Washington State Legislature 101

The Legislature meets every year, starting in January.

The annual legislative session begins on the second Monday of every January. Odd-numbered years are "budget years," when the state budget is debated upon. In budget years, the legislative session lasts for 105 days. In even-numbered years, the session lasts for just 60 days.

The Governor may call legislators in for a special, 30-day session at any time of the year, if circumstances warrant it.

Legislators can also call themselves into special session by a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the State Senate.

Washington state is divided into 49 legislative districts.

Each legislative district has a little more than 137,000 residents, and the boundaries of these districts are re-drawn every 10 years immediately following the census.

Washington State has a two-year (or biennial) budget cycle.

The State Legislature goes into session every January, but the duration of the session depends on whether it is a budget year (in which case, the session lasts until mid-April) or a supplemental year (in which case, the session lasts until mid-March). Budget years are always the odd years, so 2015 is a budget year.

Each district has one senator and two representatives.

Thus, all Washington residents have three elected state legislators representing them in Olympia.

Senators’ terms of office are four years, and representatives’ terms are two years.

Senate terms are staggered; every two years, only half of the senate is up for election.

The entire House is up for election every two years.

The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council puts out quarterly updates on state tax revenue and the economy.

There are seven members of this council: the state treasurer, the heads of the Department of Revenue and the Office of Financial Management, the chairs of the House and Senate budget committees and two others.

To find out more about Washington State government and how you can be politically active, contact Nathasja Skorupa, WSNA Political Action Specialist, at 206.575.7979, ext 3005 or nskorupa@wsna.org.