Legislative comparison study

AN ACT Relating to requiring the joint legislative audit and 1
review committee to conduct a legislative comparison study; creating 2
new sections; and providing an expiration date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The world is changing faster than the laws 5
of the state of Washington can keep up with. Due to the volume of 6
bills each legislative session, there is little time for robust 7
analysis and consideration of bills by members of the legislature. 8
This results in reactionary changes that create temporary and often 9
ill-considered patches in law. Finite legislative time during session 10
is consumed with short-term solutions to address current emergent 11
issues, leaving little time to provide long-term planning for the 12
future of Washington state.13
Citizen legislatures are intended to be composed of everyday 14
people who create laws that govern everyday people. Everyday working 15
people, however, cannot afford to take time away from their 16
employment to be legislators. Often, employers will not hire or 17
retain employees who are not able to reliably show up every day and 18
perform their job duties year round. Consequently, candidates for the 19
legislature must have an employer who is willing to give sufficient 20
time off to perform their legislative duties. Furthermore, candidates 21
S-1227.1
SENATE BILL 5744
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Hasegawa, Chapman, Nobles, Stanford, and Trudeau
Read first time 02/13/25. Referred to Committee on State Government,
Tribal Affairs & Elections.
p. 1 SB 5744
for the legislature must have sufficient personal resources to 1
perform their legislative duties, which leaves low income and 2
historically disenfranchised citizens without a voice in their 3
governance. Legislators and their families are asked to make great 4
sacrifices for the benefit of the people. Consequently, the 5
possibility of running for the legislature and serving as a 6
legislator is not a reality for most working people and the 7
legislature becomes overweighed by members who do have personal 8
resources or jobs with an employer who is willing to give enough time 9
off to perform legislative duties because they know the benefits of 10
having an employee with their perspective making laws.11
We all have a vision for the possibilities of the future of the 12
state of Washington, but time constraints imposed by the 13
constitutionally mandated 105 days for a budget writing session and 14
60 days for an off-year session considerably diminish the 15
legislature's ability to find thoughtful solutions to today's issues 16
let alone work toward a vision for the future of Washington state.17
Therefore, the legislature intends for the joint legislative 18
audit and review committee to study transforming Washington state's 19
current part-time legislature into a full-time legislature.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The joint legislative audit and review 21
committee shall review the Washington state legislature's structure, 22
demographics, and operations and provide comparison to other state 23
legislatures, with a focus on representation, barriers to 24
participation, and the impact of legislative schedules on effective 25
oversight and responsiveness to constituents.26
(2) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall 27
conduct a comparative review of Washington's legislature in relation 28
to other states, which must address: 29
(a) Classification of legislatures as full time, part time, or 30
hybrid; 31
(b) Legislative calendars and session lengths, and potential 32
administrative efficiencies offered by various models;33
(c) Size, composition, and partisan or nonpartisan nature of 34
legislative staff and their relative abilities to accomplish a 35
detailed analysis of legislative proposals for the different 36
classifications of legislatures in (a) of this subsection during 37
legislative sessions, and their relative abilities to provide well-38
vetted advice to legislators regarding multiple options toward 39
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possible solutions to problems legislators may be working on while in 1
legislative session; 2
(d) Legislator compensation, including salary and benefits;3
(e) Restrictions, if any, on legislator communication with 4
constituents; 5
(f) Rates and patterns of legislative turnover; and6
(g) Amount of time legislators spend outside of legislative 7
session for part-time legislators performing legislative duties 8
including, but not limited to, statutory committees, joint 9
legislative committees, task forces, oversight committees and other 10
nonstatutory committees, legislative-related boards and commissions, 11
and advisory groups. 12
(3) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall 13
conduct a comparison of the demographic characteristics of the 14
Washington state legislature to those of Washington's general 15
population, including but not limited to: 16
(a) Race and ethnicity, disaggregated to the greatest extent 17
practicable; 18
(b) Gender; 19
(c) Income and wealth levels; 20
(d) Education levels; and 21
(e) Other relevant demographic factors. 22
(4) If data was not available to make a detailed analysis as 23
required in subsection (3) of this section, that should be explained 24
and discussed in the final report. 25
(5) If disparities are found in the review required in subsection 26
(1) of this section, the joint legislative audit and review committee 27
shall identify potential barriers to a more representative 28
legislature, such as compensation, session schedules, or other 29
factors. 30
(6) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall 31
evaluate the level of oversight provided by the Washington state 32
legislature and how it compares to states with differing legislative 33
calendars and schedules. This analysis shall include, but not be 34
limited to: 35
(a) The number and types of hearings conducted throughout the 36
year; 37
(b) The frequency and depth of legislative engagement with 38
executive agencies and other stakeholders; and 39
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(c) Identification of any challenges and best practices for more 1
effective legislative oversight. 2
(7) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall 3
evaluate the Washington state legislature's ability to respond to 4
constituent needs, including but not limited to: 5
(a) Mechanisms for year-round constituent communication;6
(b) Responding to natural disasters, health, and other public 7
emergencies; and 8
(c) Identifying any challenges and best practices for more timely 9
and effective responses to constituents and emergencies.10
(8) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall report 11
its findings to the legislature by December 1, 2027.12
(9) This section expires January 1, 2028. 13
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