Concerning civil legal aid.

Finds that the prevalence of civil legal problems experienced by low-income people in the state exceeds the capacity of the state-funded legal aid system to address.

Modifies civil legal aid provisions regarding: (1) The duty of the director of civil legal aid services to periodically assess the most prevalent civil legal problems experienced by low-income people in the state and the capacity of the state-funded legal aid system to meet the legal needs arising from the problems;

(2) The appropriation of public funds for civil representation of indigent persons; and

Permitting cities, towns, and counties to prohibit the production, processing, or sale of marijuana only by an ordinance enacted through a public vote.

Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation fuels.

Supports the deployment of clean transportation fuel technologies through a carefully designed program that reduces the carbon intensity of fuel used in the state, in order to: (1) Reduce levels of conventional air pollutants from diesel and gasoline that are harmful to public health;

(2) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation fuels, which are the state's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions; and

(3) Create jobs and spur economic development based on innovative clean fuel technologies.

Concerning group training homes.

Modifies group training home provisions with regard to payments and services; certification of a facility as a group training home; applications for payment by the state; and facilities must be nonsectarian.

Eliminating certain postsecondary institutions' eligibility for state financial aid programs.

Prohibits the student achievement council from approving new applications from the following, with regard to eligibility for state financial aid programs: (1) A university, college, school, or institute owned or operated by a corporation for profit; or

Allowing certain adult family homes to increase capacity to eight beds.

Authorizes an adult family home to provide services to up to eight adults upon approval from the department of social and health services.

Requires an applicant who is requesting to increase bed capacity to seven or eight beds to successfully demonstrate the following to the department: (1) Financial solvency and management experience for the home;

(2) The ability to meet other relevant safety, health, and operating standards pertaining to the operation of the home, including the ability to meet the needs of all current and prospective residents; and

(3) How to mitigate the potential impact of vehicular traffic related to the operation of the home.

Concerning jury selection.

Prohibits the exclusion of a citizen from jury service on account of membership in a protected class.

Concerning election security practices around auditing and equipment.

Provides available methods for the county auditor to use when conducting an audit on the results of votes cast.

Requires a manufacturer or distributor of a voting system or component that is certified by the secretary of state to disclose to him or her and the attorney general a breach of the security of its system.

Authorizes the secretary of state to decertify a voting system or component and withdraw authority for its future use or sale in the state if he or she determines that: (1) The system or component fails to meet the standards set forth in applicable federal guidelines or was materially misrepresented in the certification application; or

Defining community health workers and their roles.

Provides a definition for "community health workers" and explains their roles as recommended by the report from the community health worker task force.

Requires the department of health to: (1) By July 1, 2019, adopt rules defining the direct services that community health workers may provide; and

(2) By October 1, 2018, begin to implement the recommendations of the community health worker task force related to training and education.

Requiring the department of health to adopt rules establishing an abbreviated death certificate.

Requires the department of health to adopt rules regarding the content and release of an abbreviated death certificate that may be requested from a state or local registrar that includes identifying information and information related to the fact of death, but does not include: (1) Information related to the cause of the person's death;

(2) Social security numbers; or

(3) Names of the decedent's parents.

Concerning aircraft noise abatement.

Authorizes a port district operating an airport serving more than nine hundred scheduled jet aircraft flights per day to undertake any of the programs, or combinations of programs, authorized by chapter 53.54 RCW (aircraft noise abatement), for the purpose of alleviating and abating the impact of jet aircraft noise on areas surrounding the airport.

Prohibits the port district from undertaking any of the programs in an area which is: (1) More than twelve miles beyond the paved end of a runway;

(2) More than two miles from the centerline of a runway or from an imaginary runway centerline extending twelve miles from the paved end of the runway; or

Regulating explanation of benefits forms for stand-alone dental plans.

Requires a health carrier offering a dental only plan to annually submit to the insurance commissioner the explanation of benefits form the carrier plans to use for the dental only plan for the subsequent plan year.

Increasing participation in recreational fishing and hunting.

Preventing public identification or stigmatization of public school students.

Prohibits a school or school district from stigmatizing, or taking action that would likely stigmatize, a student based on attendance, academic performance, or behavior that is unsatisfactory.

Requires school principals, classroom teachers, and paraeducators to confer annually to develop or review policies and practices designed to improve school climate and create a safe, respectful learning environment.

Requires the center for the improvement of student learning to convene a work group to make recommendations: (1) On school climate and safe, respectful learning environment training requirements for educators;

(2) That emphasize that stigmatization is counterproductive to the state's goal of improving school climate and creating a safe, respectful learning environment.

Requiring retailers to post the total sale price of spirits for sale.

Allowing fire protection district annexations and mergers within a reasonable geographic proximity.

Concerning concurrent enrollment programs and college preparatory with examination programs.

Establishes a clear student-focused policy for concurrent enrollment and college preparatory programs with examination in the state that recognizes, without preference for a single program, the selection of quality programs leading to a credential, certificate, or degree completion.

Requires the state board for community and technical colleges and the four-year institutions of higher education to convene a work group to collaborate on the benefits, challenges, and best practices surrounding concurrent enrollment and college preparation programs in the state. Provides an October 31, 2019, expiration date for the work group.

Concerning the use of perfluorinated chemicals in food packaging.

Prohibits a person from manufacturing, knowingly selling, offering for sale, distributing for sale, or distributing for food packaging to which perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals have been intentionally added in any amount.

Requires the department of ecology to: (1) Conduct an assessment to determine if safer alternatives exist; and

(2) Publish its findings in the Washington State Register on whether a safer alternative exists.

Enhancing educational opportunities for vulnerable youth using funding distributed from the Puget Sound taxpayer accountability account.

Concerning fees collected by the secretary of state.

Requires the secretary of state to: (1) Collect a fee of eleven dollars from each legal entity when the legal entity files its annual report; and

Making unemployment benefits accessible to persons with family responsibilities and other availability issues and making clarifying changes.

Modifies the employment security act to allow a claimant, under certain circumstances, to claim unemployment benefits if his or her usual work schedule, working conditions, or work shifts were altered so as to make care for a child or a vulnerable adult in the claimant's care inaccessible.

-- 2018 REGULAR SESSION --
Feb 6	First reading, referred to Labor & Workplace Standards (Not Officially read and referred until adoption of Introduction report).