Welcome to our weekly Dispatch from Olympia and the first day of the 2024 WA State Legislative Session! We’ll post an update early each week and provide highlights about what’s happening in the Washington Legislature, including upcoming events, the status of bills we’re tracking, and ways to take action. To get these updates in your inbox, please sign up here!
Our weekly Dispatch is a great way to stay informed about the latest developments on legislation impacting WA state transportation, our climate, and our communities.
If you haven’t already, check out Transportation Choices’ 2024 Legislative Agenda. This year, one of our top priorities will be defending the Climate Commitment Act, the primary funding source for the 2022 Move Ahead Washington transportation package. The transformative investments we won for multimodal transportation and Youth Ride Free are at risk, and we need the legislature to stand firm for climate justice and our shared future. We’ll also be continuing our effort to end harmful jaywalking enforcement by passing Free to Walk, introduced in 2023 as SB 5383, as well as educating lawmakers on transit safety, the workforce shortage, and future revenue options for transportation funding.
Session begins today, January 8th, and ends March 7th.
This year’s session is hybrid so you can testify, sign in on bills, or engage with legislators virtually and in person. When bills in committee have a public hearing, you can sign in as “pro,” “con,” or “other,” submit written comments, or sign up to testify. We’ll make sure to let you know when these opportunities arise – and you can start right now!
TAKE ACTION
HB 2160, a bill promoting community and transit-oriented housing development, is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Housing Committee tomorrow, January 9th, at 4 PM. Read more about why it matters here. TCC is supporting this bill, and you can show your own support by taking one or more of the following actions by 3 PM tomorrow:
- Sign in as PRO to quickly share your position with legislators.
- Sign up to testify either in person, remotely, or with written testimony.
You can learn more about the legislative session and committee schedules on the Washington State Legislature website. The Senate Transportation Committee will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 PM, and the House Transportation Committee will meet Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4 PM.
Stay tuned for the launch of our Bill Tracker, where you can see the current status of important bills we’re following.
Ride on!
– Transportation Choices
