Rep. Osman Salahuddin

Maddy summaryHB 1989 amends Washington State law to make assaults against transit employees a class C felony. The bill specifically targets assaults occurring while transit workers - such as operators, drivers, supervisors, mechanics, or security personnel - perform their official duties for public or private transit companies. This expands existing assault penalties to include these workers, increasing the offense level from a gross misdemeanor to a felony. The law applies directly to anyone committing such assaults, with no mention of exceptions or additional requirements beyond the worker's duty status.

Maddy summaryHB 1817 requires Washington public schools to implement trauma-informed training for all staff on responding to sexual assault disclosures, including mandatory bystander intervention. It mandates that school staff receive this training during hiring and every three years, starting August 2027. The bill also directs the state superintendent to create a culturally responsive, translated student and family guide to school policies on sexual harassment and assault by November 2026. These provisions directly affect school employees, students, and families in public elementary and secondary schools across Washington.

Maddy summaryHB 1855 amends Washington state law to prohibit public school discrimination based on additional protected categories, directly affecting students and schools statewide. It adds specific definitions for terms like gender identity, gender expression, neurodivergence, immigration status, and homelessness, then updates the existing anti-discrimination statute (RCW 28A.642.010) to explicitly include these categories. The law expands protections beyond current federal standards, ensuring schools cannot discriminate on these grounds in educational settings. It focuses on creating inclusive environments by addressing barriers to learning for marginalized students, including LGBTQ+ youth and neurodivergent students. The policy change is a direct update to school anti-discrimination rules, not a new program or funding measure.

Maddy summaryHB 1430 requires health carriers in Washington state to reimburse advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants at the same rate as physicians for providing identical health care services. This mandate applies to health plans issued or renewed starting January 1, 2026, excluding those offered to public employees. Health carriers are prohibited from decreasing physician reimbursement rates to meet this requirement. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner will collect data on the implementation, including rate changes and costs, and report to the legislature by July 1, 2027. This section does not apply to advanced practice registered nurses or physician assistants who are employees of a health maintenance organization.

Maddy summaryHB 1485 increases the maximum allowable annual increase for student services and activities fees at Washington state's public colleges and universities from 4% to 6%. This change applies to all institutions, allowing governing boards to raise these fees by up to 6% yearly (instead of 4%) if deemed reasonable by committees, to help cover rising costs for services like health care, counseling, recreation, clubs, and events. Community colleges have a separate rule tying fee increases to tuition growth, but the bill's main change is the higher 6% cap for all institutions. The bill aims to help schools maintain essential student services amid inflation without altering the existing fee approval process.

Maddy summaryHB 1388 establishes a mobile market program in Washington to expand access to fresh, healthy food for low-income households participating in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and senior farmers market nutrition programs. The bill allows nonprofit mobile markets - operating in areas without farmers markets - to accept these nutrition benefits, directly supporting rural and food desert communities. Key provisions require mobile markets to be nonprofit, serve underserved areas, and obtain USDA approval via waiver to accept benefits. This policy change modernizes existing federal nutrition programs by extending access to mobile food services, benefiting both participants and local farmers.

Maddy summaryHB 1090 requires health benefit plans in Washington State (effective January 1, 2026) to cover a 12-month supply of contraceptive drugs at one time, rather than requiring multiple refills. This directly affects health insurers and enrollees, mandating that plans provide this coverage unless an enrollee or provider requests a smaller supply. Key provisions include allowing on-site dispensing at providers' offices (when available) and requiring plans to follow clinical guidelines for appropriate prescribing. The bill defines "contraceptive drugs" to include all FDA-approved pregnancy prevention medications, such as oral, transdermal, and intravaginal hormonal drugs.

Maddy summaryHB 1448 establishes statewide rules for local governments adopting ranked choice voting (RCV) in elections. It allows counties, cities, school districts, fire districts, and port districts to use RCV for local offices, requiring ballots to let voters rank candidates in order of preference (with at least five rankings per office) and setting clear counting rules for single-winner (instant runoff) and multi-winner (single transferable vote) contests. The bill mandates that single-winner RCV elections must first hold a traditional primary to narrow candidates to five, while multi-winner contests skip primaries. It also requires local governments to implement RCV within two years of adoption and directs the Secretary of State to create rules for ballot design and vote tabulation by May 2026.

Maddy summaryHB 1764 proposes to clarify and expand definitions within Washington's labor standards law, primarily by redefining "family member" to include stepchildren, de facto parents, and individuals regularly residing in an employee's home who depend on them for care. The bill also updates exclusions from labor coverage, such as certain farm laborers paid piece-rate, domestic workers in private homes, and minor league baseball players under collective bargaining agreements. As a proposed amendment to existing statutes (not a new law), it aims to refine who is protected under labor standards but does not establish new benefits or penalties. The bill is currently under review by the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee.

Maddy summaryHB 1748 requires Washington's Insurance Commissioner to study how insurers use credit history, credit-based insurance scores, and other rate factors when setting personal insurance premiums, particularly focusing on whether these practices disproportionately affect residents based on race, ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, or national origin. The study will collect data from insurers, analyze current practices and potential alternatives, and assess impacts on consumer costs and insurance availability. The Commissioner must submit a preliminary report by December 2025 and a final report by September 2026 with findings and policy options. This study does not change current insurance practices but aims to inform future legislative decisions about rate-setting factors. The bill expires December 31, 2033.