Washington lawmakers are passing bills to protect voter data and vaccine access, and counter the ICE crackdown. They have a week left to finalize a budget that backfills funding for food assistance and healthcare after federal cuts.
State Government Reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan spoke with KNKX All Things Considered host Emil Moffatt about what's still in store.
Transcript
Sarah Mizes-Tan: Today [Thursday, March 5] is "Beef Day" at the Capitol, so let's celebrate by getting into some meaty issues.
Emil Moffatt: Let's do. Let's talk about two items that are pretty intertwined: the budget deficit and the proposed income tax on millionaires. Where do things stand as the session enters the final week?
Mizes-Tan: So things are very much still up in the air on both of these items. After each House passed their version of the budget, they are both now in discussions to reconcile their takes and send a single budget plan to the governor by the end of session next week.
But there's a budget deficit that they've had to make cuts to help shrink so we will see how the final cuts end up happening to balance the budget in future years. Democrats writing the budgets are relying on revenue from the proposed income tax on millionaires, but we're actually hearing that proposal could get punted to next session.
Moffatt: So part of this search for new revenue is because the state is having to replace funding for programs that have seen federal cuts, right?
Mizes-Tan: Yeah, so Democrats have said in this budget cycle they've had to account for cuts made by the federal government via H.R.1, which they estimate could cost the state about $155 million a year. These are things like food assistance and health care coverage for people who are no longer eligible, which includes some low-income people and also non-citizens who are in the country legally. So essentially, if the federal government had cut them off from health care and food assistance, Washington state is going to step up and fill the gap there.
Moffatt: What other legislative action are we seeing in response to Trump administration policies?
Mizes-Tan: Yeah, we're seeing bills that are mostly around the state's response to ICE enforcement, vaccine recommendations and election protections.
Moffatt: Yeah, you mentioned ICE enforcement. I'm thinking of the ban on agents wearing masks.
Mizes-Tan: Yeah, absolutely. So earlier this week, the House gave their final vote on a face mask ban for law enforcement officers in response to ICE enforcement. We did see a similar bill come up in California. It's been held up in courts. So I think there is a lot of speculation around how this bill will be enforced and if it will also get held up in the courts.
Another bill advancing is one that would create a leave policy for victims of hate crimes or immigration enforcement. And we're still waiting on some final debates on a couple bills related to protections for immigrants in the workplace and in public spaces, and a bill that would regulate automatic license plate readers and how they share their data with police.
Moffatt: As we all know, it is an important midterm year. What's the latest on legislation around Washington elections?
Mizes-Tan: We did see a few voter protection bills advance this week, one that would require clearance from the Attorney General's office if counties are looking to redistrict, and another that would better define the Washington Voting Rights Act and create a formal complaint process if people feel like their voting rights have been infringed on.
And there's another bill protecting the voter registration database that also passed out of the House and Senate. We saw lawmakers also approve a bill to strengthen the state's recommendations on vaccines and people's access to them. All these bills have now been heard in both Houses, and they're likely to head to the governor's desk to sign by next Thursday.
Moffatt: Lots of moving parts in Olympia. KNKX State Government Reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan, thanks.
Mizes-Tan: Thanks so much.
