OLYMPIA — In anticipation of the upcoming 2025 legislative session, starting today, Washington State Senator Judy Warnick discussed her key priorities and strategies aimed at improving policies that impact her constituents.

As she prepares for the session, Warnick said she is keenly aware of the challenges posed by a shifting political landscape, particularly in light of a newly elected Democratic governor and a budget shortfall that will influence the agenda.

Warnick's legislative priorities center around three themes: affordability, public safety and education — specifically the safety and educational advancement of children.

"My priorities are to understand what the majority party is going to ask of the citizens," Warnick explained, emphasizing her approach of first familiarizing herself with the new political players in Olympia. "As the minority party, we don't know a lot about who is coming in, the players in some of the committees, and the departments."

On the legislative front, Warnick is already proposing several bills that she feels are paramount. A central focus is Senate Bill 5097, aimed at addressing the competitive nature of girls sports.

"My worry is that girls' athletic activities are going to be compromised if people who are not born a girl are allowed to compete," she said.

Warnick referenced an example in Spokane where a transgender woman competed in the female category and won the race.

“I am not anti-transgender,” Warnick said. “I don't want people to think that I oppose transgender athletes. What I'm worried about is that girls' athletic activities are going to be compromised if people who are not born a girl are allowed to compete, and the different strengths and different abilities may cause some safety issues.”

This bill seeks to establish what Warnick characterized as fair competition and would require the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to adopt rules that ensure competitiveness in girls' sports.

In addition to the athletics proposal, Warnick said she plans to support local businesses through Senate Bill 5054, which proposes tax breaks for small wineries.

"We have a lot of small wineries in Washington state, and they pay a fairly hefty tax, and the small wineries are suffering, they're having to close,” Warnick said.

Her legislation would provide a tax relief mechanism for the first 20,000 gallons produced by small wineries while ensuring larger wineries still contribute their fair share.

Furthermore, Warnick is eager to advocate for agricultural tourism through Senate Bill 5055, which aims to give farms more discretion in attracting visitors for tours and product sales. She said she believes this could revitalize local economies and bring awareness to the agricultural industry throughout the state.

"So many people are interested in agriculture, and hopefully this agri-tourism bill will help the farms that want to showcase what they can offer," Warnick said.

She also emphasized her commitment to fostering collaboration with her colleagues across the aisle.

"I've always worked to be as bipartisan as I can," she said. “I will talk to people from the other side of the aisle. I've been known for that, and it's going to take a little bit of time to get to know our new governor. I haven't spent a lot of time talking to him, but I imagine the opportunity will come up soon, but there's always, always, always an opportunity for bipartisanship.”

She said she aims to establish fruitful relationships with newly introduced members of the assembly and to carry that cooperative spirit into her role on the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee, where she hopes to collaborate on issues important to both education and public safety.

“I'm sent to Olympia to represent the 13th District and by doing that I am sent to meet with 39 other senators, whether they're my party or the majority party,” Warnick said.

In acknowledgment of the potential budget shortfall, Warnick expressed a need for scrutiny of existing programs, particularly those addressing homelessness.

“I think part of the shortfall could be resolved by taking a deep dive and looking at programs that maybe could be curtailed or cut back somewhat,” Warnick said. “One of my plans in the affordability world is to take a look at how much money we have spent over the years, over the decades for homelessness, and we still have more homeless people in Washington state per capita than most other states. So what has happened there? We need to take a look at where that money was spent, who got it and why do we still have so many homeless people and is there a better path than just putting a roof over somebody's head?”

As the new session approaches, Warnick said she wants constituents to know her doors are always open.

"I want people to know that they can reach out to me," she said.

    Sen. Judy Warnick served her first term in 2015, making this her 10th year in the Senate. Warnick said it will be interesting navigating a new governor and the budget shortfall this legislative session. This is the first time Warnick has been a part of the Senate with a transition to a new governor.
  

    Thirteenth District Sen. Judy Warnick has proposed two bills – one of which will loosen regulations on agricultural tourism and the other will provide tax breaks to small wineries.