OLYMPIA—Of the 35 new bills signed by Governor Bob Ferguson into law on Monday, April 21, 2025, four were introduced by legislators from Snohomish County.
Below is a breakdown of those four new laws:
House Bill 1081: Introduced by Representative Brandy Donaghy (D-Snohomish) to protect homeowners from predatory solicited real estate transactions
Governor Bob Ferguson (D) signed into law House Bill 1081, with bi-partisan support, that protects homeowners when they’re solicited by buyers without having their property on the market. Under this bill, these property owners have the right to appraisal and the right to cancel the purchase. The buyer must provide notice of those rights.
Purchase contracts for these types of solicited real estate transactions must state clearly in at least 10-point boldface type, and the seller must affirmatively acknowledge that the seller has the right to an appraisal and has a right to cancel.
Solicited real estate transactions in which a buyer or seller is represented by a licensed real estate agent are exempt from these requirements. Violations are enforced under the Consumer Protection Act.
WHY IT MATTERS: This bill protects homebuyers, when they’re solicited by buyers without having their property on the market, from predatory buyers.
GOVERNOR FERGUSON: “We appreciate all the hard work of the legislators and others who made this legislation possible, especially, of course, the prime sponsor of this legislation, Representative Donaghy, for sponsoring this bill and protecting Washingtonians from predatory buyers.”
BILL CO-SPONSORS: Reps. Connors, Ryu, Taylor, Fosse, Kloba and Reeves.
FLOOR ACTIVITY: Passed House: 3/4/25, 56-39. Passed Senate: 4/10/25, 30-19.
House Bill 1747: Introduced by Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self (D-Mukilteo) to ensure individuals with a criminal history have a fair chance at securing employment
Governor Bob Ferguson (D) signed into law House Bill 1747, with bi-partisan support, that expands protections for applicants and employees under the Washington Fair Chance Act (WFCA) by ensuring individuals with a criminal history have a fair chance at securing employment.
Under the WFCA, an employer is prohibited from obtaining any information about an applicant’s criminal record until the employer determines that the applicant is otherwise qualified for the position. Further, the employer may not implement any policy or practice that automatically or categorically excludes an applicant with a criminal record from consideration from a position prior to an initial determination that the applicant is otherwise qualified.
This new law limits an employer’s ability to pursue a tangible adverse employment action against an employee or applicant based on criminal history information under certain circumstances. An employer is entirely prohibited from carrying out a tangible adverse employment action based on an applicant’s or employee’s arrest record or juvenile conviction record.
An employer may carry out a tangible adverse employment action based on an applicant’s or employee’s adult conviction record only if the employer has a legitimate business reason for doing so.
Tangible adverse employment action is defined as a decision by an employer to reject an otherwise qualified job applicant or to terminate, suspend, discipline, demote, or deny a promotion to an employee.
Prior to carrying out a tangible adverse employment action based on an adult conviction record, the employer must notify the applicant or employee and identify the record on which the employer is relying to assess the legitimate business reason.
The employer must hold the position open for at least two business days to give the applicant or employee a reasonable opportunity to correct or explain the record or to provide information of rehabilitation, good conduct, work experience, education, and training.
If the employer makes the tangible adverse employment decision, the employer must provide the applicant or employee with a written decision that must include specific documentation of its reasoning and an assessment of relevant factors, including the impact of the conviction on the position or business operations and the employer’s consideration of the applicant’s or employee’s rehabilitation, good conduct, work experience, education, and training.
The law is effective July 1, 2026, to employers with 15 or more employees and beginning January 1, 2027, to employers with fewer than 15 employees
WHY IT MATTERS: This is a matter of justice and second chances. This bill will remove barriers, expand the talent pool, aid in retention, and increase diversity.
GOVERNOR FERGUSON: “A big thank you, of course, to our prime sponsor of this legislation, Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self. Also, a thank you to the sponsor of the companion bill, Senator Rebecca Saldana. This is an important piece of legislation, really appreciate your leadership on this and other related issues.”
BILL CO-SPONSORS: Reps. Berry, Scott, Obras, Fosse, Goodman, Farivar, Taylor, Fitzgibbon, Reed, Gregerson, Ormsby, Parshley, Cortes, Hill, Pollet and Ramel.
FLOOR ACTIVITY: Passed House: 3/11/25, 56-40. Passed Senate: 4/10/25, 27-22.
House Bill 1105: Introduced by Representative Mary Fosse (D-Everett) intends to streamline collective bargaining for Department of Corrections employees
Governor Bob Ferguson (D) signed into law House Bill 1105, with bi-partisan support, that streamlines the collective bargaining process for Department of Corrections employees.
WHY IT MATTERS: This will streamline the collective bargaining process. The smaller bargaining units all must bargain together, but community corrections officers have interest arbitrations. If Department of Corrections employees choose to use interest arbitration, it adds a cumbersome process that interrupts bargaining for other state workers. This bill will now exempt Department of Corrections employees who have interest arbitration rights under the Personnel System Reform Act from coalition bargaining requirements, unless those employees are part of the Marine Department
GOVERNOR FERGUSON: “I’m grateful for everything DOC workers do for community safety and appreciate all the hard work on this legislation. Special thank you of course to Representative Mary Fosse for being the prime sponsor.”
BILL CO-SPONSORS: Reps. Low, Stearns, Leavitt, Berry, Ryu, Cortes, Farivar, Doglio, Paul, Goodman, Wylie, Pollet, Fey, Kloba, Nance, Lekanoff, Bernbaum.
FLOOR ACTIVITY: Passed House: 3/4/25, 83-12. Passed Senate: 4/10/25, 41-8.
House Bill 1821: Introduced by Representative Julio Cortes (D-Everett) intends to strengthen wage protections for workers
Governor Bob Ferguson (D) signed into law House Bill 1821 that strengthens prevailing wage protections for workers on public projects by expanding the definition of “interested party” for the purposes of enforcing prevailing wage requirements. The definition of “interested party” will now include joint labor management cooperation committees and Taft-Hartley trusts.
WHY IT MATTERS: Dishonest contractors can exploit loopholes at the expense of hardworking employees, undercutting responsible contractors. Workers often do not have the resources to enforce their rights themselves. Enforcing the prevailing wage law encourages contractors to play by the rules, which ultimately levels the playing field.
GOVERNOR FERGUSON: “This is good for our whole state, and it’s good for workers.”
BILL CO-SPONSORS: Reps. Stonier, Doglio, Berry, Parshley, Street, Obras, Ormsby, Macri, Fosse, Scott and Pollet.
FLOOR ACTIVITY: Passed House: 3/7/25, 59-38. Passed Senate: 4/9/25, 28-21.
Author: Mario Lotmore
One Response
None of these bills help Washingtonians. Just look at Ferguson’s face… a picture is worth a thousand words.