Olympia Dispatch – Bills That Didn’t Make Cutoff – Week of March 13, 2023

by | Mar 16, 2023 | Dispatch From Olympia



Last Wednesday was the House of Origin cutoff. Despite our best efforts, we are disappointed to report a lot of bills we supported did not make it.

  • SB 5383 – Concerning pedestrians crossing and moving along roadways
  • HB 1513 – Improving traffic safety
  • HB 1582 – Prohibiting drivers from making a right turn within proximity of certain facilities
  • SB 5002 – Concerning alcohol concentration
While we are frustrated at the outcome, we are proud of how far our priorities made it this year, and are hopeful for next session. TCC’s executive director, Alex Hudson offers the following comments on our jaywalking repeal campaign:

It’s a disappointment to see TCC’s own priorities to increase safety in transportation—including our jaywalking repeal—not make it past House of Origin cutoff. It’s another frustrating reminder of the barriers to change built into the system.

The Free to Walk Washington campaign is a triumphant effort by our legislative team and everyone at TCC. In less than a year, we’ve built a powerful statewide coalition and honed our skills in power- and movement-building, created first-of-its-kind irrefutable data and analysis, shined the light of truth on how insidious and arbitrary these laws are, used our microphone to amplify powerful stories directly to the people who can do something about it, and earned non-stop media attention. We’re on the vanguard of a national reform movement and it is inspiring to see. I’m grateful to everyone who shared their story, amplified an action alert, or supported our work this year.

Petty totalitarianism is not the future. Liberation is.

We’re closer to that now than we were before, and I know that next year we will keep building off this momentum and take it across the finish line. Keep fighting. Keep the faith.

— Alex Hudson
Nevertheless, the legislative session continues, and there are still bills we support and actions to take to make sure they become law. 

What’s coming up

Bills that survived will make their way though the opposite Chamber and will be scheduled for public hearings in the next week or two. Policy committees will need to vote on bills by March 29th, whereas Fiscal committees will have until April 4th on budget-related items.

HB 1110 – Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing

This bill passed the House 75 – 21. It is scheduled for a public hearing on March 17th, at 10:30 a.m. in the Senate committee on Housing. You can watch the hearing here.

HB 1181 – Improving the state’s response to climate change by updating the state’s planning framework

The bill passed the House 57 – 41 and is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs committee on March 14th at 8:00 a.m. You can watch it here. It is also scheduled for Executive Session on March 16th at 10:30 a.m., which you can watch here. 

SB 5466 – Promoting transit-oriented development (TOD)

This bill passed out of the Senate 40 – 8 and is scheduled for a public hearing in the House committee on Housing on March 16th at 8:00 a.m. You can watch it here.
Zip/Postal Code: