Week 2 in Olympia: hearing updates and revenue discussions underway

Week two of the 2026 short legislative session was marked by intense activity as lawmakers work within a highly compressed short session timeline this year. In a short session, bills have only 24 days to be introduced, heard in committee, potentially amended, and voted on before they can be advanced to the Rules Committee and then to the floor for a vote by the whole chamber.

This week also brought notable retirement announcements for 2026 including Sen. Steve Conway (D-29) and Rep. Sharon Wylie (D-49) as well as news that Rep. Sharlett Mena (D-29) will run for Conway’s seat and Sen. Nikki Torres (R-15) will abandon her bid in the 15th, and run in the 8th, as Sen. Matt Boehnke (R-8) announced his intention to run for Congress.

Reminder, WSNA Lobby Day is this coming Thursday, January 29 in Olympia. Registration has already closed and this is a members only event. Stay tuned for updates from this year’s Lobby Day event next week!

HB 2155 was heard on Tuesday, January 20th in the House Health Care Committee with 395 individuals signed in to support the bill and just five signed in opposed. Emily Kay, BSN, RN, and LHPC Chair testified before the committee stating, “We nurses have seen both the promise and the risks that come with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence in health care. Our patients and their families increasingly consult AI-driven tools—often without a full understanding of their context, limitations, or clinical applicability. These technologies are advancing faster than our ability to fully evaluate their impact on patient safety and care quality.” You can view the public hearing here (HB 2155 starts at 1:44:33).

Next steps: HB 2155 is scheduled for a committee vote on January 30. Meanwhile, SB 5904, the senate companion bill, was voted out of Senate Health & Long Term Care with a unanimous vote. The bill now moves to the Rules Committee, and then potentially to the Senate floor.

HB 2360 was heard in the House Education committee on January 19. 113 people signed in to support the bill and two opposed. Two SNOW members, Wendy Jones, MSN, RN and Lynette Ondeck, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN, testified in support of the bill, speaking to the prevalence of students who experience breathing difficulty while at school, the likelihood of a child’s first asthma attack happening at school, and the low risk of side effects of albuterol. Some unexpected debate occurred regarding the ability of a nurse to administer albuterol to students, and both Jones and Ondeck both responded about why school nurses are well-positioned to assess patients and administer aid in urgent health situations. The full hearing on HB 2360 can be seen here (starts are 32:48). The bill now awaits a vote out of committee.

The Senate companion, SB 5951, was heard in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K12 Education on January 21. Lynette Ondeck provided testimony once again. You can watch the full bill hearing here (starts at 1:39:19).

Next steps: SB 5951 is slated for a vote out of the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K12 Education on January 29.

Revenue proposals are beginning to come forward, while more are likely to be introduced in the coming weeks as we grow closer to the budget portion of the session. Below are just a couple of those proposals. As a reminder, Governor Bob Ferguson’s 2026 Supplemental Operating Budget proposal set the stage for legislative debate about how to address the looming $2.3 billion, 2-year state operating budget shortfall. That proposal, which balances the budget in part through $797 million in spending cuts, includes many cuts to programs that will have both direct and indirect impacts to nurses and patient access to care.

This past Monday, Senator Jamie Pedersen (D‑43) circulated a draft proposal of the much‑anticipated “millionaire tax” to interest groups. While still in draft form, the proposal offers an early look at a significant new revenue concept under consideration. The tax would take effect in 2029 and impose a 9.9% tax on Washington taxable income above a $1 million standard deduction per taxpayer. Married couples or state‑registered domestic partners would share a single $1 million cap. The release of the draft reflects broader legislative discussions about how to address long‑term budget pressures at both the state and local levels.

On Thursday of this week, the House Finance Committee heard HB 2100 (Scott, D‑43), also known as the Well Washington Fund Act. The bill proposes a new excise tax on large employers to support state public services. Specifically, it would impose a 5% tax on payroll (paid by employers) above approximately $125,000 per employee for companies with more than 20 employees, more than $5 million in gross receipts, and a U.S. address. Employers with total wages under $7 million would be exempt. Initially, revenue from the tax would be deposited into the state general fund. Beginning in mid‑2027, however, 51% of the revenue would be directed to a newly created Well Washington Fund. The fund would support investments in higher education, health care, cash assistance programs, energy initiatives, and housing. The remaining revenue would continue to support the general fund.

WSNA Government Affairs will be closely monitoring the revenue proposals brought forward this session and assessing potential impact to nurses and patient access to care. Stay tuned for more updates on this as session continues.

SB 6117 was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce committee on January 19 and HB 2471 was heard the House Labor & Workplace Standards committee on January 21. Two WSNA members, Samantha Golden, RN, and Kristin Malmo, BSN, RN, testified on the bills. Each shared their experience of unfair labor practices with their employer and explained how this bill could help ensure workers have an avenue to enforcing their rights should inaction at the NLRB continue and be triggered by a specific mechanism which the bill calls out. You can watch the hearing on SB 6117 here (starts at 1:05:51) and HB 2471 here (starts at 1:01:15).

Next steps: HB 2471 is scheduled for a vote out of the House Labor & Workplace Standards committee on January 30.

The legislature considers hundreds of bills outside our own legislative priorities. Here is a list of bills we’re watching as they move through the legislative process that may impact members. We will continue adding bills to this list as we move through the legislative session. You may click on any of the links below to learn more about each bill and where it is at in the legislative process.

• NEW! SB 6134 - Concerning notice to striking workers applying for unemployment insurance benefits of potential overpayment assessment upon receipt of retroactive wages. 
• NEW! SB 6115 – Concerning comprehensive cancer education programs.
• NEW! HB 1812 - Concerning patient-centered equitable access to anesthesia services and reimbursement.
• NEW! HB 2250 - Concerning residency requirements for charity care.
• NEW! HB 2577 - Concerning hospital inspections.
• NEW! SB 5947 - Establishing the Washington health care board.
• NEW! SJR 8206 - Amending the Constitution to establish a right to affordable health care.
• NEW! SB 5823 - Concerning patient advocates.
• NEW! SB 6292 - Establishing a joint legislative executive committee on health care financing.
• NEW! HB 2382 - Concerning excise taxes on cigarettes, vapor products, and tobacco products.
• HB 2289 /SB 5998 - Making 2025-2027 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.
• HB 2264 - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for workers separated from employment because of employer-initiated layoffs or workforce reductions.
• HB 2110 - Concerning personnel for ambulance service interfacility specialty care transports.
• HB 2113 - Concerning the supervision of diagnostic radiologic technologists, therapeutic radiologic technologists, and magnetic resonance imaging technologists.
• HB 2122 - Requiring hospitals to offer immunizations for influenza in certain cases.
• HB 2152 - Permitting the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients in specified health care facilities.
• HB 2144 - Requiring notices to employees when electronic monitoring is used to assist employers conducting performance evaluations.
• HB 2303 - Prohibiting employers from microchipping employees.
• HB 2345 - Concerning contributions in the state paid family and medical leave program.
• HB 2157 - Regulating high-risk artificial intelligence system development, deployment, and use.
• HB 2225 - Concerning regulation of artificial intelligence companion chatbots.
• SB 5956 - Addressing artificial intelligence, student discipline, and surveillance in public schools.
• HB 2106 - Requiring carriers to provide substantive notice to health care providers and health care facilities about significant contract modifications.
• HB 2329 - Concerning midwife supervision of medical assistants and lactation consultants.
• HB 2339 - Concerning the regulation of nursing.
• HB 2148 - Creating the pay it forward program.
• SB 5967 / HB 2242 - Preserving access to preventive services by clarifying state authority and definitions.
• SB 5826 - Concerning access at public postsecondary educational institutions to medication abortion.
• SB 5904 / HB 2155 - Concerning the use of nursing titles.
• SB 6025 - Updating the definition of fetal death.
• SB 5981 / HB 2145 - Protecting patient access to discounted medications and health care services through Washington's health care safety net by preventing manufacturer limitations on the 340B drug pricing program.
• SB 5990 - Expanding the qualifications of those who may serve as a local health officer in rural counties.
• HB 1496 - Strengthening patients' rights regarding their health care information.
• HB 2182 - Improving access to abortion medications.
• HB 2196 - Expanding access to PANDA PANS treatment.
• HB 2105 - Concerning immigrant worker protections.
• SB 6117 - Concerning collective bargaining for employees not covered by the national labor relations act.
• HB 2360 / SB 5951 – Expanding access to albuterol in public and private schools.
• SB 5923 - Concerning critical access hospital designations in Skagit county.
• SB 5845 - Modernizing and clarifying timely payment requirements for health carriers.
• SB 6071 - Standardizing overpayment recovery requirements.
• SB 5852 - Concerning immigrant worker protections.
• HB 2372 / SB 6067 - Concerning workers' compensation benefits.
• HB 2439 - Enhancing public health by modifying cigarette, vapor product, and tobacco product policy.
• SB 5984 - Concerning regulation of artificial intelligence companion chatbots.
• HB 1828 - Authorizing certain health professions to act as physician substitutes for plasma source donation centers.
• SB 6031 - Enhancing public safety and enforcement of crimes that impact insurance.
• HB 2548 - Strengthening health care market standards.
• SB 5652 - Reducing environmental and health disparities and improving the health of Washington state residents in large port districts.
• SB 5917 - Improving access to abortion medications.
• HB 2471 - Concerning collective bargaining for employees not covered by the national labor relations act.
• HB 2261 - Ensuring transparency in credentials and communications between patients and health care professionals.
• SB 6107/HB 2425 - Concerning nursing delegation.
• HB 2098 - Adjusting higher education funding.
• SB 5985 - Concerning endometriosis.
• SB 5993 - Prohibiting interest charges for new and unpaid medical debt.
• HB 2100 - Enacting an excise tax on large operating companies on the amount of payroll expenses above the minimum wage threshold of the additional medicare tax to fund services to benefit Washingtonians and establishing the Well Washington fund account.
• HB 2198 - Improving regulatory efficiency by integrating executive order 25-03, concerning permitting and licensing processes, into chapter 43.42A RCW.

Interested in learning more about the legislative process? See below for resources.

• How does a bill become a law? Find out here.
• How do I read a bill? Click here to learn.
• To view the Washington State Labor Council’s 2026 Legislative Priorities: click here.

• January 29, 2026 – WSNA Lobby Day in Olympia
• February 4-5 – WSLC legislative reception & conference in Olympia
• February 4 – Policy Committee Cutoff (House of Origin)
• February 9 – Fiscal Committee Cutoff (House of Origin)
• February 17 – Floor Cutoff
• February 25 – Policy Committee Cutoff (Opposite House)
• March 2 – Fiscal Committee Cutoff (Opposite House)
• March 6 – Floor Cutoff
• March 12 – Sine Die (last day of session)
• May 4 – First day to file a declaration of candidacy (to run for elected office)
• May 8 – Last day to file a declaration of candidacy
• May 16 – WSLC COPE convention
• August 4 – Primary election in Washington State
• September 15 – National Voter Registration Day
• November 3 – General election in Washington State