What Bill?
Bill 5615, to make pickleball the official sport of the state of Washington, has been assigned a hearing date for Wednesday January 12th, 2022 at 8:00 am (video), and for a Senate vote on Friday January 14th at 10:30 am (video).
After the bill clears the Senate hearing and Senate vote, a vote will be scheduled in the House sometime in February.
What should I do NOW?
ACTION 1: Now is the time to leave a comment in support of this bill, so your state representatives know you want them to vote for it! The form is super easy to fill out and your comment will be sent directly to your senator and/or representatives for your district. You can do it in less than 2 minutes. If you don’t know what to write, just say “I support bill SB 5615 to designate pickleball as the official sport of the state of Washington.“
Senators John Lovick of Mill Creek and Sam Hunt from Olympia, who introduced this bill, want as many people as possible doing this, a minimum of 100 to 200 statements of support if we can. Let’s give them thousands!
ACTION 2: We need folks from all over the state to submit comments, so share the link with your pickleball friends across Washington.
What else can I do now?
If you have the time, write letters to newspaper editors in support of the bill.
What next?
There is such a buzz in the pickleball community about this bill, you will surely hear about new developments. The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association will issue further action alerts as needed.
Meanwhile, you can watch the video of the public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Wednesday 1/12/2022 at 8:00 am, and the video of the Senate vote on Friday 1/14/2022 at 10:30 am.
How can I track this bill’s status?
Check out its official web page on the Washington State Legislature web site.
January 31 Update
The bill will get a Senate vote next Wednesday, February 2nd. If it passes it then goes to the House for a vote, and then to the governor’s desk for signature.