers Senate Labor and Commerce at 10:30 a.m. pro

SB 6173 Creating an apple health employer assessment. Senate Ways and Means at 4:00 p.m. pro

HB 2103 (companion 6004) Authorizing certain public entities to contract for the capability of renewable or nonemitting electric generation projects. House Local Government at 10:30 a.m. con

Thursday, Jan. 22

HB 2100 Payroll Expense Tax (Well WA Fund) House Finance at 1:30 p.m. pro

The link to the specific bill sign-in page is embedded in the bill numbers.  Just click and the link should open in your browser.  If it does not work follow the directions below the list of Bills:

Here is the link for signing in on the above priority bills as an individual without testifying. Leave the organization space blank.https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi If the link doesn’t work, copy and paste in your browser.  

How to State Your Position on a Bill Without Testifying

1. Select the committee and meeting date and time, then select the bill for which you would like to register.

2. Select “I would like my position noted for the legislative record.” Registration will close 1 hour before the start time of the hearing.

3. Ensure your registration information is accurate. Your registered position will be made available to legislative members and staff of the committee, and will be included in the legislative record for bill and meeting archival purposes, but will not be used as part of testimony summary materials on the bill report.

Visit PSARA’s website filled with tons of information on PSARA happenings including our 2024 state legislative agenda and Lobby Day information. https://www.psara.org/ 

Check out TVW.org to watch both live and archived hearings. I highly recommend the legislative review that you can watch daily for highlights from hearings and floor action. https://tvw.org/shows/legislative-review/

Faith in ActionNetwork

Housing Advocate & FAN Eastern WA Regional Organizer Brianna Dilts testifies for HB 1859 in the House Finance Committee. You can also watch the Senate testimony which included city leaders, pastors, and developers starting at 37:20. Look for our bill tracker on our website in the coming days to stay up to date on all our bills!

Take Action!
Next week includes several important hearings advancing economic justice, climate and environmental justice, carceral reform, civil liberties, and housing justice—all core priorities of Faith Action Network. Please be sure to sign in at least one hour before each hearing.

If there are bills in our Legislative Agenda that mean a lot to you, whether or not they have a hearing yet, please consider writing a comment about its importance to you or your faith community to your legislators. You can do this by going to leg.wa.gov, searching for the relevant bill under "find a bill or initiative," and then click on "Send a comment to your legislators." We can help shape the process of attracting attention to bills!

HB 2100 (Scott)– Washington Well Fund
Creates a new dedicated funding stream for the Washington Well Fund, supporting health care access and basic needs through progressive revenue. This bill advances FAN’s commitment to a moral budget that protects vulnerable communities during a projected budget shortfall.
January 22 @ 1:30 PM in the House Committee on Finance.
Sign in PRO here

HB 2266 (Peterson) - Encouraging permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, indoor emergency housing, and indoor emergency shelters. Sign in Pro Here

HB 2515 (Doglio) / SB 6171 (Shewmake) – Data Center Climate & Environmental Justice Protections
Responds to the rapid expansion of large data centers by establishing standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, manage energy and water use, and prevent disproportionate environmental harms to overburdened and frontline communities—ensuring technology growth aligns with Washington’s climate and environmental justice goals.
January 22 @ 8:00 AM in the House Committee on Environment & Energy. Sign in PRO here January 23 @ 10:30 AM in the Senate Environment & Technology Committee. Sign in PRO here
Our environmental partners are also asking us to pack the hearing room on the 22nd! Please let Elizabeth (dickinson@fanwa.org) know if you might be able to present in person in Olympia or online.

