Comm'n, M. East & N. Africa

AN ACT Relating to establishing the Washington state commission 1
on Middle Eastern and North African Americans; amending RCW 1.16.050; 2
and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes that 5
Washington's strength lies in the diversity of its histories, 6
cultures, and communities. Among these are the Middle Eastern and 7
North African populations who have, over generations, made profound 8
contributions to the state's economic growth, cultural vibrancy, and 9
civic life. The legislature recognizes that Middle Eastern and North 10
African Americans share ancestral, cultural, and historical ties to 11
the regions commonly referred to as the Middle East and North Africa. 12
While these communities are richly diverse in languages, religions, 13
and traditions, they also share common experiences shaped by how 14
others have perceived and categorized them over time. These 15
perceptions have influenced how Middle Eastern and North African 16
Americans are treated and represented in public, social, and 17
institutional settings in the state.18
(2) The legislature finds that, despite their contributions, 19
Middle Eastern and North African Americans navigate systems that 20
neither fully serve nor see them; a reality further compounded by 21
H-0563.2
HOUSE BILL 1412
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Farivar, Salahuddin, Simmons, Davis, Berry,
Parshley, Peterson, Reed, Gregerson, Thai, Goodman, Doglio, Fey,
Berg, Obras, Fosse, Pollet, Ryu, Street, Macri, and Scott
Read first time 01/20/25. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 1412
their historic erasure in public data and decision-making processes 1
across the state. As highlighted in a recent study from the 2
University of Washington Tacoma, Middle Eastern and North African 3
communities continue to face persistent barriers to equity and 4
opportunity, including limited access to culturally and 5
linguistically appropriate health care, economic inequities driving 6
housing instability, underemployment due to unrecognized credentials, 7
and educational systems that fail to reflect their lived experiences 8
or meet their needs. These challenges reflect a need for intentional 9
representation and solutions that are led by the voices and lived 10
experiences of Middle Eastern and North African communities. By 11
addressing these disparities, the state can honor the vital cultural, 12
economic, and civic contributions of Middle Eastern and North African 13
Americans and build a future where all Washingtonians can thrive.14
(3) The legislature acknowledges that the cultural richness of 15
Middle Eastern and North African Americans is rooted in histories 16
that span centuries, shaped by interactions that have included both 17
cooperation and conflict over time. The legislature further 18
acknowledges that two significant influences on Middle Eastern and 19
North African communities have been the role of religion and the 20
influence of international policies. While these factors are 21
important, they represent only a part of the depth and diversity of 22
Middle Eastern and North African lived experiences. As such, the 23
commission may discuss these influences but shall not focus solely on 24
them. 25
(4) Therefore, the legislature intends to establish the 26
commission to amplify the voices of Middle Eastern and North African 27
communities, advocate for equitable opportunities, and cultivate 28
stronger connections between Middle Eastern and North African 29
Americans in Washington and decision-making bodies. A key focus of 30
the commission will be to improve the collection of data on Middle 31
Eastern and North African Americans to better inform state policy and 32
programs to meet their needs. Through this work, the commission will 33
contribute to a Washington that uplifts and values its diversity 34
while working toward shared prosperity for all its communities.35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 36
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 37
otherwise.38
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(1) "Commission" means the Washington state commission on Middle 1
Eastern and North African Americans. 2
(2) "Middle Eastern and North African Americans" may include 3
persons of Afghan, Algerian, Arab, Armenian, Amazigh, Assyrian, 4
Azerbaijani, Bahraini, Bengali, Berber, Chaldean, Coptic, Egyptian, 5
Emirati, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Jordanian, Kurdish, 6
Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Libyan, Moroccan, Omani, Pakistani, Palestinian, 7
Persian, Qatari, Saudi, Syriac, Syrian, Sudanese, Somali, Tunisian, 8
Turkish, Yazdi, Yemeni, and other Middle Eastern and North African 9
ancestry. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. There is established the Washington state 11
commission on Middle Eastern and North African Americans in the 12
office of the governor.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The commission shall consist of 12 14
members appointed by the governor. After the appointment of initial 15
members, the governor, in making subsequent appointments, must give 16
due consideration to recommendations submitted by the commission. The 17
governor must consider nominations for membership based upon 18
maintaining a balanced distribution of Middle Eastern and North 19
African ethnic, geographic, gender, age, and occupational 20
representation, that, where practicable, is proportional to the 21
makeup of these communities in Washington.22
(2) Initial appointments are for staggered terms as follows: Four 23
members have three-year terms, four members have two-year terms, and 24
four members have one-year terms. All subsequent appointments are for 25
