In 2023 the Project for Civic Health (Project) was initiated by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in partnership with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, and the William D. Ruckelshaus Center. The partnership was formed on the shared premise of concern for the civic health of democracy. The initial stage of the Project involved convening community leaders, former and current elected officials, and youth in a series of roundtable discussions to discover the nature of the problem and its causes, as well as to solicit ideas to restore higher standards for respectful disagreement. The roundtable discussions were formalized into a report titled Common Ground for the Common Good, which includes a menu of potential solutions that were discussed, such as: creating training programs for candidates and elected leaders on respectful dialogue; celebrating, promoting, and rewarding bipartisan collaboration; bolstering credible local news media; creating more robust civic education for youth and adults; finding ways to preserve the benefits of social media while diminishing its harms; working on unifying civic projects; and building media literacy.
The roundtable report was to serve as a foundation for discussions at the Civic Health Project Summit, held on October 19, 2023. The purpose of the summit was to convene individuals from across the state to discuss the state of civic health in Washington and explore ways for sustained action to improve civic health in the state.
The Joint Select Committee on Civic Health (CCH) is established to build upon the work of the Project for Civic Health. The CCH must issue its preliminary recommendations and report to the Legislature prior to the 2025 regular session. A final report, including final recommendations, is due prior to the 2026 regular session.
The CCH consists of 13 members:
The Lieutenant Governor serves as the Chair of the CCH with one member of the majority party and one member of the minority party from opposite chambers both serving as vice chairs. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor is responsible for expenses and hiring of additional staff for the CCH except that legislative members must be reimbursed in accordance with current law. The CCH is dissolved after the issuance of its final report.
The Office of the Lieutenant Governor, rather than the Senate and House of Representatives, is responsible for any expenses and staff support needed for the CCH except that reimbursement of travel expenses for legislative members is paid for by the Senate and the House of Representatives in accordance with current law.
(In support) The last few years have been difficult for our democracy. Ninety-three percent of Americans feel that incivility is a serious problem. A statewide poll revealed that 89 percent of people in Washington are concerned about the future of democracy and 24 percent reported that they stopped speaking to friends or a family member because of politics. People do not have to hate each other because they disagree. This act is a result of a partnership formed to create the Project for Civic Health (Project). As part of the Project, there were seven working groups that met to discuss the shared deep concern for the state of civic health in America and the root cause for the current state of civic dysfunction. Several potential solutions were discussed which necessitates further legislative examination, such as improving training for elected officials, enhancing civic education, improving media literacy, and more.
Washington's Legislature is a good example of a body of elected officials who treat others with respect and lean into compromises or disagree respectfully when agreement cannot be reached. However, this is not the case nationwide. Washington is not immune from the continuing influences that are degrading discourse in America and its Legislature needs to be engaged in the work to find a solution in order to inoculate the state from bad influences.
(Opposed) None.
Senator John Lovick, prime sponsor; and Denny Heck, Lieutenant Governor.