Faith Action Network Advocates celebrate the power of advocacy together at IFAD 2024 in Olympia! Thank you for your continued advocacy this legislative session! Photos by @mjwhitephotos.

FAN’s 2024 Interfaith Advocacy Day on February 8 was an energizing, successful day under sunny skies in Olympia! Nearly 200 advocates showed up from across the state, including Spokane, Wenatchee, Yakima, Vancouver, Bellingham, Aberdeen, the Puget Sound region, and many places in between. They heard plenary speakers, attended workshops, caucused with people from their districts, and met with legislators and their staff about the issues on our legislative agenda. Differently this year, and with a buzz of energy, they participated in “floor pulls” with their legislators in the lobby, since both House and Senate were on their respective floors voting. Our youngest attendee, Jonna from Bellingham, even joined a meeting with the Governor. It was a day of collective power and faith values in the service of justice, love and compassion!

Warmly hosted at The United Churches of Olympia, we were welcomed to the space by Rev. Corey Passons of Interfaith Works. FAN board member Dr. Jasmit Singh from Khalsa Gurmat Center spiritually-grounded attendees by emphasizing the importance of multi-faith collaboration in advocating for shared values and a better world. You can read his inspiring words at our FAN blog. FAN staff all played a role in carrying out pieces of the day with their expertise and care for our network.

A highlight of the morning was an impactful address from Senator Yasmin Trudeau, representing the 27th District and celebrated as the first Muslim elected to the Washington State Legislature. A staunch advocate for housing and justice, Senator Trudeau emphasized the critical role of faith voices in legislative arenas. She passionately advocated for HB 2114, a bill aimed at stabilizing rents to support families and community members struggling with housing affordability. She encouraged attendees to keep raising their voices and values for policy change.

Our coalition partners presented workshops to prepare IFAD attendees for their legislative visits. We are grateful to presenters from Alliance for Gun Responsibility, Anti-Defamation League PNW, Anti-Hunger Nutrition Coalition, Balance Our Tax Code, Civil Survival, Earth Ministry/Interfaith Power and Light, Healthcare for All, Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Rights, NAMI WA, WA Coalition for Police Accountability, WA Immigrant Solidarity Network, WA Low Income Housing Alliance. These experts are amazing!

After caucusing in legislative districts over lunch, orange scarved FAN advocates met with legislators, aides, and observed the legislative process. The dynamic presence of FAN advocates at the Capitol served as a powerful reminder of the crucial role faith communities play in advocating for equitable and sustainable futures. Your unique perspectives and stories enrich the legislative process, offering lawmakers insights into the moral and ethical implications of their decisions. It was a great day!

You can view the video of the morning plenaries on our YouTube channel.
Photos of the day can be found in the IFAD 2024 Facebook album.
Keep sharing photos of your groups and activities on social media by tagging FANWA and #IFAD2024.

As we approach next week’s House of Origin cutoff on Tuesday, February 13, there are several actions you can take.

Sign in PRO (up to one hour before the hearing):

SB 6007 Grocery Worker Standards will have a public hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards on 2/14 at 8:00 AM. Sign in PRO here

HB 1332 Supporting public school instruction in Tribal sovereignty and federally recognized Indian Tribes will have a public hearing in the Senate Early Leaning & K-12 Education on 2/14 at 10:30 AM. Sign in PRO here

HB 1579 Independent Prosecutor for unlawful use of deadly force by police officers will have a public hearing in the Senate Law & Justice on 2/15 at 8:00 AM. Sign in PRO here

BUDGET ADVOCACY to legislators in House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means
(send a brief letter of support to their email addresses, found here):  

Please support $15.2million/year to help low-income seniors and people with disabilities gain access to healthy food programs.

Please support $25 million funding for services for newly arrived immigrants which would provide emergency and legal services for people who do not qualify for federal refugee programs. Funding is associated with HB 2368.

Please contact House Rules Committee to pull the following bills for a full floor vote by 2/13:

HB 2049 ReWRAP Act, Washington Recycling and Packaging Act would create graduated fees for packaging manufacturers based on how reusable, compostable or recyclable their products are. It would also fund recycling services and shift recycling costs onto manufacturers.

HB 1368 Clean School Buses would fund the transition of Washington diesel school buses to electricity, helping both climate change and children’s health.

HB 2114 Improving Housing Stability for Tenants by limiting rent and fee increases, requiring notice of rent and fee increases, limiting fees and deposits, and establishing a landlord resource center and associated services. Currently, there would be a 7% per year cap and no rent increase within the first year of tenancy.

HB 2358 Assisting Refugees and immigrants would require the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to coordinate statewide efforts to support the economic and social integration and basic needs of immigrants and refugees arriving and resettling in Washington.

HB 1903 Reporting Lost and Stolen Firearms would require gun owners to report guns that have been lost or stolen.

HB 2118 Dealer Responsibility would establish responsible standards of care of merchandise for gun dealers.

HB 2197 Concerning the Availability of Prevention Services would support organizations and individuals working with community members most at risk for violence.

HB 2239 Supporting Student Well-Being through Instruction in Social Emotional Skills.

HB 1929 Supporting Young Adults Following Inpatient Behavioral Health Treatment

Please contact Senate Rules Committee to pull the following bills for a full floor vote by 2/13:

SB 5444 Concerning Firearms in Sensitive Places would prohibit carrying a weapon into judicial or law enforcement facilities.

Today is the 33rd day of a brief 60-day session, and we've surpassed the midpoint. Both the House and Senate are working diligently to advance bills before the critical deadline on February 13, the last day bills can be passed in their house of origin. There's a push to move certain bills from the Rules Committee to a full vote by this deadline, after which the legislative process will transition to the opposite chamber. The importance of cut-off dates determine which bills will progress as they pass the policy and fiscal cut-offs. A lot of bills are stalled or considered “dead” including Healthy Free Schools Meals for All, Working Families Tax Credit Expansion, and Evergreen Basic Income Pilot Programs, but opportunities exist to revive their core ideas through amendments or procedural strategies.

