For Immediate Release: 
January 10, 2019                                 

Media Contact:
David Boze 206-946-1018

OLYMPIA—State lawmakers return to Olympia on Monday, January 14th for the first session of the 66th Washington State Legislature and WashingtonVotes will be providing coverage of every bill, amendment and recorded vote. 

WashingtonVotes.org has been in operation since 2001 and features essential legislative tracking and look-up tools, including:

• A searchable database of all current bills, resolutions, and amendments, and the votes taken by legislators, along with searchable archives going back to the 2001 Session.
• Timely status updates of legislation on the move, including plain language descriptions.
• Free daily customizable e-mail updates to subscribers.
• Free, weekly Roll Call service to news outlets on key legislation, matched to the legislative districts they cover.
• The “Missed Votes Report,” a popular feature that tabulates the total number of votes taken and missed by individual legislators. The report is distributed to news outlets after session ends, along with any comments by legislators on their voting record
• The “My Legislators’ Key Votes,” feature that enables users to simply enter their zip code to follow important votes by the lawmakers representing their area.

WashingtonVotes.org also posts updates on key legislation on Facebook and Twitter and distributes the “WashingtonVotes News” twice a week. This feature provides subscribers with additional in-depth information and insights on evolving legislative issues and actions. Visit washingtonvotes.org to become a subscriber.

WashingtonVotes.org is a free public service of the Washington Policy Center, a non-partisan, non-profit research and educational organization with four offices across Washington. The site’s director is Franz Wiechers-Gregory, a former Chief Clerk and Director of non-partisan committee staff services in the Washington State House of Representatives. He can be contacted at franz@wavotes.org.

This will be the 105-day regular session of the legislature which meets in a two-year cycle of 105 days in odd- and 60 days in even-numbered days.

As a result of this November’s election, Democrats have increased their majority in the state House of Representatives to a 57-41 margin (up from 50-48) and in the Senate to 28-21 (up from 25-24). Overall, 22 new house members and 6 new senators will take their seats on Monday.

WashingtonVotes.org also provides a free weekly roll call service to media outlets that is tailored to their subscription area. To subscribe, contact franz@wavotes.org

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