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Connect with the LGBTQ Commission!
Let Us Know About Your Pride Events!
Pride season is just around the corner! The WA State LGBTQ Commission wants to keep an updated calendar of Pride events throughout the state. We have created this form (https://forms.gle/XriJeud9DURibmZY9 ) which you can use to let us know about any event your agency or community group is planning for this year. Feel free to share this link with agencies around your area who are planning events to celebrate and honor our community.
The LGBTQ Commission reserves the right to publish the information of the event, and here are some guidelines we will follow in making our decision on what events will be published:
- Events that go against the mission, vision, and values of the LGBTQ Commission will not be publish on the calendar.
- Only community events will be accepted for publication. No commercial events at bars, clubs, restaurants, or paid venues will be accepted for publication. (It’s OK if a community event has an entrance fee.)
- Political, partisan, and religious events will not be accepted for publication.
- Acceptance for publication of an event on the Commission’s calendar does not constitute endorsement, support, or sponsorship of such event on the part of the Commission, its staff, Commissioners, or affiliated agencies.
Commission staff would be delighted to share with our community at Pride events throughout the season. If you want to extend an invitation to the staff or Commissioners to attend your event in an official capacity, please submit your invitation through the Commission’s “Contact Us” page here.
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Queer Women Virtual Townhall
The Washington State LGBTQ Commission invites all 2SLBTQIA+ WOMEN in the state to join for a virtual townhall on Wednesday, March 9th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
We want to engage queer women in the state and hear their concerns, hopes, and ideas on how to expand protections for our community.
Please use the following link to attend the townhall, no registration necessary: https://tinyurl.com/QueerWoman
The Commission is honored to have three expert panelists join us for a discussion:
- Bre Johnson, Volunteer Recruiter, The Trevor Project
- Jaelynn Scott, Executive Director, Lavender Rights Project
- Pat McIntyre, Co-founder, Tacoma Older LGBT
Convener and moderator: Tracey Carlos, Program Manager, WA State LGBTQ Commission
## Please note that this is an affinity space for women-identified people of any sexual orientation. This is also an intentionally trans-inclusive space where trans women are welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated. We invite allies and men-identified people to respect the intentionality of creating this as a safe space for queer women. ##
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Conversation on Rural LGBTQ Small Businesses
The Economic & Business Development Committee of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission would like to invite you to join a conversion about the needs of rural LGBTQ small businesses. This will be held via Zoom during the Committee’s regular meeting on Wednesday, March 16 from 11:00 to noon.
We invite you to share any details or stories that you would like the Commission to be aware of, whether there are any challenges you face, if there are ways that Washington State or the Commission could better support you, or any helpful stories to share more widely.
Please register by Monday, March 14th here:
https://tinyurl.com/RuralLGBTQBusiness
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Bills that we are watching that made it past the most recent cutoff
HB 1015 - Creating the Washington equitable access to credit act
HB 1851 - Preserving a pregnant individual's ability to access abortion care
HB 1956 - Exempting from public disclosure sensitive records pertaining to current and formerly incarcerated individuals' dignity and safety
HB 1961 - Concerning the authority of the courts to waive auditor's fees for filing and recording name change orders
HB 2057 - Strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion in the state patrol workforce
HB 2059 - Concerning real estate agency law, but only to clarify that the statutory duties of real estate brokers apply to all parties and prohibiting the delivery of buyer unfair
SB 5376 - Promoting awareness of the governor's office of the education ombuds
SB 5532 - Establishing a prescription drug affordability board
SB 5793 - Concerning stipends for low-income or underrepresented community members of state boards, commissions, councils, committees, and other similar groups.
Opportunities for the Community
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Working Washington Grans - Request for Public Comment
The Washington Department of Commerce’s Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness (OEDC) is seeking public comments and recommendations to inform the agency’s work on the development of the next round of COVID-19 small business recovery grants, Working Washington Grants: Round 5. The purpose of this effort is to:
- Gather stakeholder input on a draft definition for the arts and heritage sectors;
- Determine desirable methods of grant administration and distribution;
- Identify potential challenges of eligibility requirements and ideas for how to circumvent those hurdles;
Feedback obtained through this Request for Public Comment process will help inform coordinated agency action in designing and implementing programs that support equitable access for small business recovery grants across the state. Find more information and instructions on how to submit comments through this link: https://tinyurl.com/n7sby254
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Interested in serving on Commissions and Boards?
