2023 was a big year for new state laws. Will 2024 live up to that standard?

On Thursday, Washington state representatives and senators had a chance to set some resolutions for the new year. They attended a preview of what’s at the top of the list for this year’s legislative session.

The 2024 session gets started on Monday — a 60-day sprint of debating, and maybe passing, bills into law, and making any necessary changes to the state’s budget.

It’s also a chance for lawmakers to consider what they didn’t manage to pass last year and what should be brought back for another round.

Last year was an odd-year legislative session, which meant that it was longer — 105 days, instead of 60.

That, said state government reporter Jeanie Lindsay, meant a lot of time to get things done.

"We saw a lot of bills passed with the intent of making it easier for people to build, buy, or rent places to live," explained Lindsay, who works for Northwest News Network. "We saw a few major gun laws passed... There were also several bills passed aimed at reproductive and transgender health care, privacy and ensuring that those health services are accessible for people who need them."

The Legislature also passed a a new operating budget in 2023, with a hefty $69.2 billion price tag.

"It was the first time that lawmakers had two major new buckets of funding to work with," Lindsay said.

Those two new buckets of funding were the capitol gains tax, which is a tax on transactions for high value assets, like stocks and bonds, and the revenue from the state's new Climate Commitment Act, specifically carbon emission auctions.

"So that was two huge pieces of revenue that the state had to work with," Lindsay said. "And lawmakers used it."

Lindsay said a good portion of that money went toward special education. The operating budget also included pay raises for state employees, and efforts to address homelessness, drug treatment, and behavioral health needs.

Last year also saw legislators returning for a special session in the spring to figure out a “Blake” fix.

"The state Supreme Court in 2021 issued a surprise decision that people really weren't expecting that struck down the state's penalties for drug possession," Lindsay explained.

At the time, legislators passed a temporary fix, but that expired last summer.

"So during the 2023 session, lawmakers had to pass a more permanent fix to this gaping hole in how the state would address drug possession penalties," she said.

And 2024 is gearing up to be a busy year as well.

Learn more about what to expect with this year's legislative session at this link.