Gov. Bob Ferguson signs 11 bills in Olympia addressing elections, childcare, hospitals and WATEC workers

Gov. Bob Ferguson signed 11 bills into law at a bill-signing ceremony at the State Capitol in Olympia, praising bipartisan work and agency partners who drafted the measures.

Ferguson opened the ceremony by signing Senate Bill 6084, which he said “makes it clear that double voting, whether in one state or multiple states, is illegal,” aimed at closing an ambiguity that surfaced after a 2022 case in Lewis County. He also signed House Bill 2248, a Secretary of State–requested bill to clarify the legal framework for corporate filings, nonprofit compliance and public-record services to improve customer access to those services.

The event covered a mix of transportation, education, health and workforce matters. House Bill 1980 authorizes a pilot allowing private-employer shuttles to use transit-only lanes in King County; Ferguson noted large employers have used shuttle services to reduce employee car trips. House Bill 2219 gives childcare centers more flexibility to use mixed-age group time while maintaining safety requirements and removes duplicative pre-service orientation rules, the governor said.

Ferguson signed House Bill 2238 to create a coordinated food-security strategy involving state agencies, tribes, researchers, farmers and hunger-relief organizations, saying the measure will help prepare the state for disruptions such as the federal SNAP interruptions last year. On health care, Senate Bill 5923 aims to help hospitals prepare for payment needs if they obtain critical-access designation; Ferguson cited Highland Hospital as serving about 45,000 patients and as an example of a provider at risk without additional support.

Labor and privacy measures included Senate Bill 6019, which defines labor and administrative rates for home-care agencies to clarify pay and rate requirements for direct-care workers, and Senate Bill 6106, requested by the Employment Security Department, which adds privacy protections for personal data collected about workers affected by mass layoffs or closures and clarifies tribal treatment under the statute.

The governor also signed Senate Bill 6151, at Ecology’s request, to better track fee revenue from two environmental programs and reinvest laboratory and landfill fees back into those programs; fees paid by landfills will support efforts to reduce methane emissions. Senate Bill 6268 extends public access to special-education complaint records from six years to 20 years, enhancing access for parents, districts and advocates. Finally, House Bill 2249 adds cybersecurity specialists at WATEC to state civil-service law so about 20 affected employees have the same protections and organizing opportunities as comparable state workers.

Throughout the ceremony Ferguson repeatedly thanked agency staff and legislators, naming prime sponsors for many bills, and took photographs with sponsors and staff after each signing. The bills were signed into law at the ceremony; the transcript did not specify effective dates or implementation timelines.