CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8414
68TH LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Adopted by the Senate March 5, 2024

President of the Senate
Adopted by the House February 27, 2024

Speaker of the House of Representatives
CERTIFICATE
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8414 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.

Secretary
Secretary
FILED
Secretary of State
State of Washington

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8414

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
BySenators Lovick, Torres, Billig, Boehnke, Cleveland, Conway, Dhingra, Frame, Holy, Hunt, Keiser, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Muzzall, Nguyen, Nobles, Pedersen, Rivers, Saldaña, Shewmake, Stanford, Wagoner, Warnick, Wellman, C. Wilson, and J. Wilson; by request of Lieutenant Governor
Prefiled 01/05/24.Read first time 01/08/24.Referred to Committee on State Government & Elections.
WHEREAS, There are increasing concerns about the state of civic health in America and Washington state; and
WHEREAS, A recent public opinion survey in Washington state revealed that 89% of citizens agree or strongly agree that they are "worried about the future of our democracy"; and
WHEREAS, The same survey also revealed that nearly one in four Washingtonians have "stopped talking to a friend or relative because of politics"; and
WHEREAS, Additional research underscores a decline in respectful discourse in the public square and a material decline in confidence in public institutions; and
WHEREAS, In response to this crisis there has been a surge in local and national organizations designed to improve civic health; and
WHEREAS, One of these organizations is the Project for Civic Health, a partnership of the Office of Lieutenant Governor, the University of Washington's Evans School, the Ruckelshaus Center, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation; and
WHEREAS, The Project for Civic Health has worked for the last year to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of the problem by conducting focus groups and holding a "summit" involving nearly 200 diverse Washington citizens to develop recommendations on a path forward; and
WHEREAS, Among the many ideas generated by the Project for Civic Health was the creation of a Joint Committee on Civic Health of the Washington State Legislature, the purpose of which would be to build upon the Project's work to date to strengthen our democratic republic;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring, That a joint select committee on Civic Health be established to build upon the work of the Project for Civic Health; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Committee consist of 13 members: The Lieutenant Governor; three members of the majority party of the Senate and three members of the minority party of the Senate, to be selected by the President of the Senate; and three members of the majority party of the House of Representatives and three members of the minority party of the House of Representatives, to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Lieutenant Governor shall be chair of the committee and one member of the majority party and one member from the minority party from opposite chambers shall serve as Vice Chairs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee shall operate in full accordance with the Joint Rules; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, All expenses and staff support for the committee shall be provided by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, except that legislative members of the committee shall be reimbursed for travel expenses by the Senate and House of Representatives in accordance with RCW 44.04.120; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee will issue its preliminary recommendations and report to the legislature prior to the 2025 regular session and its final recommendations and report prior to 2026 regular session at which time the committee shall cease to exist.
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