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Votes at a glance: House advances bills on salmon law repeal, cannabis co-ops, inmate commissary, labor trigger and paid‑leave fix
Summary
The House advanced and passed a slate of bills on third reading: HB2554 (repealing language in RCW 77.11) passed 64‑28; HB1941 (allowing cannabis cooperatives with a 30% cap) passed 66‑27; substitute HB2539 (raising inmate indigency threshold) passed 57‑36; HB2471 (collective bargaining trigger) passed 58‑35; and HB2345 (paid family/medical leave accounting) passed 94‑0.
The Washington State House moved several bills on final passage during a single floor session.
House Bill 25-54 (HB 2554) advanced to third reading with the rules suspended and passed after floor debate that included framing the measure as part of salmon‑protection and tribal history discussions. The clerk recorded 64 yays, 28 nays and 6 excused for final passage.
House Bill 19-41 (HB 1941), which would extend cooperative rights to licensed cannabis producers, cleared several committee‑sourced amendments on the floor. Representative Schmitt moved an amendment limiting any single entity’s control of production within a cooperative to 30 percent; the amendment was adopted as a safeguard against concentration. Representative Morgan described the measure as addressing long‑standing inequities for licensed cannabis producers and urged support. HB 19-41 passed on final roll call, 66 yays, 27 nays, 5 excused.
Substitute House Bill 25-39 (HB 2539), addressing inmate commissary protections and legal financial obligations, was advanced as recommended by the Community Safety Committee. Representative Street said the bill raises the indigency commissary floor from $25 to $100 so incarcerated people retain more money for essentials; the House passed the substitute bill, 57 yays, 36 nays, 5 excused.
Substitute House Bill 24-71 (HB 2471) creates a state‑level collective bargaining mechanism for private‑sector employees in the event the National Labor Relations Board becomes nonfunctional. Supporters, including Representative Scott, positioned the measure as a state backstop for workers; opponents said the step was premature. The bill passed, 58 yays, 35 nays, 5 excused.
House Bill 23-45 (HB 2345) was described by its sponsor as a technical accounting change to avoid a $30 million IRS liability in the paid family and medical leave program by reallocating employer/employee contributions between accounts; it passed unanimously on the floor voice/roll call recorded as 94 yays, 0 nays, 4 excused.
Taken together, these actions reflect the House moving multiple policy areas — fisheries/statutory cleanup, cannabis market rules, corrections policy, labor protections, and fund accounting fixes — toward final enrollment and transmittal.
