The most recent cutoff of session was Monday, Feb. 26, when most bills needed to pass from fiscal committees in the opposite chamber to continue advancing. The next deadline is Friday, March 1, when bills must pass the opposite chamber’s full body, meaning we now move to floor action. We are pleased to report that positive bills, including the bill continuing hospital-at-home services, have begun passing the Legislature, meaning they are in the final stages of the process to become law.
Bills still alive after cutoff
Bills WSHA supports
| 2SHB 1929 |
Supporting young adults following inpatient behavioral health treatment. |
| 2SHB 1941 |
Home health services for Medicaid-eligible children with medically complex conditions. |
| SHB 2015 |
Incentivizing adult family homes to increase bed capacity. |
| SHB 2295 (Passed the legislature) |
Hospital at-home services. |
| SHB 2347 |
Adult family home information. |
| HB 2476/SB 6309 |
Assessment to increase Medicaid professional payment. |
| SSB 5802 |
Providing flexibility in calculation of skilled nursing facility rates. |
| SB 5184 |
Licensure of anesthesiologist assistants. |
| 2SSB 5825 |
Guardianship and conservatorship. |
| E22SSB 5853 |
Extending the crisis relief center model to provide behavioral health crisis services for minors. |
| SSB 5920 |
Lifting certificate of need requirements for psychiatric hospitals and beds. |
| E2SSB 5937 |
Supporting crime victims and witnesses by promoting victim-centered, trauma-informed responses. |
| SSB 5940 |
Creating a medical assistant-EMT certification. |
| SB 5982 (Passed the legislature) |
Updating the definition of “vaccine” in RCW 70.290.010 to include all federal food and drug administration-approved immunizations recommended by the centers for disease control and prevention. |
| SSB 5986 |
Protecting patients out of network ground ambulance balance billing. |
Bills on which WSHA is neutral
| 2ESHB 1508 (per floor amendment) |
Health care cost transparency board. |
|
EHB 2041
|
Concerning physician assistant collaborative practice.
|
| SHB 2061 |
Defining an employee of a health care facility for purposes of mandatory overtime provisions. |
| SHB 2102 |
Establishing requirements for the disclosure of health care information for qualifying persons to receive paid family and medical leave benefits. |
| ESSB 5481 |
Uniform law commission’s uniform telehealth act. |
| ESSB 5788 |
Accessibility for service animals in training. |
| SSB 5935 (Passed the legislature) |
Noncompetition covenants. |
| E2SSB 6092 |
Disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions. |
| ESSB 6110 |
Modernizing the child fatality statute. |
| ESSB 6127 (Passed the Legislature) |
Increasing access to human immunodeficiency virus postexposure prophylaxis drugs or therapies. |
Bills with which WSHA has concerns
| E2SSB 5838 |
Establishing an artificial intelligence task force. |
Bills WSHA opposes
| ESHB 1893 |
Unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers. |
| ESB 5241 |
Material changes to the operations and governance structure of participants in the health care marketplace. |
| SB 5821 |
Establishing a uniform standard for creating an established relationship for the purposes of coverage of audio-only telemedicine services. |
| 2SSB 6228 |
Concerning treatment of substance use disorders. |
Notable bills that are no longer moving forward
Bills WSHA supported
| HB 2184/SB 6167 |
Authorizing payment for parental caregivers of minor children with developmental disabilities. |
| SB 6210 |
Unlawful detainer actions and expanding superior court capacity. |
| SB 6257 |
Defining Washington state residency requirements for purposes of hospital charity care. |
Bills on which WSHA was neutral
| E2SHB 2128 |
Modernizing certificate of need. |
| 2SHB 2166 |
Portable orders for life-sustaining treatment. |
Bills WSHA opposed, had concerns with or amended
| HB 1859 |
Rights of residents in long-term care facilities. |
| HB 1951 |
Promoting ethical artificial intelligence by protecting against algorithmic discrimination |
| HB 2066 |
Provider contracting. |
| HB 2119 |
Prohibiting garnishment related to medical debt. |
| HB 2122 |
Wellness programs for certain health care professionals. |
| HB 2149 |
Protecting consumer personal information. |
| 2SHB 2319 |
Substance use disorder treatment. |
| HB 2378 |
Facility fees. |
| HB 2466 |
Ambulance wait times. |
| SB 5059 |
Prejudgment interest. |
| SSB 5924 |
Access to personnel records. |
| ESSB 5995 |
Creating a professional license for spoken language interpreters and translators. |
| SSB 6134 |
Preventing overdose and illicit use of opioids in Washington state. |
Save the date for WSHA’s Legislative Summary Webcast March 26
Please save the date to join us for our 2024 Legislative Summary Webcast from 12-1 p.m. Tuesday, March 26! The Government Affairs Team will provide you with important information from this legislative session, including action you will need to take to comply with newly adopted state law. Please contact Tim Pfarr at timp@wsha.org with questions about the webcast.
