Faith Action Network staff Dr. Joyce del Rosario and Board Chair Rev. Carol Jensen guided by ambassadors Tia and Dara at a recent Vaisakhi Festival in Federal Way.

We are delighted to share the news that this week three of our bills have passed both houses! They will now move on to the reconciliation process, if needed. These are:

• HB 1163: Enhanced permitting for firearms
• HB 1432: Requiring health insurance plans to improve coverage of mental and behavioral health care
• SB 5284: Recycling Reform Act

We are also recommending critical actions today, with two weeks left in the legislative session:

1) The legislature has put forth a new package of budget bills in response to negotiations with Governor Ferguson. The Senate has a hearing on these tonight at 5:30, and the House on Friday morning at 8:00 am. Please call your legislators (1-800-562-6000) in support of progressive revenue--they need to hear from constituents every day as big corporations are putting on a lot of pressure. Also please sign in PRO before 4:30 in support of:

Increasing funding to education by creating a more progressive rate structure for the capital gains tax and estate tax. This bill increases the tax on capital gains, and increases the estate tax. Sign in PRO here for Senate hearing on SB 5813.

and

Creating an additional 0.5 percent B&O surcharge on taxpayers with Washington taxable income over $250 million and increasing the tax rate for several existing B&O surcharges. We don't love all parts of this bill, but we do love the surcharges on the biggest companies and financial institutions, and we need to avoid cuts to vital services for people living in poverty.

Sign in PRO here for Senate hearing on SB 5815.

Sign in PRO here for House hearing on HB2081.

2) HB 1217, a key FAN-supported rent stabilization bill, was significantly weakened in the Senate by the following amendments.

• The Shewmake amendment raised the rent cap to 10% + CPI (consumer price index), undermining the original 7% protection, and making it almost meaningless.
• The Liias amendment exempted all single-family home rentals, removing protections for many families.

The bill now returns to the House for concurrence, where legislators must choose to accept the amendments—or demand stronger protections for renters. Urge your House representatives to reject the Senate’s harmful changes to HB 1217. Submit your comment or call the legislative hotline 1-800-562-6000. And attend the Rally described below this Friday, 11-1 in Olympia!

4) Sign a Climate Solutions letter to thank and encourage our legislators for ensuring that Climate Commitment Act funds remain dedicated to climate investments in zero emissions school buses and trucks, EV charging, and clean home appliance subsidies for low-income households.

FAN and the Church Council of Greater Seattle are teaming up to ask for your support in holding our state government accountable. Many of you receive newsletters from both of our organizations, so we are sharing this action alert simultaneously to harness the collective power of our shared network. Please join us in taking action today!   

Washington State prides itself on being a place of welcome and care for migrants, yet as the budget is being finalized, Governor Ferguson is choosing to protect the wealth of a few instead of the health and wellbeing of our communities. By refusing to consider all options for increasing revenue including making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, our state has chosen to balance the budget on the backs of immigrant communities and working people—many of whom are already pushed to the margins—by cutting many of the programs we depend on.  

Unless we act now. Add your voice today as we join WAISN and the Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign to flood the inboxes of budget writers with one unified message: migrant healthcare is non-negotiable and Apple Health Expansion must be off the chopping block and fully funded. Take two minutes now to personalize and send this letter to the House and Senate budget writers as we keep the pressure on in these final days of session!  

HB 1217 was passed by the Senate on April 10 with damaging amendments that raise the cap to 10% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for renters and that exempts any renter that lives in a single-family home. Make no mistake – this is not a good bill and it will harm residential renters. The House must reject these amendments and demand a final bill that allows no more than a 7% annual rent increase for renters, 5% for manufactured homeowners and that includes renters who live in single-family homes. Without these fixes, the bill will sanction displacement, evictions, homelessness and gentrification. 

Lawmakers only have until April 27 to get a final, protective bill passed, and we need to show up at the capitol in person to demand real solutions for renters across the state.  

