The 2022 Legislative session has ended. WA State runs on a biennium system, which means that every two years, any bills filed that did not pass die, and the next session will start with all new bills.
ICWA actively follows many bills that may impact medical freedom, informed consent, and parental rights in various ways. We have created the following Bill Summary Page that gives you our brief comment and position on the bills we watched through the 2022 session. Below are some links to help you explore those bills, legislators voting records, and more. While the bills may be dead, reading about them, and who supported them, helps you understand the political environment and the stance of legislators so you can make informed votes at the polls and know what sort of information you want to bring to those who win seats.
QUICK LINKS:
ICWA’s BILL SUMMARY PAGE AT BILL TRACK 50 Summaries and links for bills on ICWA’s Watch List.
ICWA’s LEGISLATORS SCORECARD Keeps track of which state legislators are working for (and against) health freedom and parental rights. It includes a Legislation tab, which lists our bills of focus (both pending and enacted). We provide several ratings (+5 to -5) to reward or penalize legislators’ action. The first rating, “Votes,” generally reflects how a legislator voted in the most recent vote in the chamber. The next column, “Vote Rating,” indicates the weight given to each vote. The third column, “Sponsor Rating,” assigns a score to each sponsor of the bill. Notice the different tabs included in the scorecard showing various presentations of the scores, including district maps. You can also click on legislator names in the Summary tab to see the individual scorecard for that legislator. “Vote Index” (0%-100%) refers to how often a legislator voted in our best interests; “Total Score” indicates his or her actual impact.
COMMENT ON BILLS AND GIVE TESTIMONY REMOTELY Learn how to give remote testimony on bills.
BILL PAGE AT THE WA STATE LEGISLATURE WEBSITE (send messages to YOUR legislators about a bill)
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REMOTE BILL TESTIMONY INSTRUCTIONS (once scheduled for a public hearing, get your position and comments to the committee hearing it and recorded on the bill’s official record)
SENATE REMOTE BILL TESTIMONY INSTRUCTIONS (once scheduled for a public hearing, get your position and comments to the committee hearing it and recorded on the bill’s official record)
TVW provides live and recorded coverage of committee hearings and floor sessions and more.
LEGISLATOR ROSTERS for phone, photo, email, mailing; and LEGISLATOR EMAIL LISTS.