three years except in case of a vacancy, in which event appointments 26
are only for the remainder of the unexpired term for which the 27
vacancy occurs. Vacancies must be filled in the same manner as the 28
original appointments. 29
(3) Members of the commission must be reimbursed for travel 30
expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.31
(4) Seven members constitutes a quorum for the purpose of 32
conducting business. 33
(5) The governor must appoint an executive director with 34
expertise in Middle Eastern and North African American communities. 35
The executive director must have a demonstrated commitment to 36
addressing, and an understanding of: 37
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(a) The needs and concerns of residents with ancestral heritage 1
in Middle Eastern and North African countries; 2
(b) Issues affecting the Middle Eastern and North African 3
American community; 4
(c) The promotion of education, civic participation, and 5
leadership opportunities among the Middle Eastern and North African 6
American community; and 7
(d) The need for increased public awareness and public education 8
on issues that are important to the Middle Eastern and North African 9
American community. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The commission must:11
(a) Every two years, elect one of its members to serve as chair 12
and other officers necessary to form an executive committee; and13
(b) Meet at the call of the chair or the call of a majority of 14
its members, but in no case less often than once during any three-15
month period. 16
(2) The commission may appoint a citizen task force as it deems 17
appropriate. 18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) The executive director must employ 19
staff who shall be state employees under Title 41 RCW and must 20
prescribe staff duties as necessary to implement this chapter.21
(2) The executive director and staff of the commission must have 22
experience working in and with the communities served by the 23
commission. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The commission's primary duty is to 25
lead the statewide work to establish consistent data collection for 26
the Middle Eastern and North African American community including, 27
but not limited to, community education around the census.28
(2) The commission shall: 29
(a) Examine and define issues pertaining to the rights and needs 30
of Middle Eastern and North African Americans and make 31
recommendations to the governor and state agencies with respect to 32
desirable changes in program and law; 33
(b) Advise state agencies on the development and implementation 34
of comprehensive and coordinated policies, plans, and programs 35
focusing on the special problems and needs of Middle Eastern and 36
North African Americans; 37
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(c) Advise the legislature on issues of concern to the Middle 1
Eastern and North African American community; 2
(d) Coordinate and assist with statewide celebrations during the 3
month of April that recognize the contributions to the state of 4
Middle Eastern and North African Americans in the arts, sciences, 5
commerce, and education; 6
(e) Coordinate and assist educational institutions, public 7
entities, and private organizations with celebrations and increasing 8
awareness of major Middle Eastern and North African cultural 9
holidays; and 10
(f) Meet with state agencies at least once per year to discuss 11
issues of mutual concern related to the Middle Eastern and North 12
African American community. 13
(3) The commission may: 14
(a) Establish relationships with local governments and private 15
industry as needed to promote equal opportunity and benefits to 16
Middle Eastern and North African Americans in government, education, 17
economic development, employment, and services; 18
(b) Solicit and receive gifts, grants, and endowments from public 19
or private sources made in trust or otherwise for the use and benefit 20
of the purposes of the commission and to expend according to the 21
terms of the gifts, grants, or endowments; and 22
(c) Adopt rules, under chapter 34.05 RCW, necessary to carry out 23
this chapter. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) Each state agency must provide 25
appropriate and reasonable assistance to the commission as needed in 26
order to ensure that the commission may carry out the purposes of 27
this chapter.28
(2) Each state agency must consult with the commission on issues 29
directly impacting the Middle Eastern and North African American 30
community in the state. 31
Sec. 9. RCW 1.16.050 and 2024 c 76 s 3 are each amended to read 32
as follows: 33
(1) The following are state legal holidays: 34
(a) Sunday; 35
(b) The first day of January, commonly called New Year's Day;36
(c) The third Monday of January, celebrated as the anniversary of 37
the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.; 38
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(d) The third Monday of February, to be known as Presidents' Day 1
and celebrated as the anniversary of the births of Abraham Lincoln 2
and George Washington; 3
(e) The last Monday of May, commonly known as Memorial Day;4
(f) The nineteenth day of June, recognized as Juneteenth, a day 5
of remembrance for the day the African slaves learned of their 6
freedom; 7
(g) The fourth day of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of 8
Independence; 9
(h) The first Monday in September, to be known as Labor Day;10
(i) The eleventh day of November, to be known as Veterans Day;11
(j) The fourth Thursday in November, to be known as Thanksgiving 12
Day; 13
(k) The Friday immediately following the fourth Thursday in 14
November, to be known as Native American Heritage Day; and15
