Amazing 5290 Stakeholders –

I am incredibly disappointed to share that the Senate did not concur with the House’s amendments in an incredibly close vote – 25-24 today. It was a hard vote to watch and a hard day – a handful of Senators prioritized concerns of one organization representing some judges over the voices of young people, dozens of community organizations, state agencies, and everything we know from brain science, social work, and public policy about how to keep young people safe.

First, THANK YOU for your incredible advocacy work over the last months and particularly over the last weeks – this moved Sen Conway to a yes and convinced leadership to bring the bill up for a vote, in addition to getting the bill out of multiple committees and off the House floor. This is closer than this issue has ever come!

Second, we are not done yet. There are still 2 days left in session and we are exploring ALL our options for next steps and will keep you posted. I don’t want to mislead you – the chance is slim but as long as it’s there we are not giving up.

In the meantime, it is really important that Senators hear from you. 24 Senators did the right thing and need to be thanked for their support. Leadership and key House members also moved mountains to bring this bill up for a vote. Please send heartfelt thanks (in bold are those who spoke in favor on the floor) to:

• Andy Billig, Reuven Carlyle, Annette Cleveland, Steve Conway, Jeannie Darneille, Mona Das, Manka Dhingra, David Frockt, Bob Hasegawa, Sam Hunt, Karen Keiser, Patty Kuderer, Marko Liias, Liz Lovelett, John McCoy, Joe Nguyen, Guy Palumbo, Jamie Pedersen, Emily Randall, Christine Rolfes, Rebecca Saldaña, Jesse Salomon, Lisa Wellman, Claire Wilson.

Please send particular thanks to Senator Darneille as the prime sponsor and Senator Billig as Majority Leader and Sen Liias as floor leader as well as Representative Frame & Representative Senn for their incredible work behind the scenes.

If your Senator did not vote yes, they need to hear from you too – not with vitriol or hate but simply to know that you saw their vote and are disappointed in it (in bold are those who spoke against it on the floor):

• Steve Hobbs, Mark Mullet, Tim Sheldon, Dean Takko, Kevin Van De Wege, Barbara Bailey, Randi Becker, John Braun, Sharon Brown, Doug Ericksen, Phil Fortunato, Brad Hawkins, Jeff Holy, Jim Honeyford, Curtis King, Steve O'Ban, Mike Padden, Ann Rivers, Mark Schoesler, Shelly Short, Keith Wagoner, Maureen Walsh, Judy Warnick, Lynda Wilson, Hans Zeiger

This isn’t over -- whether we find a way to move forward in the next two days or regroup for next session (the original House bill will start in Rules next session so we have a head start), we will continue this work.

Again, I can’t thank you enough for your engagement and advocacy and I hope you will remain committed to this issue in the days, weeks, months to come. I will share more when I have it.

Best wishes,

Liz

LIZ TRAUTMAN, MPA | Director of Public Policy & Advocacy  

Pronouns: She/her/hers

206.407.2189 direct | 206.406.6010 mobile

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