Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate 16 D cosponsors

SB 5838 — Adding a tribal member to the board of natural resources.

Last action — By resolution, returned to Senate Rules Committee for third reading.

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

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced December 05, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 58% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 16 sponsors

    1 primary, 15 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (16 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

40 added · 44 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent amendments to SB 5838 specify that the board of natural resources will now include one tribal member rather than multiple tribal members. This change shifts the total number of board members from six to seven. It matters because adding a tribal representative aims to bring unique insights and expertise to the board's decision-making processes, enhancing the representation of Indigenous perspectives in natural resource management.

→
Previous
Latest
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5838 State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session By Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Senators Kauffman, Saldaña, Alvarado, Conway, Frame, Hasegawa, Liias, Lovelett, Nobles, Pedersen, Riccelli, Shewmake, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, and C.
Z-0482.1 SENATE BILL 5838 State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session By Senators Kauffman, Saldaña, Alvarado, Conway, Frame, Hasegawa, Liias, Lovelett, Nobles, Pedersen, Riccelli, Shewmake, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, and C.
by request of Department of Natural Resources) READ FIRST TIME 02/03/26.
by request of Department of Natural Resources Prefiled 12/05/25.
AN ACT Relating to adding tribal representation to the board of natural resources;
Read first time 01/12/26.
Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.
AN ACT Relating to adding a tribal member to the board of natural resources;
The legislature finds that inclusion of tribal members on the board of natural resources will provide crucial perspective and expertise that will be invaluable as it makes decisions that serve the public.
The legislature finds that inclusion of a tribal member on the board of natural resources will provide crucial perspective and expertise that will be invaluable as it makes decisions that serve the public.
(1) The board shall consist of ((six)) eight members:
(1) The board shall consist of ((six)) seven members:
1 ESSB 5838 (f) A representative of those counties that contain state forestlands acquired or transferred under RCW 79.22.010, 79.22.040, and 79.22.020;
1 SB 5838 (f) A representative of those counties that contain state forestlands acquired or transferred under RCW 79.22.010, 79.22.040, and 79.22.020;
and (g) Tribal representation.
and (g) A tribal representative.
(3)(a) Two tribal representatives shall be appointed by the governor and the representatives must be members of a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(3)(a) The tribal representative shall be appointed by the governor and must be a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe who shall serve a term of four years unless the representative should leave office for any reason.
One tribal representative shall represent the portion of the state lying east of the summit of the Cascade mountains, and one tribal representative shall represent the portion of the state lying west of the summit of the Cascade mountains.
The initial term shall begin on July 1, 2026.
Each tribal representative shall serve a term of four years unless the representative should leave office for any reason.
(b) When appointing a tribal representative, the governor shall solicit and consider nominees from each of the federally recognized tribes in Washington state.
The initial terms shall begin on July 1, 2026.
The governor shall collaborate with federally recognized tribes on the selection of the tribal representative.
(b) When appointing tribal representatives, the governor shall solicit and consider nominees from each of the federally recognized Indian tribes in Washington and from each of the federally recognized Indian tribes with treaty ceded lands in Washington.
The governor shall collaborate with federally recognized Indian tribes on the selection of the tribal representatives.
2 ESSB 5838
2 SB 5838
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (3)

Action History

  1. By resolution, returned to Senate Rules Committee for third reading.

  2. Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM.

  3. Public hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 8:00 AM.

  4. First reading, referred to Agriculture & Natural Resources.

  5. Third reading, passed; yeas, 30; nays, 19; absent, 0; excused, 0.

  6. Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.

  7. Floor amendment(s) adopted.

  8. 1st substitute bill substituted (ANR 26).

  9. Placed on second reading by Rules Committee.

  10. Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.

  11. Minority; without recommendation.

  12. Minority; do not pass.

  13. ANR - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass.

  14. Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 1:30 PM.

  15. Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 1:30 PM.

  16. First reading, referred to Agriculture & Natural Resources.

  17. Prefiled for introduction.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 15 co-sponsors · 135 not signed on · 19 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (15)

Not signed on (135)

135 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 135 →

"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 (#34)

Passed 30 Yea · 19 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democrat 30000
Republican 01900
Total 301900
% of votes cast 61%39%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 Nay
Curtis King Republican Nay
Drew MacEwen Republican Nay
Jeff Holy Republican Nay
Jeff Wilson Republican Nay
Jim McCune Republican Nay
John Braun Republican Nay
Judy Warnick Republican Nay
Keith Goehner Republican Nay
Keith Wagoner Republican Nay
Leonard Christian Republican Nay
Mark Schoesler Republican Nay
Matt Boehnke Republican Nay
Nikki Torres Republican Nay
Paul Harris Republican Nay
Perry Dozier Republican Nay
Phil Fortunato Republican Nay
Ron Muzzall Republican Nay
Shelly Short Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety environment
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 5838?
SB 5838 is sponsored by Claire Wilson (Democrat), Yasmin Trudeau (Democrat), Derek Stanford (Democrat), Sharon Shewmake (Democrat), Marcus Riccelli (Democrat), Jamie Pedersen (Democrat), T'wina Nobles (Democrat), Liz Lovelett (Democrat), Marko Liias (Democrat), Bob Hasegawa (Democrat), Noel Frame (Democrat), Steve Conway (Democrat), Emily Alvarado (Democrat), Rebecca Saldaña (Democrat), Claudia Kauffman (Democrat), and Javier Valdez (Democrat).
What is the current status of SB 5838?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced December 05, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 5838?
Track SB 5838 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 5838

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 5838

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →