2025 legislative session •

It is day 62 of the 105-day legislative session. With house of origin cutoff behind them, state lawmakers are now considering bills passed by the opposite chamber. Learn more about what is happening in House committees in The Week Ahead.

Budget: Attention will turn to the operating budget when the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council releases the revenue forecast next week. This webpage explains how Democrats led our state into a $10 billion budget shortfall and outlines Republican budget reforms. If you missed it, Washington Senate Republicans released their $ave Washington, no-new-taxes budget at a news conference on Tuesday.

Recap: In this video, Caucus Chair Peter Abbarno recaps week nine of the legislative session — including updates on four bad House bills. Visit our YouTube page for more videos.

Parental rights: House Bill 1296, which would gut the parental rights initiative passed last year, advanced out of the House just after 2:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. Every House Republican voted against the legislation following a six-hour debate. Nearly 84,000 people have watched the debate on our social media platforms. Learn more about the bill and share your thoughts on this issue at this webpage.

Rent control: House Bill 1217, which would impose rent control and other regulations on housing providers in our state, passed the House on Monday. Five House Democrats joined all House Republicans in voting against the measure. Our representatives on the House Housing Committee led the debate.

Government control: House Bill 1531 would grant state and local officials the power to impose health measures without consideration for individual choice, informed consent, or personal medical circumstances. The bill cleared the House on a party-line vote on March 8 despite our arguments against it.

Emergency powers: Governor Bob Ferguson, who promised to work with Republicans to pass emergency powers reform, acknowledged political reality on Tuesday: “Despite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle engaging in good faith negotiation, it’s clear that the Legislature will not adopt bipartisan legislation to place reasonable limits on the Governor’s emergency powers.” Read his full statement here.

House Republicans again introduced emergency powers reform this year. House Bill 1221, sponsored by Rep. Mike Volz, did not receive a public hearing.

The Fix Washington Podcast: Season 2, Episode 7 | Floor Leader April Connors | Watch | Listen

Media avail: House Republican Leader Drew Stokesbary and Deputy Leader Chris Corry joined Senate Republican Leader John Braun and Floor Leader Shelly Short to take questions from reporters at an in-person media avail on Thursday. Watch the event here.

-Washington House Republicans