The larger proposed change is House Bill 1727, which would get rid of most elections in odd-numbered years.

SB 5126 passed out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee last night, bringing one of the legislature’s most ambitious pieces of climate legislation ever considered one step closer to enactment. The bill creates a system referred to as “cap and invest” where funds generated from auctioning the rights or licenses to create carbon emissions will be invested into capital infrastructure. In the case of the current bill, this would equal between $272m and $551m per year dedicated to transportation infrastructure starting in FY 2023.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Agricultural workers in Washington state would become eligible for overtime pay under a bill moving through the Legislature in Olympia.

Pandemic relief, climate change, taxes and more — here’s what we’re watching halfway into the session.

A bill to make it easier for Washington ranchers to get their meat directly to consumers unanimously passed the state Senate this week. The bill would create a state-run meat and poultry inspection program with requirements equal to those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Monday, Feb. 22, was the second legislative deadline, when all bills must have been voted out of their respective fiscal committees to remain “alive.” Since then, the Legislature has mostly ceased committee action and is focused on floor action for the time being, which entails the entire chamber (either the House of Representatives or the Senate) considering and voting on bills. Once a bill passes out of its original chamber, it moves to the other chamber, and the entire committee process repeats.