S-1227.1
SENATE BILL 5744
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Senators Hasegawa, Chapman, Nobles, Stanford, and Trudeau
Read first time 02/13/25. Referred to Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections.
AN ACT Relating to requiring the joint legislative audit and review committee to conduct a legislative comparison study; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The world is changing faster than the laws of the state of Washington can keep up with. Due to the volume of bills each legislative session, there is little time for robust analysis and consideration of bills by members of the legislature. This results in reactionary changes that create temporary and often ill-considered patches in law. Finite legislative time during session is consumed with short-term solutions to address current emergent issues, leaving little time to provide long-term planning for the future of Washington state.
Citizen legislatures are intended to be composed of everyday people who create laws that govern everyday people. Everyday working people, however, cannot afford to take time away from their employment to be legislators. Often, employers will not hire or retain employees who are not able to reliably show up every day and perform their job duties year round. Consequently, candidates for the legislature must have an employer who is willing to give sufficient time off to perform their legislative duties. Furthermore, candidates for the legislature must have sufficient personal resources to perform their legislative duties, which leaves low income and historically disenfranchised citizens without a voice in their governance. Legislators and their families are asked to make great sacrifices for the benefit of the people. Consequently, the possibility of running for the legislature and serving as a legislator is not a reality for most working people and the legislature becomes overweighed by members who do have personal resources or jobs with an employer who is willing to give enough time off to perform legislative duties because they know the benefits of having an employee with their perspective making laws.