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2024 Legislative Day in Olympia: A Board Member’s Report

By Stephanie Turner
MPH student and Dietetic Intern at University of Washington
GSDA Legislative Committee Member

On February 6th, registered dietitians, dietetic interns, and students gathered on the lower level of the United Churches of Olympia to kick off the Washington State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (WSAND) annual Legislative Day. A mixture of excitement, nervousness, and curiosity saturated the air as the group settled in for the first half of the day. WSAND’s experts crafted a packed agenda that centered legislative advocacy how-tos and community building among nutrition professionals. The speakers informed us of the Academy’s current advocacy goals, the history of RDs’ advocacy and licensure efforts here in Washington, and tips and tricks of meeting with busy legislators. Preparing us for the afternoon ahead – the true reason we had traveled here today – to beseech our state representatives to prioritize nutrition care.

During this short legislative session, we had our sights focused on specific legislation: School Meals for All, Summer EBT, and expanding funding for important programs like the Emergency Food Assistance Program and meal delivery programs. At noon, armed with our new-found confidence, advocacy goals, elevator speeches, and informational handouts, the group descended on Olympia. We split off to track down our respective representatives. Some of us had scheduled meetings, others hoped to flag down important aides for a few moments of their time to do what we do best, what we had spent years training to do – educate folks on the importance of nutrition.

One of our GSDA board members, Erin Cazel, had an opportunity to speak with one of their representatives about School Meals for All. Like many of us, she had fears going into the meeting – “What do I say to the representative? What if they ask questions that I don’t know how to answer?”. But during that 20 minute conversation, she quickly realized that it was a lot easier and the legislator was more personable than she’d expected. And dare she say it – fun! Insert the old adage here – legislators are just people. Not to mention, Erin felt well-prepared for the conversation following the guidance of the morning’s facilitators. Empowered by the training and practice, she was able to speak with ease about the role of the RD and dispel common misconceptions about school meal programs. Even though School Meals for All was no longer on the agenda for this legislative session, every conversation helps. And we are grateful for the efforts of Erin and other RDs as we set our sights on the 2025 legislative agenda!

Update: The Washington State legislative session ended on Thursday, March 7th, for the 2024 year. Unless there is a special session, the legislators will not return to session until January 2025.

WSAND policy pic

Nutrition-Related Legislation Updates

  • School Meals for All: School Meals for All never made it up for a vote as once again legislators got hung up on the cost. It is estimated that free school meals for elementary-aged children would cost the state about $115 million a year. However, many are not deterred, and Representative Marcus Ricelli (D-Spokane) has big plans to reintroduce the bill in 2025 for the third year in a row.1
  • Summer EBT: The legislators agreed to match federal funding for Summer EBT for 2024. Summer EBT will allow families who receive free and reduced-price school meals to receive $120 dollars per child to purchase food over the summer. It is estimated that this funding will positively impact the food security of about 800,000 kids.2
  • Including Summer EBT, funds for food banks and food assistance for seniors garnered over $64 million dollars in additional funding.1
  • House Bill 1921, which attempted to restrict the use and sale of brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3 in the state of Washington never made it to committee.3
  • The House’s Pacific razor clam bill (HB 1984) did not make it to committee either. The Pacific geoduck vs Pacific razor clam battle for official state clam will live to see another day.4 It will be interesting to see if the race for state clam is renewed in 2025!

References

1. Deng G, Demkovich L, Cornfield J. The bills that are dead and still alive in Washington’s 2024 legislative session • Washington State Standard. Washington State Standard. Published February 14, 2024. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/02/14/the-bills-that-are-dead-and-still-alive-in-washingtons-2024-legislative-session/

2. Montenegro R. Summer EBT Food Program Requires Support from Olympia. WSPTA. Published February 6, 2024. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://wastatepta.org/ebt/

3. Duerr, Walen, Ryu, et al. Washington State Legislature HB 1921.; 2023. https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1921&Initiative=false&Year=2023

4. McEntire, Chapman, Ryu, Reed. Washington State Legislature HB 1984. https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?billnumber=1984&year=2024