Sen. Adrian Cortes

Maddy summarySB 6118 requires Washington school districts to create cardiac emergency response plans for all schools and athletic facilities, focusing on rapid response to cardiac arrests. The plans must include designated response teams (staff, coaches, nurses), strategic placement of AEDs (aiming for 3-minute access), annual team training per American Heart Association guidelines, and coordination with local emergency services. Implementation depends on state funding for AEDs, staff training, and plan maintenance, with schools updating plans annually. The bill directly affects school districts, staff, and students by mandating concrete emergency protocols to improve cardiac arrest outcomes on school property.

Maddy summarySB 6206 establishes a two-year pilot program to help child care providers serve children of first responders by offering state grants. Licensed child care providers who care for first responders' children - such as firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel, and behavioral health professionals - may receive incentive payments, with priority given to those offering nonstandard hours, short-notice care, or care during illness. The program selects four Washington jurisdictions (north/south, east/west of the Cascades) to match state grants with local funds, requiring a plan for funding. By November 2029, the state must report on the program’s impact on first responder recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires most Washington hospitals to employ a full-time, on-site patient advocate starting January 1, 2027, to help patients navigate healthcare systems. It directly affects licensed hospitals, with exemptions for certain rural hospitals (critical access or sole community hospitals), Skagit County island hospitals, and tribal hospitals meeting specific criteria. Exempt hospitals must instead provide verified access to external advocacy services (like phone/video support) and ensure patients know how to connect with them. The advocate’s role includes assisting with medical records, scheduling, care coordination, and communication with providers or insurers.

Maddy summarySB 5849 requires all Washington high school students to complete financial education instruction to graduate, beginning with the 2033 graduating class at the earliest. It mandates school districts to provide this instruction aligned with state learning standards, through various formats like regular classes or online options, starting in the 2027-28 school year. The bill also requires districts to publicize the requirement to students and families and allows principals to grant individual waivers for students who moved to Washington after the requirement began. This policy directly affects all public high school students in Washington state and builds on existing financial education efforts.

Maddy summarySB 6325 aims to fix Washington's higher education funding system by ending the "fund split" methodology, which forces public colleges and universities to use tuition revenue to cover mandatory costs like faculty raises and benefits instead of state funds. This change would restore state funding for these costs, allowing institutions to use tuition revenue to improve educational quality rather than cover fixed expenses. The bill also requires a study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to define essential student services (like academic support, mental health resources, and career counseling) and determine the per-student cost needed to provide them. This study, due by June 2027, will create a "student service adequacy index" to guide future budget decisions. The bill directly affects public four-year colleges, community colleges, and students through improved program access and faculty stability.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows public hospital districts in Washington to form cooperative agreements without competing with each other, enabling shared services, combined equipment purchases, and joint contracts to support their public mission. It specifically amends laws to permit these arrangements for serving vulnerable populations, including low-income and uninsured patients. Additionally, the bill creates a new $0.75 annual assessment per insurance coverage month for insurers, with penalties for late payment, to fund public hospital infrastructure. The policy directly affects public hospital districts, publicly owned health care entities, and health insurers in Washington.

Maddy summarySB 6212 creates a 24-month pilot program providing $300 monthly per child to 1,000 Washington families with school-aged children eligible for free/reduced-price lunch. The Department of Commerce will administer the program, randomly selecting participants while ensuring geographic diversity across urban, rural, and suburban areas. Families in a control group (up to 1,200 households) will receive $20 monthly instead. The pilot aims to evaluate impacts on financial stability, child well-being, and household spending, with a final report due to the legislature by December 2029. The program explicitly prohibits requiring immigration status information for participation.

Maddy summarySB 5852 requires Washington employers to notify workers and their representatives within 72 hours if a federal agency conducts an inspection of employment verification forms (I-9) or worker records. It mandates posting multilingual notices in workplaces and sending written notices to all current and recent workers (within the last three years), including details about the federal agency and inspection. The law aims to ensure immigrant workers are informed during federal immigration enforcement actions, with notices required in the five most commonly used non-English languages in the state. Employers must also provide affected workers with copies of federal inspection results. This applies to all Washington employers, including state agencies and businesses.

Maddy summaryWashington State's SB 6111 requires digital service providers (like social media apps) to protect children under 17 by implementing age verification and parental consent for minors' accounts. It mandates providers to limit data collection for minors, ban tracking of their precise location, prohibit targeted ads with illegal content, and stop selling their data except in specific legal circumstances. Providers must also develop strategies to reduce minors' exposure to harmful content like self-harm, bullying, or sexual exploitation, while excluding content minors intentionally seek. The law applies to interactive platforms (e.g., social media) but excludes email, news sites, and professional networking services, with enforcement by the Attorney General and fines up to $10,000 per violation.

Maddy summarySB 5903 changes election rules for cemetery district commissioners in Washington. It eliminates primaries for these positions, requiring all qualified candidates to appear on the general election ballot, with the top vote-getter winning each seat. If only one candidate files, they are automatically elected without appearing on the ballot. Vacancies on cemetery district boards would be filled using standard procedures under chapter 42.12 RCW, aligning with broader local government vacancy rules. This directly affects cemetery district voters and commissioners by altering election mechanics.