Washington State Legislative Process 101
New to the Washington state legislative process? We break it down for you below.
Legislative Session Basics
Washington has 49 legislative districts, each with two representatives and one senator. Terms are two years and four years, respectively.
Each legislative cycle is two years long. The regular session begins on the second Monday in January. In odd-numbered years, such as 2017, the session is 105 days. In even-numbered years, such as 2018, it is 60 days. Extraordinary (or special) sessions can be called by the Governor to address specific issues, usually the budget. Each special session is limited to 30 days. Bills introduced in an odd-numbered year carry over to the even-numbered year and can be reintroduced at their last place in the process.
All bills must pass out of their committee of origin and the Rules Committee to make it to the floor. Bills then repeat this process in the opposite house (From the Senate to the House of Representatives or vice versa). Bills can be stopped at any of these locations. See which bills passed out of committee on a given day.
Once a bill reaches the floor of a house, a second reading is when the bill is discussed and amended. The third reading is when the bill is voted on. If amendments make the bills of the two houses out of sync there is a resolution process.
The Governor can sign a bill, veto a bill, or veto a bill in part. The legislature can override the veto. Once the bill is signed or a veto overridden, it becomes a law.
Key 2017 “Cutoff” Dates
View the full calendar for the current session.
- Feb. 17: Last day for bills (except fiscal committee bills) to pass out of committee in the house of origin. Anything not passed out is dead until next regular session.
- Feb. 24: Last day for fiscal bills to pass out of committee.
- Mar. 8, 5 p.m.: Last day to pass bills out of the house of origin.
- Mar. 29: Last day to pass bills out from the opposite house (except fiscal).
- Apr. 4: Last day to pass bills out from the opposite house for fiscal committees.
- Apr. 12: Last day to pass non-fiscal, opposite house bills.
- Apr. 23: Last day of the regular session and last day to pass fiscal bills.