HB 2102 (Reed) Legal Financial Obligations (LFO) Reform
Reduces the burden of court-imposed fines and fees that disproportionately harm low-income communities and communities of color, increasing access to relief from legal debt and supporting more equitable justice outcomes.
January 20 @ 10:30 AM in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee. Sign in PRO here

HB 2332 (Salahuddin)/SB 6002 (Trudeau) Regulating the Use of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR)
Protects civil liberties by regulating how public agencies collect, use, and share ALPR data—helping prevent surveillance abuses that disproportionately impact immigrant communities and communities of color.
January 20 @ 10:30 AM in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee. Sign in PRO here
January 20 @ 8:00 AM in the Senate Law & Justice Committee.
Sign in PRO here

HB 2489 Preventing the Criminalization of Homelessness
Prohibits local jurisdictions from criminalizing life-sustaining activities such as sleeping or resting in public when adequate shelter is not available, and redirects resources away from punishment and toward services and housing solutions. This bill reflects FAN’s belief that housing is a human right and that poverty should never be treated as a crime.
January 20, 2026 @ 4:00 PM in the House Committee on Housing.
Sign in PRO here

Week 1 Recap

Week 1 Short Session, Serious Choices

Governor Bob Ferguson opened the 60-day session with a State of the State grounded in affordability, accountability, and fairness while being candid about the fiscal reality facing Washington. This short session is focused on supplemental budgets, which adjust last year’s biennial budget to reflect updated revenue forecasts, caseload changes, and urgent needs.

The challenge is significant with a $2.3 billion dollar shortfall. The governor has proposed using approximately $1 billion from the Rainy Day Fund, alongside nearly $800 million in agency-level cuts and $569 million from Climate Commitment Act, to help close the gap. As always, FAN will advocate for a moral budget and address Washington’s upside-down tax system to maintain essential public services like healthcare, food security, and housing.

This week, FAN showed up repeatedly to speak to the values at stake behind the bills:

• SB 5885 / HB 1859 — Faith lands for affordable housing: These bills expand the ability of religious organizations to develop affordable housing on underutilized land. They connect faith-rooted stewardship with real solutions to the housing crisis. Deep appreciation to Brianna Dilts (Spokane), FAN organizer, whose testimony on HB 1859 powerfully reflected the multifaith statewide grassroots leadership driving this effort from Spokane to Tacoma. HB 1859/SB 5885 enables an increased density bonus and sales tax exemption for any housing development located on property owned or controlled by a religious organization where 50%+ of units serve low-income households.

• SB 5855 & HB 2173 “No masks” concerning facial coverings for law enforcement. FAN testified in both Senate and House hearings on legislation requiring law enforcement officers to be identifiable while performing public duties. These bills are about transparency, public trust, and preventing abuse of authority especially for immigrant communities and communities of color, where anonymity paired with enforcement power creates fear and confusion.

• HB 2281 Tribal Traditional Cultural Places & Practices Protection strengthens Washington’s government-to-government relationship with tribes by expanding and formalizing protections for tribal traditional cultural places and practices.

• HB 2105 Immigrant Worker Protection Act requires employers to notify workers when federal officials request employment eligibility information and prohibits employers from voluntarily granting immigration agents access to non-public areas of a workplace without a warrant. This bill helps ensure dignity, stability, and due process for immigrant workers - protecting communities from fear and disruption while upholding the rule of law.

SB 5794 Law Enforcement Leaders Standards

FAN also testified on SB 5974, legislation that modernizes standards for sheriffs and senior law enforcement leadership. The bill is grounded in a straightforward principle: those who lead must be held to the same — or higher — standards as those they command. While deputies are required to follow strict professional, ethical, and constitutional rules, accountability for top leadership has historically been inconsistent. SB 5974 closes that gap and also clarifies expectations around the use of volunteers and reserve personnel, ensuring that anyone operating under a sheriff’s authority is subject to clear standards, oversight, and lawful conduct. Importantly, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Lovick, brings more than 40 years of experience as a former sheriff and Washington State Patrol officer — reinforcing that this legislation is about professionalism and public trust, not politics.

This week offered a stark illustration of why SB 5974 alongside HB 2173 are necessary now, not later.

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank delivered testimony before the Legislature that many experienced as outrageous and deeply unsettling. He questioned the authority of lawmakers, suggested mass confrontation, and crossed the line from policy disagreement into intimidation. On the very same day, he amplified inflammatory social media rhetoric tied to violence in Minneapolis, hoping the same thing happens in Seattle or Tacoma and asserting that if the no-masks bill passes, he would encourage officers to wear masks anyway.

