Status report on pro-worker legislation

Halfway through the 2026 Legislative Session, here are the labor priority bills dead and alive in Olympia

OLYMPIA, WA (February 11, 2026) — The Washington State Legislative Session is progressing at pace; Monday was the deadline for bills with a budget impact to pass fiscal committees and both State Representatives and Senators are now spending long hours on the floor voting on legislation before the House of Origin cutoff on February 17 at 5:00 p.m. (More information about key session dates can be found on the legislature webpage.)

Some of labor’s priority legislation does not look like it will advance this year, like bills to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores (Rep. Fosse, D-Everett and Sen. Saldaña, D-Seattle), put guardrails on commercial autonomous vehicles (Rep. Kloba, D-Kirkland and Sen. Lovick, D-Mill Creek), and require greater transparency in aerospace tax incentives (Rep. Street, D-Seattle). While legislation can be deemed “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB) and revived later in session, typically if a bill hasn’t progressed past policy and fiscal committees by cutoff deadlines that legislation will not advance this year.

However, dozens of pro-worker bills remain viable in both the House and the Senate, including multiple bills to expand collective bargaining rights and protect working people on the job. Below is an update — effective today at 8:00 a.m. — on the status of priority legislation listed in the 2026 Legislative Agenda of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Note: bills listed in green are still moving in the Legislature. Bills marked in red are not.

Expand Collective Bargaining

SB 6045 — Placing agricultural employees under the jurisdiction of the public employment relations commission for the purpose of collective bargaining. SB 6045 passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee and is now awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.

HB 1570 — Concerning collective bargaining for certain employees who are enrolled in academic programs at public institutions of higher education. HB 1570 passed out of the House Appropriations Committee and is now awaiting a vote on the House floor. 

HB 2249 — Amending the state civil service statutes to include Washington technology solutions network and security systems employees. HB 2249 passed the House 85-10 and will now move to the Senate. 

HB 1622 — Allowing bargaining over matters related to the use of artificial intelligence. HB 1622 passed out of the House Appropriations Committee and is now awaiting a vote on the House floor. 

HB 1069 — Allowing collective bargaining over contributions for certain supplemental retirement benefits. HB 1069 passed the House 72-19; referred to Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce. 

SB 5944 — Concerning language access providers’ collective bargaining. SB 5944 passed out of the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce and is now awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.

HB 2471/SB 6117 — Concerning collective bargaining for employees not covered by the national labor relations act. Both HB 2471 & SB 6117 both passed relevant committees and now await votes on the House and Senate floors, respectively. 

Worker Rights

SB 5882 — Concerning industrial insurance coverage for post-traumatic stress disorders affecting local correctional facility workers. SB 5882 was heard in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means but was not moved out of committee by cutoff. 

HB 2091 — Requiring public employers under chapter 41.80 RCW to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives. HB 2091 passed the House 93-1 and will now advance to the Senate. 

HB 1182/SB 5379 — Granting interest arbitration to certain parks and recreation commission employees. SB 5379 was heard in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means but did not advance by cutoff. HB 1182 did not receive a hearing this session. 

HB 1723/SB 5572 — Promoting the efficient administration of school construction assistance program projects. Neither HB 1723 nor SB 5572 were heard this session. 

Workplace Protections

HB 2105 — Concerning immigrant worker protections. HB 2105 passed the House Committee on Appropriations and awaits a vote on the House floor. 

HB 2492 — Requiring state registered apprenticeships in the building and construction trades to provide behavioral health and wellness training. HB 2492 passed off the House floor by a vote of 79-16 and will now move to the Senate. 

HB 2345 — Concerning contributions in the state paid family and medical leave program. HB 2345 passed out of the House Committee on Appropriations and is now awaiting a vote on the House floor.

SB 5292 — Concerning paid family and medical leave rates. SB 5292 passed out of the Senate Committee on Ways & Means and now awaits a vote on the Senate floor. 

HB 2355/SB 6053 — Establishing labor protections for domestic workers. Both HB 2355 and SB 6053 advanced out of fiscal committees and now await votes on the House and Senate floor, respectively. 

SB 5847 — Concerning access to medical care in workers’ compensation. SB 5847 passed out of the Senate Committee on Ways & Means and now awaits a vote on the Senate floor.

HB 1155/SB 5437 — Prohibiting non-competition agreements and clarifying nonsolicitation agreements. HB 1155 passed the House 65-29 and will now move to the Senate. SB 5437 passed out of the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce and awaits a vote on the Senate floor. 

SB 6197 — Enforcing plumbing contractor requirements. SB 6197 passed the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce and now awaits a vote on the Senate floor. 

HB 2160/SB 5883 — Concerning eligibility for membership in the school employees’ benefits board programs during the second school year of employment. Both HB 2160 and SB 5883 received hearings in their respective committees but did not advance by the cutoff deadline. 

HB 2391 — Concerning disclosure of lists of individuals under the public records act. HB 2391 did not receive a hearing this session.

