Governor signs package of bills on worker pay, pandemic relief, child marriage ban and health-care protections

The governor held a brief signing event and signed a package of state bills spanning labor protections, pandemic overpayment relief, housing authority consolidation, cannabis purchase limits, and health-care protections.

The governor described one bill as providing “a level playing field for contractors who bid on public contracts and ensure[ing] workers get the wages that are owed to them,” and thanked Representative Ornsbee, companion Senator Conway and the state attorney general for leading that effort. “When people do the work, they ought to get paid,” the governor said during the ceremony.

Another measure signed allows the Employment Security Department to waive interest on certain nonfraudulent unemployment overpayments that occurred between 02/02/2020 and 09/04/2021, delays further interest accrual for specified cases until 01/01/2025, and directs reimbursement of interest claimants have already paid that could have been waived. The governor thanked Representative Orteev Self and Senator Braun and said the state will continue efforts with the federal government to seek further relief for affected claimants.

The governor also signed House Bill 1249, which shifts the purchase limit for cannabis-infused products from a fluid-ounce cap to a THC-capacity limit so consumers can buy lower-concentration products more easily. The governor said the change gives “more options for lower concentration THC products” and thanked Representative Corey and Senator King.

House Bill 1455, ending child marriage by setting the minimum age to 18 for marriage in the state, was signed next. The governor called the change “an important bill for people” and credited Representative Stonier and companion Senator Stanford for leadership, saying current exceptions had “too often enabled the abuse of young people.”

Other bills signed included House Bill 1890 to facilitate voluntary mergers of locally run housing authorities to create operational efficiencies (sponsors: Representative Alvarado and Senator Grama); House Bill 1920 to align Washington’s Public Accountancy Act with the Federal Uniform Accountancy Act and hold licensees responsible for service quality (Representative Robertson and Senator Stanford); House Bill 1954 to protect health-care providers offering reproductive and gender-affirming care from licensing or disciplinary actions when following state standards (Representative Rochelle); House Bill 1972 to ensure funding for the Washington Physicians Health Program (Representative Simmons and Senator Mazzall); House Bill 1978 to allow additional special-purpose districts to join the interstate mutual aid system (Representative Ruehl); and House Bill 2296 to make a small deadline change for certain comprehensive plan reviews (Representative Griffey and Senator Cleveland).

The event was ceremonial and brief: the governor thanked sponsors and staff after each signing, invited attendees to pose for photos, and reminded staff to distribute pens for signatures. No vote tallies or legislative debate occurred at the ceremony itself; the governor noted prior bipartisan support for several measures at earlier stages of the legislative process.

What happens next: each bill will be enacted according to its legislative text and effective dates specified in statute; the signing event did not announce additional implementation details beyond those in the bills themselves. Attendees posed for photographs and the event concluded.