Bills that passed house of origin this week, with vote count Yea and Nay in parentheses:

• HB 1579 Independent Prosecutor (53Y, 44N) would create a state office to ensure fair and transparent prosecutions of unlawful use of deadly force by police officers.
• SB 5241 Keep Our Care Act (28Y, 21N) would ensure that health entity consolidations improve rather than harm access to affordable high-quality healthcare in a community, including gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare.
• HB 1541 Nothing About Us Without Us (83Y, 14N) would ensure meaningful participation of people with direct lived experience on statutorily created or mandated state committees.
• SB 5427 Biased Incidents Hotline (30Y 18N) would support people who have been targeted or affected by hate crimes and bias incidents and provide victims with immediate access to resources and support.
• SB 6007 Grocery Worker Standards (32Y, 16N) would retain grocery worker’s jobs and protect from layoffs caused by corporate mergers.
• SB 6251 Developing Regional Behavioral Health Crisis Response and Suicide Prevention Services (Unanimous Vote).
• SB 5853  Expanding the 988 Behavioral Health Crisis System would expand behavioral crisis services for minors (Unanimous Vote).

During these quickly moving weeks of session, we want to gather these resources for your easy reference as you advocate:

• FAN Legislative Preview recording
• Advocacy 101 training recording
• FAN’s Legislative Agenda updated on our website.
• Issue Fact Sheets from our coalition partners with information on bills.
• Bill Tracker as legislation moves through committee hearings.
• Take Action page which includes a link that you can use to write your own legislators
• Legislative Hotline to leave a brief phone message for your legislators: 800-562-6000
• Washington State Legislature website with more of everything you need!

Our friends in Yakima are planning an advocacy day for Saturday, February 24, 9am-3pm at Wesley United Methodist Church. Sponsored by Between the Ridges: Alliance for the Common Good, a new organizing project in the Yakima Valley, and co-sponsored by FAN, Yakima Association of Faith Communities, Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, and other community groups. Goals include developing local advocacy, civic engagement, statewide advocacy, and mobilizing voters. Lunch and interpretation services will be provided, and donations accepted. Register here and download flyers in English and Spanish here.

Our friends in the Wenatchee area invite all to an interactive, in-person training to explore core concepts of justice for Indigenous Peoples, including an analysis of the doctrine of discovery. Join us for this engaging training with Sarah Augustine, a Pueblo (Tewa) descendant and renowned activist and leader for indigenous rights. We will explore core values, engage in power analysis, and explore decolonization from a cultural lens with an emphasis on seeking repair. This day-long training will be held in-person at the Sunnyslope Church (3330 School St., Wenatchee) from 9 AM - 4 PM, and include a catered lunch and training manual for participants. Although many of our sponsors are faith-based organizations, this is a secular training intended for community members and organizational leaders who are seeking to learn how we can identify and challenge systems of colonization and join with indigenous communities today as they organize for the survival of all life. 

Register here. Please contact Jess Ingman at ingman@fanwa.org for further details. Event Sponsors: The Sunnyslope Church, Pacific Northwest Conference - United Church of Christ, Northwest Intermountain Synod - Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, NCW Equity Alliance, and Faith Action Network.

Thursday, February 15, 8:00am-3:30pm, in-person and online. Children's Alliance, Have a Heart for Kids Advocacy Day, register here.

Thursday, February 15, 8:30am-3:30pm, in-person. Jewish Community Relations Council Lobby Day. Contact alizam@jewishinseattle.org

Monday, February 19, 9:00am-3:00pm, in-person. APRI Seattle, Charles Rolland African American Lobby Day. Learn more here.

Saturday, February 24, 9:00am-3:00pm, in-person. Yakima Advocacy Day, learn more and register here.

Tuesday, February 27, Noon-1:00pm, in-person. Balance Our Tax Code Coalition Rally, register here.

Look for opportunities to meet with your state legislators during their Town Halls--either by phone, online or in-person--as an excellent way to raise your priorities during session without traveling to Olympia. Find your legislator here and look on their website for town hall opportunities.

Our partners at SEIU 6 invite us to "Show some union love for downtown Seattle janitors!" on Wednesday, February 14, noon.  Join with SEIU 6 to support workers in downtown Seattle, starting at McGraw Square. We will give out Valentines at two locations: the Medical Dental building, where a non-union company employs janitors to work below union standards without critical benefits like full family healthcare. Second, we’ll visit union janitors at another site who are uniting to fight back against heavy workloads that have taken a toll on them both physically and emotionally. We’ll deliver Valentines to let these janitors know that they are not alone, and that we will win together. Email us at fan@fanwa.org if you’d like to join the FAN contingent.

February 20, Tuesday, 7:00-8:30pm, online, Book Launch Conversations: Pluralism in the Abrahamic Tradition & the Temptation to Supremacy. Presented by Paths to Understanding, register here. 

Saturday, March 2, 9:00am-4:00pm, Decolonization for Transformation, in-person, Sunnyslope Church, Wenatchee. Save the Date for a Cultivating Justice event featuring Sarah Augustine, Executive Director, Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. Register here.

Saturday, March 2, Noon, WA Poor People's Campaign March to Stay Alive, in-person, WA State Capitol, Olympia. Join in the Mass Poor People's Assembly in Olympia. Register here.

Saturday, March 9, 3:00pm, Interreligious Dialogue Initiative Film Screening and Discussion: Carving the Divine, in-person, Seattle University, Seattle. An event in solidarity and support for the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple which recently experienced arson. Register here.

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