The seriousness of this conduct was underscored when the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) publicly rebuked Swank and announced it was considering expelling him from the organization — an extraordinary step that speaks volumes about how far outside professional norms his behavior has fallen.

Taken together, these words and actions were not merely inappropriate, they were a real-time demonstration of what happens when leadership operates without guardrails. When a law enforcement leader behaves in ways their own deputies would likely be disciplined for, public trust erodes and democratic institutions are put at risk. This is precisely why SB 5974’s leadership accountability provisions and HB 2173’s No Masks transparency requirements must pass this year. These bills affirm a fundamental democratic truth: power is never absolute — it carries responsibility, demands accountability, and requires transparency.

Take Action-Rein in ICE, Reject Increased Funding

This week FAN joined over 500 Civil and Human Rights Organizations across the country to send this letter to urge Congress to "Rein in ICE, Reject Increased Funding".

U.S. Senator Patty Murray is a ranking member on the Senate Committee of Appropriations and Subcommittee on Homeland Security. As Congress faces a January 30th deadline for government passing annual appropriations bills, join FAN and our coalition partners in calling Senator Murray (202) 224-2621 to amplify this message. We are urging Senator Murray to:

1) Refuse increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol

2) Demand that any appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security restrains and requires accountability from immigration enforcement agencies.

. Films + Discussion every 4th Friday of the month, open to the public, admission by donation (no one refused entry).  We meet from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

Meaningful Movies Tacoma was started in order to gather, educate, inspire, connect and commit our community to the environment, peace, justice, and to build an educated, informed citizenry. We show a documentary film monthly— on the fourth Friday – followed by a facilitated discussion.  We oftentimes involve local groups within our community as part of our discussion to further build community.

SCREENING LOCATION: Center for Spiritual Living 206 North J Street, Tacoma, WA, 98403 CONTACT EMAIL:mdtilstra@aol.com

How to Fight Political Corruption

American government has entered a new and dangerous era of corruption, and this will be a central public issue going forward. A new Brennan Center paper lays out nine solutions to combat corruption. They include amending the Constitution to restore campaign finance limits, banning congressional stock trading, giving teeth to federal ethics rules, and barring big donations from government contractors. It’s the first in a series of policy agendas on issues including voting and representation, executive power, and the federal courts. These changes are essential to rebuilding public trust and strengthening democracy.

Labeling Renee Good a “Domestic Terrorist” Distorts the Law

After an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in her car in Minneapolis, Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused her of “domestic terrorism” in the face of clear video evidence to the contrary. It’s the latest example of the administration’s misuse of the term to justify its actions and silence dissent. Months earlier, President Trump tried to redefine domestic terrorism to include anti-ICE protesters — something he has no legal authority to do. Now, Good’s killing has sent a clear message to Americans: Oppose Trump’s policies at your peril. It’s hard to imagine a greater affront to the First Amendment.

Voting Restrictions Picked Up Steam in 2025

States enacted 31 laws restricting access to the ballot in 2025, one shy of the record set in 2021. They include new limits on mail voting, stricter voter ID rules, and expanded use of faulty data programs that risk removing eligible voters from the rolls. The latest edition of the State Voting Laws Roundup, coproduced by the Brennan Center and UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, examines trends behind last year’s voting legislation and highlights state voting bills to watch in 2026.

Trump Administration Goes After Voter Data

The Justice Department has sued more than 20 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to turn over their voter files, which include private information such as partial Social Security numbers. This unprecedented data grab amounts to a federal bid to usurp states’ constitutional power to run elections, and two courts have already blocked the DOJ’s demands. It’s one piece of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to undermine future elections.

SCOTUS vs. Fair Maps

The Supreme Court appears poised to deal another blow to fair representation this term. In the redistricting case Louisiana v. Callais, the justices are weighing whether to strike down a Voting Rights Act provision that protects against discriminatory maps. Doing so would extend a yearslong pattern of the Court altering fundamental election rules, often at the expense of voters of color.

BRENNAN CENTER ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether the president can dismiss heads of independent agencies, like the Federal Reserve, despite a law that only allows removal for cause. The decision could have wide-ranging consequences for presidential power and the economy. Learn more on Instagram >>