Seattle City Council 3/25/2025

Good afternoon, everyone.

The March 25th, 2025 meeting at the Seattle city council will come to order.

It is two Oh three.

I am Sarah Nelson, council president.

Will the clerk please call the roll.

Council member Hollingsworth.

Present.

Council member Kettle.

Here.

Council member Moore.

Council member Rink.

Present.

Council member Rivera.

Present.

Council member Saka.

Here.

Council member Solomon.

Here.

Council member Strauss.

Present.

Council member Moore.

Present.

Council president Nelson.

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you, there are no presentations today, so colleagues at this time will open the hybrid public comment period.

Public comment is limited to items on today's agenda, the introduction and referral calendar, and the council work program.

Claire, how many speakers are signed up today, please?

One in person and three remote.

All right, let's begin with the one person, two minutes for everybody.

Speakers will be called in order in which they're registered.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

Speakers mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Our first speaker is Malik.

Hello.

Is this?

We can hear you.

Really close.

Hello?

Okay.

You can raise it.

There you go.

Hi, council members.

I'd like to start by introducing myself.

I'm here from the University of Washington, representing the Tech Policy Lab that's hosted inside of the law school there.

I wanted to bring to your guys' awareness an event that we're going to be having next week.

It's on Thursday evening at 7 p.m.

We're going to be hosting a distinguished lecture with Alondra Nelson.

I did send an email to you guys that I haven't received any information back on.

I know that you guys are busy, so no problem on that.

But I wanted to be able to come here and directly implore you guys to be in attendance and to encourage others to be in attendance for this as well.

She was a Deputy Assistant to President Biden in the previous White House administration, and she was on the Science and Technology Task Force.

And so I really think that, especially right now, it's important that we have representation from our city, and in these sort of events and lectures, it's gonna be extremely informational for anybody that's in attendance, and especially for...

Council Member Maritza, I know that you are representative of our district, as I understand it, so you specifically would be great to have.

Not that anybody else is any less welcome, but also for Council Member Alexis and for Council Member Sarah, our citywide representatives, it would be great to have you guys or anybody from your office or anybody who you think it would be relevant.

information for to be in attendance.

So yeah, thank you for your time and I hope to see you guys there.

Thank you.

That was our last in-person speaker.

A reminder to our remote speakers, please press star six after you have heard the message that you have been unmuted.

Our first remote speaker is Charlotte Kane Amaro followed by Ashley Ford.

Go ahead, Charlotte.

Thank you, Madam President, members of the Council.

My name is Charlotte Kane Amaro, speaking in my capacity as a member of the Executive Board of the 43rd District Democrats.

I'm speaking today on Council Bill 12950. At our most recent meeting, the 43rd District Democrats unanimously approved my resolution affirming the rights of transgender, gender nonconforming, and gender expansive people to freely exist in the United States without fear of discrimination or hate crime.

It is imperative that Seattle does all we can to protect queer and trans people from the illegal and unconstitutional discrimination that we face from the federal government.

Trans children are being forcibly taken off their puberty suppressants and forced to undergo the torture of a puberty incongruent with the identity they proclaim.

Trans people who apply for passports are having new passports issued with incorrect gender markers, and that's if they even get a passport reissued to them.

Some state legislatures have introduced bills that would target trans people with identity fraud if they present themselves as a gender other than that which they were assigned at birth.

The federal government is engaged in systemic erasure of transgender people.

We must be a loud voice to remind the other Washington, a world without trans people has never existed.

We will always exist, no matter what.

We have to stand up and say with conviction, trans people, queer people, refugees and immigrants who are welcome in Seattle.

This is a place where you can be loved, respected and unafraid.

We will help you.

We will protect you because this is your home.

We must say it and we must mean it and we must act accordingly.

This bill is an excellent first step.

I urge your passage of the bill.

And I want to thank Select Committee Chair, Alexis Rank for leading this fight.

Pass the bill.

Keep us safe.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Ashley Ford, and Ashley will be followed by David Haynes.

Go ahead, Ashley.

Hi, City Council.

This is Ashley Ford.

I use she and they pronouns, co-chair of the LGBTQ Commission.

I'm here today to speak in favor of the Welcoming City Ordinance, and in particular, want to share the formal endorsement from the LGBTQ Commission of Amendment B being brought by Council Member Rink's office to impose trigger legislation on this ordinance.