Defending Fair Pay and Good Jobs

HB 1292/SB 5113 — Concerning cost-of-living adjustments for plan 1 retirees of the teachers’ retirement system and public employees’ retirement system. Neither HB 1292 nor SB 5113 received a hearing this session.

SB 5061 — Requiring certain wages in public works contracts to be at least the prevailing wage in effect when the work is performed. SB 5061 awaits a hearing on the Senate floor.

HB 2730 — Clarifying the metric for judging the effectiveness of aerospace tax preferences. HB 2730 was referred to the House Finance Committee but did not receive a hearing this session.

HB 2416 — Concerning fair treatment of waste to energy facilities under the climate commitment act. HB 2416 was heard in the House Committee on Appropriations and now awaits a vote on the House floor.

HB 1857 — Concerning asbestos-containing building materials. HB 1857 was referred to the House Environment & Energy Committee but was not heard this session. 

Center Workers in AI Policy

HB 2481/SB 6312 — Prohibiting surveillance-based price discrimination and surge pricing for retail goods. Both HB 2481 and companion SB 6312 received hearings in their relevant committees but failed to advance before cutoff. 

HB 2144 — Requiring notices to employees when electronic monitoring is used to assist employers conducting performance evaluations. HB 2144 was heard in the House Committee on Appropriations but failed to advance before cutoff. 

SB 5995 — Concerning moneys available to a port district allocated for the purchase of zero and near zero emission cargo handling equipment. SB 5995 passed out of the Senate Committee on Local Government and awaits a vote on the Senate floor.

Support Union Clean Energy Jobs

HB 2509 — Improving the efficiency of the review of applications by the energy facility site evaluation council. HB 2509 was not heard in the House Environment & Energy this session. 

SB 5466 — Improving reliability and capacity of the electric transmission system in Washington state. SB 5466 passed out of the Senate Committee on Ways & Means and now awaits a vote on the Senate floor.

Defend Workers from Exploitation

HB 2156 — Concerning the authority of investigators of the attorney general’s office. HB 2156 passed out of the House Committee on Community Safety and awaits a vote on the House floor. 

HB 2479 — Concerning the recovery of unpaid wages. HB 2479 passed out of the House Committee on Appropriations and awaits a vote on the House floor.

Develop a Budget That Supports Working Families

HB 2724/SB 6346 — Establishing a tax on millionaires. SB 6346 passed out of the Senate Committee on Ways & Means and awaits a vote on the Senate floor.

Health & Safety

HB 1810 — Concerning seismic hazard risk reduction. HB 1810 did not receive a hearing this session.

HB 2472 — Ensuring that work on fire protection sprinkler systems is performed by licensed contractors and certified fitters. HB 2472 passed the House 92-3 and will now move to the Senate. 

HB 1070/SB 5043 — Concerning industrial insurance coverage for posttraumatic stress disorders affecting correctional facility workers. SB 5043 was heard in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means but did not advance by cutoff. HB 1070 did not receive a hearing this session.

SB 5972 — Expanding the definition of uniformed personnel regarding correctional officers for purposes of interest arbitration. SB 5972 passed the Senate 34-15 and has been referred to the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards. 

Care Work

HB 2155/SB 5904 — Concerning the use of nursing titles. SB 5904 passed the Senate 49-0 and has been referred to the House Health Care & Wellness Committee. HB 2155 passed out of the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness and awaits a vote on the House floor.

SB 5500 — Defining the cost of quality child care for the biennial survey. SB 5500 passed the Senate 30-19 and has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee. 

HB 1128 — Establishing a child care workforce standards board. HB 1128 passed the House Committee on Appropriations and awaits a House floor vote. 

Health Care

HB 1496 — Strengthening patients’ rights regarding their health care information. HB 1496 passed the House Appropriations Committee and now awaits a vote on the House floor.

SJM 8002 — Concerning Medicare. SJM 8002 passed the Senate 49-0 and has been referred to the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness.

HB 2360/SB 5951 — Expanding access to albuterol in public and private schools. Both HB 2360 and SB 5951 passed out of committee and await votes on the House and Senate floors, respectively.

HB 2372/SB 6067 — Concerning workers’ compensation benefits. Both HB 2372 and SB 6067 were referred to fiscal committees but failed to advance out of committee before cutoff. 

Licensing & Certification

SB 6302 — Concerning misclassification in the finishing trades on public works projects. SB 6032 advanced out of the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce and awaits a vote on the Senate floor. 

HB 2422 — Concerning private security guards. HB 2422 was heard in the House Committee on Appropriations but did not advance out of committee before cutoff. 

Labor Voice

SB 6253 — Concerning public transportation benefit area governing bodies. SB 6253 passed out of the Senate Committee on Transportation and awaits a vote on the Senate floor.

HB 1036 — Adding labor trustees to college boards. HB 1036 was referred to the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee but did not receive a hearing this session.