Monthly Upcoming Appointment Opportunities
Washington is home to vibrant communities and diverse Washingtonians who all have unique talents, skills and experiences. Governor Inslee places a high priority on boards, commissions, and agencies that are reflective of the diverse make-up of Washington and that utilize the impressive talent of Washingtonians. We are always seeking skilled and experienced individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds to participate in boards and commissions ensuring an effective and representative government.
We are excited to share the highlighted Current and Upcoming Gubernatorial Appointment Opportunities.
As someone with deep roots in your respective communities and organizations, we hope that you will share these opportunities. Anyone interested in being appointed will need to fill out this Application. Please explore the Boards and Commissions Profiles if you are interested in learning more about the many opportunities to get involved!
Thank you for your assistance in helping Governor Inslee find well-rounded candidates with significant talent and diverse experiences. Please feel free to reach out to Boards and Commissions staff with any questions you might have. Thank you for your time.
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Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprises – Equity and Inclusion in Public Contracting Survey
The Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB) wants to hear from public works stakeholders in Washington state on mitigating barriers to diverse businesses in public construction. The 2021 State Legislature asked CPARB in RCW 39.10 to report back on best practices around diversity, equity, and inclusion in public contracting. CPARB is asking you to complete a simple online survey. Your feedback will guide their Business Equity/Diverse Business Inclusion (BE/DBI) Committee in focusing on which barriers need work and providing solutions.
Please complete the survey by the end of business day on February 28, 2022.
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Washington Courts – Proposed Rule Changes to the Code of Judicial Conduct
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Say It Out Loud Conference
We ARE Family
Honoring and recognizing the many structures and diverse expressions of families, biological and chosen.
The 2022 Annual SIOL Conference will be Virtual
Thursday, May 26
The Saying It Out Loud (SIOL) Conference focuses on information sharing and networking to improve behavioral health services and decrease disparities faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals. The conference strives to provide space to educate and share knowledge with attendees to better serve and support LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. Find out more about the SIOL conference by visiting this link.
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Legislative Session Updates
The LGBTQ Commission identifies legislative priorities annually and works with our Legislative Advisors and other legislators to advance bills that expand the rights of the community.
The current bills being monitored for 2022-23 so far are:
- Prescription drug affordability board
- Medicaid coverage of HIV drugs
- Possession of vapor, vapor products, tobacco, and tobacco products by minors (large percentage of LGBTQ+ youth affected)
- Keeping Department of Children, Youth, and Families working through an equity lens
- Decriminalization of sex work
- Increasing access to infertility treatment
- Increasing diversity, equity, and mental health at community and technical colleges
- Preserving abortion care rights
You can find a full list of the bills we are watching in the 2022 session through this link.
The LGBTQ and ally community in Washington has several ways to be involved in advocating for issues that are important to us. Here are some tools you can use:
Washington State LGBTQ Legislative Caucus
Contact Your Legislator
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Find Your Legislator: Enter your address to find your current legislative and congressional district.
- Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 1-800-635-9993). Callers to the Hotline can leave a brief message for their district legislators, Governor or Lt. Governor on issues of concern or on questions they may have about bills or laws. For non-English speaking callers, the Hotline offers interpreter services for many languages.
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E-mail: Click a legislator’s name to go to the e-mail form for that legislator
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Visiting the Legislature: Information about directions, parking, Capitol Campus activities and events, and tours.
Bill Information
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Bill Information: Find out the latest information on a piece of legislation.
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Legislative Process: Learn how a bill becomes a law.
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How to Testify in Committee: Your opportunity to testify comes at the committee hearings. If you cannot appear before a committee, contact your legislator making your position on a bill known.
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TVW: Washington’s public affairs network, providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of Washington State Legislature sessions and coverage of the Washington State Supreme Court and public affairs events.
Jobs Opportunities for LGBTQ Washingtonians
Check out the list of job opportunities for the community on our Careers Opportunities page by visiting this link.
We are excited to share job postings sent to the LGBTQ Commission. There are three requirements to be included on our page:
- The job needs to be able to be done in Washington State (virtual works)
- The business must have an inclusivity and/or equal opportunity statement
- The job posting must include a salary range.
Please send any job opportunity to share with the community to our Program Manager, Tracey Carlos (she/her) to tracey.carlos@lgbtq.wa.gov
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