We are midway through the 2024 legislative session! Our policy team provide an update on the status of our priority bills.

Week two of the 2024 legislative session is at an end. Here’s a quick recap of the progress some of our top priority bills have made so far.

Our state’s capital gains tax has raised more revenue than expected to fund schools and early learning. However, a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals have decided that our children are not worth their dollars, and have filed an initiative to repeal the tax.

At Children’s Alliance, we see a future in which all of Washington's children have an abundance of what they need to grow up to be the people they dream of becoming.  Our 2024 legislative agenda highlights our policy priorities in our three primary issue areas: early learning, health equity, and economic justice.

To meet the ever-evolving needs of communities and guarantee essential services, our state needs to generate revenue. Based on recent reporting, this means the state must pursue and secure more progressive sources of revenue going forward.

We have much to celebrate at the close of the 2023 legislative session. Together with our members and partners, we achieved significant wins on youth mental health, oral health care, child care and much more.

Children and families across the state have cause to celebrate today: The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that the capital gains excise tax is constitutionally valid.

Dr. Stephan Blanford provides an update on Quinn v. State of Washington, the case that will decide the fate of the capital gains tax, after attending the Supreme Court hearing on January 26.

Governor Inslee's proposed 2023-25 budget was released on December 14 and it contained a robust set of proposals to support Washington’s children and families.

Here in Washington, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated longstanding inequities faced by kids and families in communities of color. Access to health care, high-quality early experiences for children ages birth to 5, and progressive revenue are promising strategies to ensure that every child has an abundance of what they need to grow up into the people they dream of becoming.

Despite its short length, this legislative session bore significant victories for kids and families. And for the second year in a row, advocates from across the state were able to make their voices heard in Olympia by signing in to support or oppose bills and give testimony remotely. We hope to see the legislature continue this increased accessibility in the years to come, so that even more Washingtonians can participate in the process.

Yesterday’s news that the Douglas County Superior Court struck down the capital gains tax is a setback for all who've worked tirelessly to fix our upside-down tax code and secure much-needed funding for early learning.

The House and Senate released their budgets earlier this week. Overall, we were pleased to see many of our priorities reflected in both budgets, which will result in positive impacts for our state’s children and families.

The 2022 legislative session is progressing fast, we’re already past the halfway point! Here’s an update on some of our top priority bills.

We believe in the potential of every child. But all too often, poverty, racism and the pandemic are putting opportunity out of reach.

Our legislative agenda seeks to protect kids, remove barriers and create pathways to success—so that Washington’s children and families stay strong, no matter what challenges we face.

This July 1, kids and families across the state should begin to feel the effects of the Fair Start for Kids Act—the historic investment in early learning that state lawmakers passed during the 2021 legislative session.

Parents, community leaders and policymakers came together and made historic progress that will help to give all of Washington’s children a great start.