SB 5784 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Encouraging agency demographic data collection.

SB 5784 requires Washington state agencies to collect and report detailed demographic data on race and ethnicity beyond federal minimums, directly affecting all state departments, boards, and commissions that evaluate programs. The bill mandates disaggregating data - like breaking down "Asian" into subgroups (e.g., Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Korean) and other categories based on program needs - to better assess equity in state services. Agencies must include this data in public reports starting June 2025, explain their data collection choices, and consult state ethnic commissions if unsure about appropriate categories. Compliance is required by June 30, 2026, with limited exemptions allowed for agencies citing undue burden or privacy risks.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 4, 2026

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What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to update the legislative session from 2025 to 2026 and changed the sponsor to a committee rather than an individual senator. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new provision allowing agencies to request exemptions or variances from the standard demographic data collection requirements, providing flexibility for agencies that find the data burdensome or unnecessary for their specific context.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on state agencies collecting demographic data, but the applicability is now modified to allow for agency-specific exemptions and variances from the standard federal guidelines.

TIMELINE

The legislative session was updated from the 2025 Regular Session to the 2026 Regular Session, and the bill was assigned a new bill number (S-4663.2 instead of S-1667.3).

ELIGIBILITY

The sponsor was changed from Senator Hasegawa to the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections committee.

REQUIREMENT

New sections were added allowing state agencies to request exemptions from collecting detailed demographic data beyond minimum categories if the burden outweighs the benefit, and to request variances to use different detailed categories if they provide more accurate data for specific programs.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'personal information' was modified to specify that only the last four digits of a Social Security number count as personal information, rather than the full number.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

And refer to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM.

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections at 1:30 PM.

upper

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors