The Five O'clock Bill: Disappointment and Progress

The House spent 26 hours debating passage of a Millionaires Tax on Monday and Tuesday this week, with the bill finally passing late Tuesday afternoon. Speaker Jinkins discusses how House Democrats stayed focused and motivated during the long debate, knowing they were fighting for a historic change to Washington's outdated, regressive tax system that will help working families and small businesses. 

As the session winds down and deadlines loom, Speaker Jinkins says she's staying focused not on the constraints of the clock or the calendar, but on who is being helped by the work done in Olympia.

Lots of stuff happening in Week 7 of the legislative session. Speaker Jinkins touches on some of the big topics of the week, and discusses how despite different approaches to the state budget between the House and Senate, the underlying values of each chamber's budget proposal are pretty aligned. 

It's House of Origin Cutoff week in the Legislature and this year, the "five o'clock bill" didn't end up getting a vote on the House floor. Speaker Jinkins discusses the short-term disappointment, but also why she's optimistic about the long view for forward progress on the issue of juvenile rehabilitation.

This is the week when the House of Representatives shifts gears and moves from holding public hearings on bills to debating and voting on many of those bills on the House floor. In today's podcast, Speaker Laurie Jinkins talks about this process, about how bills earn a coveted spot on the crowded House docket, and about how she and the other 97 members of the House paid tribute to Seattle Seahawks fans by designating December 12 (12/12, get it?) as Day of the 12s in the Evergreen State.

With H.R. 1, the federal government has created a disaster with regards to health care access and affordability, food assistance, and more here in Washington state. This is on top of the Trump Tariffs and inflation that are also hitting Washingtonians' pocketbooks. Speaker Jinkins discusses how many of the bills before the Legislature to address local affordability concerns are actually connected to these federal actions, including the newly-introduced Millionaires Tax.

Another US citizen was killed by federal agents in Minnesota last week, and communities here and across the country are living in fear from harmful and malevolent actions by ICE. Speaker Jinkins discusses what bills are currently being considered in the Legislature to protect Washingtonians and our first responders from federal overreach.

Washington House Speaker Laurie Jinkins talks about the tone she is setting for the 2026 session, which started with her opening day remarks on January 12. As House Democrats work to protect Washington values from harmful federal actions and policies, Speaker Jinkins believes it's also important to be honest with Washingtonians about what's at risk from the bad things coming out of the other Washington. 

The 2025 session adjourned on Sunday, April 27th. In this final episode of The Speaker’s Scoop (until next January), Speaker Laurie Jinkins looks back on what she calls the most challenging session since her election to the Legislature 15 years ago. In the end, she says, the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate produced a balanced budget that centers education, housing, healthcare, mental health, public safety, jobs, and the basic needs of the people of Washington.

This week, Speaker Laurie Jinkins talks about opposite-house cutoff, five o’clock bills, conference committees, concurrences — the hectic give and take that characterizes the final days of a legislative session.