Join the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance in Olympia on Friday, April 18 from 11am – 1pm in the legislative building. We will join together to rally, to pull lawmakers from the floor to talk with them, and to hear from our champions. Wear the color red! We will also have stickers and signs, so lawmakers will know exactly why you are there.

Do you want tax fairness in Washington, but aren't sure how to talk about it or you are looking for more allies as we continue this work? Come out to our FAN Seattle Office for this messaging training and skill up to demand a Washington that works for all of us. The Faith + Labor Coalition welcomes everyone ---labor allies, people of faith, and community members to join together on 4/19 for this workshop. Sign up here or on Facebook here and watch the promo reel to see the success of our first meeting together between unions and faith communities!

FAN Advocates Blake Alford, Steve Clagett, and Kristin Ang will be presenting/present as well as pastors Joe Sheeran and Phil Lewis. Come join us!

As people of faith, we believe the care of the environment begins with prayer – which is how we connect with the divine, with each other in our communities of faith, and indeed with all of creation. Prayer sustains us and calls us to engage on issues of concern. What are your hopes and dreams for the healing of the environment? What are your concerns or fears for the world of Nature? What are the yearnings of your heart for the future of the Earth? We invite people of all faith communities in the Spokane area and beyond to offer their prayers about the environment – all of creation – whether prayers of joy and celebration, lamentation or forgiveness, or prayers asking for help and healing. Interested persons from St John’s and other communities will read your prayers as an offering from sacred communities in Spokane as a part of the observation of Earth Day, to be posted on St John’s Facebook page.

Guidelines:

Anonymous: St John’s will not disclose the identity of any person submitting a prayer. However, we encourage you to identify your sacred group affiliation in order to demonstrate the breadth of involvement of the community.

Length: We anticipate that most prayers will be less than one minute in length.

Number: There is no limit to the number of prayers you can submit; St John’s may read prayers from each individual before reading a second (or more) prayer from any one individual.

Consent to use: Individual’s prayers are considered to include consent to the prayer being read. Any prayers from a copyrighted source must acknowledge the author.

Timings: Prayers accepted April 1 through May 3, 2025 to be read the second week in May, with final date and time TBD.

Submit your prayer for creation here

Saturday, April 19, 2:00pm, Table Turning, in-person. Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma. Hosted by Valley and Mountain Church and La Resistencia. Join this longstanding movement to turn tables to interrupt the oppression of people and to take action to call for the shutdown of the NWDC. Learn more here. 

Saturday, April 19, 2:00pm, Your Tax Your Impact: Money for People, Not for War, in-person, Spokane. Join Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane to call on congress to protect funding for food support, Social Security, education, protecting the earth and other lifeline programs. Meet at the corner of Garland and Division in Spokane.

Tuesday, April 22, 6-7pm, Vigil for the Healing of the Earth: Moving from Lament to Community Resilience, in-person. Tribal Gathering Place (next to City Hall), 353-367 N. Post St., Spokane, WA 99201. Faith Leaders and Leaders of Conscience (FLLC) invite you to the annual Vigil for the Healing of the Earth. Come share in music, stories, and ways to be resilient and hear from Tracy Simmons the editor of Faith and Values Spokane.

Thursday, April 24, 3pm, UFW Mushroom Boycott, in-person, Spokane. 933 E Mission Ave, Spokane, WA 99202. Windmill Farmworkers from Sunnyside Windmill mushroom farm are rallying to negotiate a contract. Windmill Farms has engaged in anti-union tactics, refusal to negotiate in good faith, and undermining of workers’ rights to collective bargaining.  Join UFW and Sunnyside farmworkers to demand a fair contract and boycott Windmill Farms mushrooms.

Sunday, April 27, Climate Action Forum, East Shore Unitarian Church, Bellevue, in-person. Regional agencies and governments are developing local climate action and engagement plans. We invite you to learn how to support their implementation and connect with local climate groups. Where: East Shore Unitarian Church, 127—SE 32nd St, Bellevue, WA 98005

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