Governor Inflie signs a package of bills on disaster response, housing, child welfare and workforce

Tens of bills were signed at a ceremonial event at the State Capitol as Governor Inflie advanced measures addressing wildfire response, child and family supports, housing and workforce pathways.

"It establishes a grant program in the military department to help cities, counties, and federally recognized tribes with the cost of helping their communities respond to extreme weather events and severe poor air quality caused by wildfires," Governor Inflie said when introducing the disaster-response measure, House Bill 1012, which he tied to the state's Climate Commitment Act. He added, "wildfires are getting worse because of the climate change," framing the appropriation and programs as part of a broader climate-response effort.

The bills signed covered a range of issues. Major provisions highlighted by the governor included a requirement in House Bill 1652 that the Department of Social and Health Services pass through 100% of current child support to families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; House Bill 1929, which provides up to 90 days of peer-supported placements for young people leaving inpatient behavioral health care to reduce the risk of homelessness; and House Bill 1998, which requires cities and counties planning under the Growth Management Act to allow co-living housing in urban growth areas on lots that allow at least six multifamily units.

Other measures included bills to streamline social work licensure (House Bill 1939), expand state work study access for students (House Bill 2025), simplify production of multiplex housing (House Bill 2071), add death benefits for transportation network company drivers (House Bill 2382), and ease reconciling medical bills for recently deceased state retirees (House Bill 2481). Senate bills signed addressed public-safety and administrative topics, such as requiring fitness centers to have AEDs (Senate Bill 5592), allowing homeowners in floodways to elevate homes under certain conditions (Senate Bill 5649), and commissioning a study of electric vehicle fires (Senate Bill 5812).

An appropriation flagged during the event, Senate Bill 6100, directs $20,000,000 from the Budget Stabilization Account to cover fire suppression costs incurred after the governor's statewide emergency declaration for last summer's wildfires; Inflie noted the severity of the prior season, saying "the catastrophic fires in Washington last summer burned a 165,000 acres."

Sponsors and community members joined the event for photo opportunities and brief remarks. The governor repeatedly thanked individual sponsors by name for bills on the agenda and noted that several measures are intended to help families, veterans and students statewide.

At the close of the session the governor and attendees posed for photographs and distributed commemorative pens and pins. The bills take effect according to their statutory schedules or as specified in each measure.