(l) The twenty-fifth day of December, commonly called Christmas 16
Day. 17
(2) Employees of the state and its political subdivisions, except 18
employees of school districts and except those nonclassified 19
employees of institutions of higher education who hold appointments 20
or are employed under contracts to perform services for periods of 21
less than twelve consecutive months, are entitled to one paid holiday 22
per calendar year in addition to those specified in this section. 23
Each employee of the state or its political subdivisions may select 24
the day on which the employee desires to take the additional holiday 25
provided for in this section after consultation with the employer 26
pursuant to guidelines to be promulgated by rule of the appropriate 27
personnel authority, or in the case of local government by ordinance 28
or resolution of the legislative authority. 29
(3) Employees of the state and its political subdivisions, 30
including employees of school districts and those nonclassified 31
employees of institutions of higher education who hold appointments 32
or are employed under contracts to perform services for periods of 33
less than twelve consecutive months, are entitled to two unpaid 34
holidays per calendar year for a reason of faith or conscience or an 35
organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious 36
denomination, church, or religious organization. This includes 37
employees of public institutions of higher education, including 38
community colleges, technical colleges, and workforce training 39
programs. The employee may select the days on which the employee 40
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desires to take the two unpaid holidays after consultation with the 1
employer pursuant to guidelines to be promulgated by rule of the 2
appropriate personnel authority, or in the case of local government 3
by ordinance or resolution of the legislative authority. If an 4
employee prefers to take the two unpaid holidays on specific days for 5
a reason of faith or conscience, or an organized activity conducted 6
under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious 7
organization, the employer must allow the employee to do so unless 8
the employee's absence would impose an undue hardship on the employer 9
or the employee is necessary to maintain public safety. Undue 10
hardship shall have the meaning established in rule by the office of 11
financial management under RCW 43.41.109. 12
(4) If any of the state legal holidays specified in this section 13
are also federal legal holidays but observed on different dates, only 14
the state legal holidays are recognized as a paid legal holiday for 15
employees of the state and its political subdivisions. However, for 16
port districts and the law enforcement and public transit employees 17
of municipal corporations, either the federal or the state legal 18
holiday is recognized as a paid legal holiday, but in no case may 19
both holidays be recognized as a paid legal holiday for employees.20
(5) Whenever any state legal holiday: 21
(a) Other than Sunday, falls upon a Sunday, the following Monday 22
is the legal holiday; or 23
(b) Falls upon a Saturday, the preceding Friday is the legal 24
holiday. 25
(6) Nothing in this section may be construed to have the effect 26
of adding or deleting the number of paid holidays provided for in an 27
agreement between employees and employers of political subdivisions 28
of the state or as established by ordinance or resolution of the 29
local government legislative authority. 30
(7) The legislature declares that the following ((days)) are 31
recognized as provided in this subsection, but may not be considered 32
legal holidays for any purpose: 33
(a) The thirteenth day of January, recognized as Korean-American 34
day; 35
(b) The twelfth day of October, recognized as Columbus day;36
(c) The ninth day of April, recognized as former prisoner of war 37
recognition day; 38
(d) The twenty-sixth day of January, recognized as Washington 39
army and air national guard day; 40
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(e) The seventh day of August, recognized as purple heart 1
recipient recognition day; 2
(f) The second Sunday in October, recognized as Washington state 3
children's day; 4
(g) The sixteenth day of April, recognized as Mother Joseph day;5
(h) The fourth day of September, recognized as Marcus Whitman 6
day; 7
(i) The seventh day of December, recognized as Pearl Harbor 8
remembrance day; 9
(j) The twenty-seventh day of July, recognized as national Korean 10
war veterans armistice day; 11
(k) The nineteenth day of February, recognized as civil liberties 12
day of remembrance; 13
(l) The thirtieth day of March, recognized as welcome home 14
Vietnam veterans day; 15
(m) The eleventh day of January, recognized as human trafficking 16
awareness day; 17
(n) The thirty-first day of March, recognized as Cesar Chavez 18
day; 19
(o) The tenth day of April, recognized as Dolores Huerta day;20
(p) The fourth Saturday of September, recognized as public lands 21
day; 22
(q) The eighteenth day of December, recognized as blood donor 23
day; 24
(r) The fifteenth day of May, recognized as water safety day;25
(s) The ninth day of March, recognized as Billy Frank Jr. day; 26
((and))27
(t) The date corresponding with the second new moon following the 28
winter solstice, or the third new moon following the winter solstice 29
should an intercalary month intervene, recognized as the lunar new 30
year; and31
(u) The month of April, recognized as Middle Eastern and North 32
African American heritage month. 33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Sections 1 through 8 of this act 34
constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.35
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