Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: Enacted 2 D cosponsors

SB 5834 — Concerning payment of expenses from the earnings of retirement system trust funds.

Last action — Effective date 6/11/2026.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 05, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bob Ferguson (Democratic) on March 16, 2026.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

29 added · 34 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent amendments to Bill SB 5834 clarify how the director can use the interest earnings from the public employees' retirement system's trust funds. Specifically, the amendments expand the scope of expenses that can be covered to include legal and medical expenses, while removing the temporary reference to administrative expenses for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium. This change matters because it ensures that necessary costs related to protecting the trust funds, such as legal fees and fraud investigations, can be funded more consistently, which helps safeguard the retirement benefits of public employees.

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S-4285.1 SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5834 State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session By Senate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Conway and Nobles;
Z-0523.1 SENATE BILL 5834 State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session By Senators Conway and Nobles;
by request of Department of Retirement Systems) READ FIRST TIME 02/04/26.
by request of Department of Retirement Systems Prefiled 12/05/25.
Read first time 01/12/26.
Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
(1) The director is authorized to pay from the interest earnings of the trust funds of the public employees' retirement system, the teachers' retirement system, the Washington state patrol retirement system, the Washington judicial retirement system, the judges' retirement system, the school employees' retirement system, the public safety employees' retirement system, or the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system lawful obligations of the appropriate system for legal ((,)) and medical((, and, during the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium, administrative)) expenses, which expenses are primarily incurred for the purpose of protecting ((or preventing losses from)) the appropriate trust fund or are incurred in compliance with statutes governing such funds.
The director is authorized to pay from the interest earnings of the trust funds of the public employees' retirement system, the teachers' retirement system, the Washington state patrol retirement system, the Washington judicial retirement system, the judges' retirement system, the school employees' retirement system, the public safety employees' retirement system, or the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system lawful obligations of the appropriate system for legal, medical, and((, during the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium,)) administrative expenses, which expenses are primarily incurred for the purpose of protecting or preventing losses from the appropriate trust fund or are incurred in compliance with statutes governing such funds.
(2) The term "legal expense" includes, but is not limited to, legal services provided through the legal services revolving fund, fees for expert witnesses, travel expenses, fees for court reporters, cost of transcript preparation, and reproduction of documents.
The term "legal expense" includes, but is not limited to, legal services provided through the legal services revolving fund, fees for expert witnesses, travel expenses, fees for court reporters, cost of transcript preparation, and reproduction of documents.
1 SSB 5834 (3) The term "medical expense" includes, but is not limited to, expenses for the medical examination or reexamination of members or retirees, the costs of preparation of medical reports, and fees charged by medical professionals for attendance at discovery proceedings or hearings.
1 SB 5834 The term "medical expense" includes, but is not limited to, expenses for the medical examination or reexamination of members or retirees, the costs of preparation of medical reports, and fees charged by medical professionals for attendance at discovery proceedings or hearings.
((The term "administrative expenses" includes, but is not limited to, expenses incurred to prevent losses to the trust funds such as audits, cybersecurity, petition decisions, departmental liaison work with the attorney general's office, and other similar expenses incurred by the department to ensure that trust funds are protected against risks that might lead to losses from the trust funds.)) (4) The director may also pay from the interest earnings of the trust funds specified in this section costs incurred in preventing and investigating fraud and collecting overpayments, including expenses incurred to prevent, review, and investigate cases of possible fraud against the trust funds and collection agency fees and other costs incurred in recovering overpayments.
The term "administrative expenses" includes, but is not limited to, expenses incurred to prevent losses to the trust funds such as audits, cybersecurity, petition decisions, departmental liaison work with the attorney general's office, and other similar expenses incurred by the department to ensure that trust funds are protected against risks that might lead to losses from the trust funds.
Fraud prevention includes expenses related to preventing losses to the trust funds and can include audits, cybersecurity, petition decisions, departmental liaison work with the attorney general's office, and other similar expenses incurred by the department to ensure that trust funds are protected against risks that might lead to losses from the trust funds.
The director may also pay from the interest earnings of the trust funds specified in this section costs incurred in investigating fraud and collecting overpayments, including expenses incurred to review and investigate cases of possible fraud against the trust funds and collection agency fees and other costs incurred in recovering overpayments.
2 SSB 5834
2 SB 5834
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Action History

  1. Effective date 6/11/2026.

  2. Chapter 68, 2026 Laws.

  3. Governor signed.

  4. Delivered to Governor.

  5. Speaker signed.

  6. President signed.

  7. Third reading, passed; yeas, 97; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 1.

  8. Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.

  9. Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading.

  10. Referred to Rules 2 Review.

  11. APP - Majority; do pass.

  12. Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

  13. Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 4:00 PM.

  14. First reading, referred to Appropriations.

  15. Third reading, passed; yeas, 49; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 0.

  16. Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.

  17. 1st substitute bill substituted (WM 26).

  18. Placed on second reading by Rules Committee.

  19. Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.

  20. Minority; without recommendation.

  21. WM - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass.

  22. Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM.

  23. Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM.

