It is almost the first cutoff date of this short legislative session, which means that bills must move out of the policy committee in their house of origin if they want to stay alive. This first cutoff is on Wednesday, February 4th. HB 2225, which would regulate the use of AI companion chatbots by minors, has already passed this cutoff and is now waiting to be heard on the floor of the House for a vote of the full chamber. This week in Legislative Branch Explained, we examine the changes made to the bill between the public hearing and the executive session, focusing on the interplay between the governor’s office and the committee members as amendments to the bill language are suggested. Check out all the details on the new substitute bill in this 6 minute video.
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Legislators, while they may have expertise in certain subject matters, do not know all there is to know about every topic, so they want to (and need to) hear and learn from the public. SB 5708, protecting children online, a bill requested by the attorney general, is working its way through the legislative process. Introduced in 2025, it failed to pass through both houses, so it is alive again in this second year of the biennium. Currently, advocates and stakeholders are “working the bill”. Experts have been called in to share their expertise in a work session in the Senate Businesses, Financial Services and Trade Committee. Lobbyists who represent the tech industries have been meeting with legislators on both sides of the aisle. Advocates have been meeting with legislators, testifying in front of committees, and holding rallies to amplify their message. Learn about how people “work the bill” and more about proposed government regulations of social media for minors.
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The first week of the legislative session moves very quickly, especially during a short session. To truly understand the legislative process, it is extremely helpful to follow a bill as it makes its way through both chambers of the legislature. Teach with TVW will follow two different bills for the 2026 session: HB 2225, which proposes to regulate AI Chatbots for minors, and SB 5708, which proposes to regulate personalized feeds for minors. Both of these bills are making their way through the technology committees, one in the House and the other in the Senate. Learn the details of the AI Chatbot bill, what happened at the public hearing, and what is coming up next.
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There are many steps that a bill must go through to reach final passage. In order to reach the governor’s desk, a bill must be voted out of the House and Senate in the exact same language. If the Senate changes a House bill, the House can either vote to concur (agree) to those changes, dispute (send the bill back to its House of Origin), or ask for a conference committee. It is during this step of the legislative process that the House and the Senate collaborate to pass legislation. The majority party will have the most members on the conference committees, and they also have the majority of votes on the Floor. Currently, Democrats have the majority in both chambers, giving them legislative control over which bills make it through the legislative process. Learn more about conferences committees in this 5 minute video which features interviews with Democratic Senator Noel Frame and Republican Senator Drew MacEwen. Essential Questions:
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There are many procedures and protocols that the Legislature follows to ensure that everything happens in a timely fashion. We have told you about cutoff dates for policy committees, fiscal committees, and for voting off of the Senate or House Floor. One of the committees that we have not discussed yet, but has a profound impact on what bills make it to the House or Senate floor, is the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee does not actually make rules, nor does it follow the same procedures and protocols as the other committees. So, what does it do? Why is it important? Why do we have one? In this 7 minute video, we sat down with the Chair of the House Rules Committee, Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, and Chair of the Senate Rules Committee, Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, to learn all about what actually goes on in this mysterious committee. (Is it even mysterious?) Essential Questions:
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The fiscal committees in the Washington State Legislature (House Finance, House Appropriations, and Senate Ways and Means) not only look at the financial components of bills that are assigned to their committees, but the Chairs also compile all that information into three biennial budgets: Operating, Capital, and Transportation. Budget bills travel through the legislative process just like all other bills, and this week the Operating and Transportation budget proposals were released. Public hearings were held on Tuesday the 25th of March so that the public could share their support for, or disapproval of, what was, or was not, included in the budget. In this 6 minute video, we turn to our ever popular Parliamentarian, Mike Hoover, to explain what exactly the three budgets are, including how the Legislature knows how much money they have to spend. To compare this year’s budget proposals, visit the Washington State Fiscal Information website. Stay tuned for next week’s video: Budgets 201, where we will explain, amongst other things, what a budget proviso is (and why they are important!). Essential Questions:
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In order for a bill to move along in the Legislative Process, it must be voted on by the entire House and Senate. This is done “on the floor”, where all members gather to hear and debate bills. These gatherings on the floor are very formal and strict procedural rules are followed. This allows debate to be civil, orderly, and timely in nature. In this 8 minute video, Ms. Paulson speaks to Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, who is also President of the Senate, about the Orders of Business that help govern actions on the floor. Watch this before you watch a Floor Debate, so you, like the Lt. Governor, know what the heck is going on. Essential Questions:
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What power does the governor have in the Legislative Process? In the United States and in Washington State, we pride ourselves on our system of representative democracy and the checks and balances that help keep this system in place. With Sine Die, the bulk of the legislative branch’s work is finished for the year, and now the Executive Branch’s role in the legislative process begins in earnest. Legislation that passed both the House and the Senate is sent to the Governor for approval. The Governor’s signature acts as a check on the legislature; the governor will have 20 days after Sine Die to either sign or veto the proposed legislation. If they choose to do neither, the bills will become law without a signature. Of course the Legislature can override vetos with a 2/3 vote of both the House and Senate, but this check on the Executive Branch can be hard to achieve in a divided Legislative Body. Hear from former Governor Gregoire and former Governor Inslee explain how the governor is involved during the session, how they come to the decisions they do, as well as the bill signing powers they have. Essential Questions:
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In order for a bill to be heard in a committee, it must have a legislator sign on to be its Prime Sponsor. In this 6 minute video, learn the ins and outs of prime sponsorship and the importance of gathering diverse stakeholders in getting a bill passed. We talked to Senator Claire Wilson and lobbyist Adán Espino about how essential consensus building is in the legislative process. Essential Questions:
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In a democracy like ours, civic engagement is imperative. There are numerous ways to make your voice heard by the government: voting, protesting, petitioning, boycotting, or writing to your legislators. But there is another way that many people may not know about or may find too intimidating: testifying at a public hearing for a pending piece of legislation. In this 7 minute video, Ms. Paulson talks to lobbyist Melissa Gombosky and Representative Andrew Barkis about the importance of testifying at a public hearing, as well as tips for what to do with your time at the microphone. Essential Questions:
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