The 2026 legislative session is officially wrapped up—and although it was a fast-moving, 60-day sprint in Olympia, we have real wins to celebrate. Lawmakers spent much of this session navigating a tight budget, a historic 24-hour debate over the state’s first income tax on millionaires, and relentless attempts by House Republicans to slow progress through hundreds of floor amendments. Through it all, our communities showed up, testified, organized, and made sure our priorities were heard.

And we couldn’t have done it without you. This year’s Trans Advocacy Day once again filled the halls of the Capitol with 400+ Trans people and allies from across Washington State—meeting with legislators, sharing our stories, and reminding every lawmaker in Olympia that our communities are watching, organized, and powerful. 

Here’s where our priority bills landed:

✅ Protections Against Surveillance + Outing

This year, our focus was clear: protecting our communities’ privacy and safety in the face of growing federal threats—and together, we delivered.

Protecting Privacy of Sex Designation Info (SB 6081)

We passed SB 6081, creating a public records exemption for sex designation information—including historical changes—in vital records and Department of Licensing files. This bill has been passed, signed by the Governor, and has taken effect immediately. 

For Trans people, exposure of gender history isn’t abstract—it increases the risk of harassment, discrimination, and violence. This bill closes a dangerous gap that could have been exploited to target Trans Washingtonians through public records requests. This is about preventing harm before it happens.

The Driver Privacy Act (ALPRs) (SB 6002) 

We passed SB 6002, Washington’s first-ever comprehensive regulation of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), also known as “flock cameras.” These cameras scan and store license plate data from countless drivers every day, allowing government agencies to track where people go and when—and last year, we learned that at least eight Washington law enforcement agencies were sharing this data directly with ICE and Border Patrol.

SB 6002 limits how ALPR data can be collected, retained, and shared. The bill bans the use of ALPRs for immigration enforcement, prohibits cameras near schools, places of worship, courthouses, and food banks, requires data deletion within 21 days, and makes willful violations a gross misdemeanor. The bill has passed both chambers and has been delivered to Gov. Ferguson for his signature.

Protecting driver privacy is about healthcare autonomy, freedom of movement, and resisting over-surveillance—especially for people seeking gender-affirming care or abortion in Washington State, where those services are legal.

While we weren’t excited about the final bill’s amendments and language, we are grateful for all of the work that our partners and privacy advocates have put into moving us in the right direction. We are committed to continuing to address this concern and building our muscles around physical and data privacy for marginalized communities who are over-surveilled and over policed. 

✅ Sustaining Victim Services Funding

We joined survivor advocacy groups in pushing hard for increased Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding in the supplemental budget. Federal VOCA funding has plummeted by more than 50% since its peak, putting critical survivor services at risk across the state. While we asked for $21.38 million—the minimum needed to sustain Washington’s current victim services infrastructure—the final budget maintains funding at approximately $20 million per year. This is less than we hoped for, but it will keep the doors open for the 140 organizations that serve over 50,000 survivors annually. We will continue fighting for a long-term, sustainable funding solution.

✅ Defeating Every Anti-Trans Bill 

Every anti-Trans bill introduced this session died without coming to a vote on the floor. These proposals failed because our community and our allies showed up early and often to make it clear: these attacks have no place in Washington:

Anti-Trans School Sports Bills (SB 5012 and SB 5097): Would have restricted Trans girls from participating in school sports

Restricting Access to Gender-Affirming Healthcare (HB 1038): Would have prohibited healthcare providers from providing or referring Trans youth to gender-affirming care (while carving out exceptions for cis youth)

Anti-LGBTQ+ Online Censorship Bills (HB 2112, HB 1834, and SB 5708): Would have established invasive age-verification requirements for online content—broadly defined in ways that could have targeted LGBTQ+ resources and education. We are grateful to the Washington Attorney General’s Office and Democratic Bill Sponsors for being open to constructive feedback about how these bills would have harmed LGBTQ+ youth and continue to engage with bill sponsors and the AGs office to look at how to address social media, access to adult content, and privacy for our communities without violating the 1st amendment or exposing sensitive information like identity documents to insecure third party “age verification” vendors. We’re grateful to Lavender Rights Project, ACLU of Washington, and GSBA for helping to engage with lawmakers and the AG’s office on these concerns. 

Anti-Sex Worker Bill (HB 2526): Would have further criminalized sex work and disproportionately harmed Trans women and Trans people of color. We’re so grateful to our partners who took the lead on these bills: Queer Power Alliance, Strippers are Workers, The Coalition for Rights and Safety for people in the sex trades, Aileen’s Place, UTOPIA WA, and many others!

💥 You’re Invited: Join a Trans Leadership Lab

Looking ahead, we’re facing two dangerous, anti-Trans ballot initiatives that directly threaten our communities—IL26-001 and IL26-638—which will be on our November 2026 ballots. Backed by hedge fund mega-millionaire Brian Heywood and Let’s Go Washington, these measures are designed to roll back the progress we’ve fought so hard to win. 

IL26-001 would strip away protections against harassment for Trans and other marginalized kids in WA public schools, eliminate safeguards for student privacy, and restore provisions that could force the outing of LGBTQ+ students. IL26-638 would ban Trans girls from participating in girls’ sports in public schools, and would require invasive “medical sex verification” examinations for all girls aged 11 and older wanting to play sports.

Democratic legislative leaders declined to take up either initiative, meaning both will go directly to voters in November. 

We know that conversations change hearts, and hearts change outcomes—and that’s why we’re organizing Trans Leadership Labs across the state.

Join us in a city near you for an evening of community, education, and action. We’ll discuss the current threats facing our community, ground ourselves in collective strength, and build and practice skills to effectively tell our stories for change.

Mark your calendars, sign up here, and we’ll look forward to building together. 

Community donors fund 100% of our advocacy work, allowing us to continue fighting for—and winning—policies that defend Trans life and keep anti-Trans policies out of our state. If you can, please consider making a gift today.