  24. First reading, referred to Ways & Means.

  25. Prefiled for introduction.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 149 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (149)

149 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 149 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

3rd Reading & Final Passage (#2)

Passed 97 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 38000
Democrat 59001
Total 97001
% of votes cast 99%0%0%1%
How each member voted (98)
Member Party Vote
Adam Bernbaum Democrat Yea
Adison Richards Democrat Yea
Adrian Cortes Democrat Yea
Alex Ramel Democrat Yea
Alicia Rule Democrat Yea
Amy Walen Democrat Yea
April Berg Democrat Yea
Beth Doglio Democrat Yea
Brandy Donaghy Democrat Yea
Brianna Thomas Democrat Yea
Chipalo Street Democrat Yea
Chris Stearns Democrat Yea
Cindy Ryu Democrat Yea
Clyde Shavers Democrat Yea
Dan Bronoske Democrat Yea
Darya Farivar Democrat Yea
Dave Paul Democrat Yea
David Hackney Democrat Yea
Davina Duerr Democrat Yea
Debra Entenman Democrat Yea
Debra Lekanoff Democrat Yea
Edwin Obras Democrat Yea
Gerry Pollet Democrat Yea
Greg Nance Democrat Yea
Jake Fey Democrat Yea
Jamila Taylor Democrat Yea
Janice Zahn Democrat Yea
Javier Valdez Democrat Yea
Joe Fitzgibbon Democrat Yea
Joe Timmons Democrat Yea
Julia Reed Democrat Yea
Kristine Reeves Democrat Yea
Larry Springer Democrat Yea
Lauren Davis Democrat Yea
Laurie Jinkins Democrat Yea
Lillian Ortiz-Self Democrat Yea
Lisa Callan Democrat Yea
Lisa Parshley Democrat Yea
Liz Berry Democrat Yea
Mari Leavitt Democrat Yea
Mary Fosse Democrat Yea
Melanie Morgan Democrat Yea
Mia Gregerson Democrat Yea
Monica Jurado Stonier Democrat Yea
My-Linh Thai Democrat Yea
Natasha Hill Democrat Yea
Nicole Macri Democrat Yea
Osman Salahuddin Democrat Yea
Roger Goodman Democrat Yea
Sharlett Mena Democrat Yea
Sharon Tomiko Santos Democrat Yea
Sharon Wylie Democrat Yea
Shaun Scott Democrat Yea
Shelley Kloba Democrat Yea
Steve Bergquist Democrat Yea
Steve Tharinger Democrat Not Voting
Strom Peterson Democrat Yea
Tarra Simmons Democrat Yea
Timm Ormsby Democrat Yea
Zach Hall Democrat Yea
Alex Ybarra Republican Yea
Andrew Barkis Republican Yea
Andrew Engell Republican Yea
April Connors Republican Yea
Brian Burnett Republican Yea
Carolyn Eslick Republican Yea
Chris Corry Republican Yea
Cyndy Jacobsen Republican Yea
Dan Griffey Republican Yea
David Stuebe Republican Yea
Deb Manjarrez Republican Yea
Drew Stokesbary Republican Yea
Ed Orcutt Republican Yea
Gloria Mendoza Republican Yea
Hunter Abell Republican Yea
Jenny Graham Republican Yea
Jeremie Dufault Republican Yea
Jim Walsh Republican Yea
Joe Schmick Republican Yea
Joel McEntire Republican Yea
John Ley Republican Yea
Joshua Penner Republican Yea
Kevin Waters Republican Yea
Mark Klicker Republican Yea
Mary Dye Republican Yea
Matt Marshall Republican Yea
Michael Keaton Republican Yea
Mike Steele Republican Yea
Mike Volz Republican Yea
Peter Abbarno Republican Yea
Rob Chase Republican Yea
Sam Low Republican Yea
Skyler Rude Republican Yea
Stephanie Barnard Republican Yea
Stephanie McClintock Republican Yea
Suzanne Schmidt Republican Yea
Tom Dent Republican Yea
Travis Couture Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading & Final Passage (#16)

Passed 49 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democrat 30000
Republican 19000
Total 49000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (49)
Member Party Vote
Adrian Cortes Democrat Yea
Annette Cleveland Democrat Yea
Bob Hasegawa Democrat Yea
Claire Wilson Democrat Yea
Claudia Kauffman Democrat Yea
Deborah Krishnadasan Democrat Yea
Derek Stanford Democrat Yea
Drew Hansen Democrat Yea
Emily Alvarado Democrat Yea
Jamie Pedersen Democrat Yea
Javier Valdez Democrat Yea
Jesse Salomon Democrat Yea
Jessica Bateman Democrat Yea
John Lovick Democrat Yea
June Robinson Democrat Yea
Lisa Wellman Democrat Yea
Liz Lovelett Democrat Yea
Manka Dhingra Democrat Yea
Marcus Riccelli Democrat Yea
Marko Liias Democrat Yea
Mike Chapman Democrat Yea
Noel Frame Democrat Yea
Rebecca Saldaña Democrat Yea
Sharon Shewmake Democrat Yea
Steve Conway Democrat Yea
T'wina Nobles Democrat Yea
Tina Orwall Democrat Yea
Vandana Slatter Democrat Yea
Victoria Hunt Democrat Yea
Yasmin Trudeau Democrat Yea
Chris Gildon Republican Yea
Curtis King Republican Yea
Drew MacEwen Republican Yea
Jeff Holy Republican Yea
Jeff Wilson Republican Yea
Jim McCune Republican Yea
John Braun Republican Yea
Judy Warnick Republican Yea
Keith Goehner Republican Yea
Keith Wagoner Republican Yea
Leonard Christian Republican Yea
Mark Schoesler Republican Yea
Matt Boehnke Republican Yea
Nikki Torres Republican Yea
Paul Harris Republican Yea
Perry Dozier Republican Yea
Phil Fortunato Republican Yea
Ron Muzzall Republican Yea
Shelly Short Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

finance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 5834?
SB 5834 is sponsored by T'wina Nobles (Democrat) and Steve Conway (Democrat).
What is the current status of SB 5834?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 05, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 5834?
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