Week two of the nine-week 2026 Washington legislative session is in the books. Thanks to all who took action to help bills move forward this week!
This coming week, the Pasado's team will head down to Olympia for our annual PSH Day on the Hill. We'll share all the highlights with you in next week's report.
Week 2 Highlights and New Action Alerts for Week 3:
- HB 1904 - banning cat declawing:
- Week 2 recap: This bill was passed out of the Health Care & Wellness Committee and is now in the Rules Committee waiting to be pulled for a House floor vote. Stay tuned for future Action Alerts!
- HB 2247/SB 6072 - expanding vet telehealth access:
- Week 2 recap:
- HB 2247 was passed out of the Health Care & Wellness Committee and is now in the Rules Committee waiting to be pulled for a House floor vote. Stay tuned for future Action Alerts on this one also!
- SB 6072, the Senate's companion telehealth bill, had its public hearing and is waiting to be scheduled for a committee vote.
- SB 5833 - allowing pets in unattended running motor vehicles under certain circumstances:
- Week 2 recap: This is a bill that PSH has been monitoring (vs. actively supporting or opposing). We had significant concerns with one section of the bill, which would have changed the current "pets in hot cars" statute in a way we felt could be detrimental for animals and would put officials responding to these calls at risk of being held liable for damages (they are immune from such liability under current law).When the bill was scheduled for a public hearing on Monday, we alerted the Washington Federation of Animal Care & Control Agencies and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and provided them with our analysis of the bill. Both associations agreed with our analysis and testified in person about the problematic section. We assisted WaFed with preparing their testimony.The prime sponsor was receptive to the feedback during the hearing and introduced an amended bill that resolved all animal welfare and officer liability concerns. The amended bill passed out of committee on Thursday. Both associations were very appreciative of our issue spotting and support. We will continue to keep this bill in "monitoring" status.
- HB 2542 - requiring the use of alternatives to animal testing methods in drug development
- Week 3 activity: Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Consumer Protection & Business Committee on Friday.
- HB 2516 - banning the use of certain anti-coagulant rodenticides
- Week 3 activity: Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Friday. This bill would protect pets and wildlife.
- HB 2258 - providing cities and counties with a new option for funding animal control and sheltering:
- Week 2 recap: Today's public hearing on this bill was cancelled due to technical concerns were raised by the Department of Revenue. It is likely this bill will be tabled until the 2027 session for further analysis and revisions.Thank you to everyone who signed in Pro for this bill and a huge thanks to Ezra for his social media posts that made a proposed new tax very popular!
- HB 1078 - restricting pet insurance cancellations and nonrenewals.
- Week 3 activity: This bill has been re-scheduled for consideration by the House Consumer Protection & Business Committee on Friday, 1/27.
The best way to keep up to date during the week is with our 2026 Bill Tracker, which is updated several times a day and contains links directly to our active Action Alerts. You can also check our Action Alerts webpage to see which bills currently need support - it is update throughout the week.
If you are interested in taking action on wildlife bills, please visit Washington Wildlife First's campaign page and consider signing up for their action alerts.
Thanks for your support and please let me know if you have any questions!
