Legislative Updates Legislative Update: Week 14 April 14, 2023 Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Email What has the Northwest Harvest Advocacy team been up to in Olympia this week? A few quick updates: Wednesday was the last day to consider (pass) opposite house bills and all of our priority bills and some of our key support agenda bills all passed! Governor Inslee signed 1784 (emergency hunger relief bill) into law on Thursday, 4/13! The Senate passed 1238 (school meals bill) with a vote of 44-5. It goes back to the House for a concurrence vote because an amendment on the floor was made for budget stabilization purposes. The Senate passed 1559 (basic needs/postsecondary hunger bill), with a vote of 29-29. It goes back to the House because the Senate Ways and Means Committee amended it, and the amendment scales back a lot of our priorities in the bill including the benefits hubs and navigators. The amendment leaves only two pilot programs for meal vouchers for income-eligible students intact. The Senate passed 1447 (TANF bill), with a vote of 31-17-1, and it goes back to the House for a concurrence vote because of an amendment. The bill has been scaled down since its introduction, but will still eliminate the life-time limit to access TANF for child-only cases, raise the asset limits to $8,000, and allow TANF recipients in their first few months of employment to keep more of their earned wages. The Senate passed 1260 (ABD bill), with a vote of 44-5. This bill will allow recipients of cash assistance from the Aged Blind Disabled program to keep all of their social security benefits instead of having to pay back their ABD benefits to the state. The Senate passed 1477 (WFTC bill), with a vote of 46-3 and it is headed to the Governor’s desk for signing. The Senate passed 1678 (dental therapy bill) with a vote of 30-19 and is headed to the Governor’s desk for singing. Take Action Now! Send a thank you email to the legislature for passing HB 1784. Send an email to your representatives calling on them to prioritize anti-hunger and anti-poverty investments in the budget reconciliation process!
