The Washington State Legislature is the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

of the U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It is a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

body, composed of the lower

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olymp ...

, with 49 Senators plus the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

acting as president. The state is divided into 49 legislative districts, each of which elect one senator and two representatives. The State Legislature meets in the Legislative Building at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia. As of January 2021, Democrats control both houses of the Washington State Legislature. Democrats hold a 57-41 majority in the House of Representatives and a 28-21 majority in the Senate (with one Democratic senator caucusing with the 20 Republicans).

History

The Washington State Legislature traces its ancestry to the creation of the Washington Territory in 1853, following successful arguments from settlers north of the

Columbia River The Columbia River ( Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia ...

to the

U.S. federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a f ...

to legally separate from the Oregon Territory. The Washington Territorial Assembly, as the newly created area's bicameral legislature, convened the following year. The legislature represented settlers from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to modern

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

The Female Voting Franchise

From nearly the start of the territory, arguments over giving women the right to vote dogged legislative proceedings. While some legislators carried genuine concerns over women deserving the right to vote, most legislators pragmatically believed that giving women suffrage would entice more Eastern women to immigrate to the remote and sparsely populated territory. In 1854, only six years after the Seneca Falls Convention, the issue was brought to a vote by the legislature. Women's suffrage was defeated in a tied vote of 9 to 9 (an absolute majority, or 10 votes, was needed to pass laws). This was due to one legislator voting against this bill because he had an American Indian wife and only white women would have been able to vote. A decade later, the Wyoming Legislature would become the first body in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

to grant women's suffrage in 1869. The issue over female suffrage did not diminish. In 1871 Susan B. Anthony and Thurston County Representative Daniel Bigelow addressed the legislature on the issue. In 1883, the issue returned to the floor, this time with the Territorial Assembly successfully passing universal suffrage for women. It quickly became one of the most liberal voting laws in the nation, giving female

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

voters the voting franchise for the first time in the United States. However, in 1887, the territorial

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. Justices must retire ...

ruled the 1883 universal suffrage act as unconstitutional in '' Harland v. Washington''. Another attempt by the legislature to regrant universal female suffrage was again overturned in 1888. After two failed voter referendums in 1889 and 1897, activism led by

Emma Smith DeVoe Emma Smith DeVoe (August 22, 1848 – September 3, 1927) was an American women suffragist in the early twentieth century, changing the face of politics for both women and men alike. When she died, the Tacoma News Tribune called her Washington s ...

and

May Arkwright Hutton May Arkwright Hutton (July 21, 1860 – October 6, 1915) was a suffrage leader and labor rights advocate in the early history of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Biography May Arkwright Hutton, who has been described as an orphan by s ...

, among others, led the state legislature to approve the state constitutional amendment granting full female voting rights, which Washington's (male) voters ratified in 1910 by a vote of 52,299 to 29,676.

Statehood

With more than two decades of pressure on federal authorities to authorize statehood, on February 22, 1889, the U.S. Congress passed the Enabling Act, signed into law by outgoing President Grover Cleveland, authorizing the territories of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

, and

to form state governments. The Territorial Assembly set out to convene a constitutional convention to write a state constitution. Following its successful passage by the legislature, Washington voters approved the new document on October 1. On November 11, 1889,

President Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pre ...

authorized Washington to become the 42nd state of United States. It was the last West Coast state of the Continental U.S. to achieve statehood. The modern Washington State Legislature was created.

Meetings

The bicameral body is composed of legislators, beginning the legislative session annually on the second Monday in January. In odd-numbered years, when the state budget is debated upon, the State Legislature meets for 105 days, and in even-numbered years for 60 days. The Governor of Washington, if necessary, can call legislators in for a special session for a 30-day period at any time in the year. Legislators also can call themselves into special session by a two-thirds vote by both the House of Representatives and the State Senate.

Television coverage

Debates within both the House and Senate, as well as committee meetings and other special events within or relating to the legislature are broadcast throughout Washington on TVW, the state public affairs network. Debates can also be found on the web at TVW.org.

Vacancies

Unlike some state legislatures, the Washington State Legislature does not hold special elections midyear if a seat becomes vacant between regular elections. Instead, the county council or board of county

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

s for the county or counties where the vacant district is located are given the responsibility of choosing the successor. The state central committee of the political party that last held the seat must submit a list of up to three candidates to the board, who must make the final selection within 60 days of the vacancy. A special election is then held alongside November general elections.

Compensation

As of July 2022, legislators receive an annual salary of $57,876. The Speaker of the House and Senate majority leader receive salaries of $66,016, while the House and Senate minority leaders receive salaries of $61,946. Per diem is set at 89% of the federal per diem rate and is $185 as of 2022.

References

External links

Washington State Legislature
{{Authority control Government of Washington (state) Bicameral legislatures