I've spoken in many city council meetings, committee meetings, especially recently, and I've heard really affirming general consensus from the council mayor's office on wanting to stand up for queer Seattleites.

And I really want to thank you for the affirmation that we want to be a welcoming city and that we aren't backing down to federal threats.

Um, on that note, I've also heard many requests for tangible actions that can be taken and ways that you all city council members can do something.

Um, to that, I want to respond and encourage you all to take just one step that it will, um, small step that is crucial to really, um, helping us move forward and continue this work that we're working on here today.

Um, move outside of the typical policy procedure conversations that we have in these spaces.

That one recommendation is to listen to queer community.

Listen to community members like the person who spoke before me today.

Thank you.

Listen to us on the LGBTQ commission who freely give our time to advise you on queer issues, as well as your queer colleagues.

Know that there's nuance when navigating these changes that have historically harmed and sometimes even killed members of our community that may not be understood firsthand and may take some time to really dig deep into.

We really view this trigger law designation as crucial to ensure that the higher resource state court handle infractions on state shield laws.

until or unless they become weakened or eliminated.

As the federal government targets cities nationwide for their efforts to protect queer constituents, we must take critical action to prohibit out-of-state and high-resourced anti-LGBQ efforts to bypass our local community protection.

We appreciate it.

Thank you.

Our last remote speaker will be David Haynes.

Go ahead, David.

Hi, thank you.

David Haynes.

If people are still in doubt as to why Trump got elected with a mandate, just look at the agenda on the Seattle city council today.

They want the whole nation to know that you can kill off your unborn baby and call it reproductive health with no pro-life option for a mother like adoption.

And they're sexualizing children with perverted interpretations of biology, trying to gouge insurance to cover sex changes for kids and adults.

proving Democrats don't have the best interest of other people's kids.

Couple that with Seattle's race and social justice lens that promotes racist woke affirmative action infractions and priorities for repeat offenders and a race war against innocent White House's citizens.

And it becomes clear that Seattle is the epitome of what is wrong with America, where leaders are proactive in going further into the proverbial progressive bottom of the barrel policies.

proving that it's another election year to button push voting blocks and donors while society continues to implode with the wrong laws, wrong leaders, with the wrong training, the wrong agenda and the wrong priorities.

That said, how many cops deploy for a peaceful protest or presidential visit and how much overtime is paid to them for that?

Now compare that to how many cops and overtime is paid to work together to combat a specific crime hotspot.

where instead a handful of cops tasked with just going through the whole area and dispersing people and then catching up with people who are so screwed up that they're deemed unsuitable to go to jail.

They don't even get bothered to be trespassed or questioned to find out where they got the judge to go shut it down.

And where is the laws to keep the service providers accountable?

I know for a fact that there's some wraparound services who provide subhuman accommodations to drug addicts, and they claim expert at solving other people's problems, but they're not kept honest by the King County Regional Homeless Authority.

Where are the laws to take over the- Thank you, that was our last remote speaker.

Thank you very much.

The public comment period is now closed.

All right, moving on.

If there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

And if there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing none, the agenda is adopted.

We'll now consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar are Council Bill 120959, which is the payment of the bills, one appointment from the Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee, and two appointments from the Land Use Committee.

Are there any items that council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

All right, hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council member Kettle?

Aye.

Council member Moore?

Aye.

Council member Rink?

Aye.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Salomon?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The consent calendar items are adopted.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf?

Okay, item one.

Will the clerk please read the title of item one into the record?

The report of the City Council, Gendetta 1, Council Bill 120955 relating to federal funding, authorizing department directors to accept certain grants and pass through funding in 2025.

Thank you.

All right, I move to pass Council Bill 120955. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Council Member Strauss says, sponsor, you are recognized to address the bill.

Thank you, Council President.

This is a bill regarding grant acceptance for this year.

Our next grant acceptance and approval bill will be in the Finance Native Communities and Tribal Governments Committee on April 16th.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

Are there any comments or questions from colleagues?

All right.

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council member Moore.

Council member Rink.

Council member Rivera.

Council member Saka.

Council member Solomon.

Council member Strauss.

Council President Nelson.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

And now will the clerk please read item two into the record.

The report of the Finance Native Communities and Tribal Governments Committee, agenda item two, appointment 3094, appointment of Kirsten Grove as director of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services for term to March 1st, 2029. The committee recommends that the appointment be confirmed.

Thank you.

Councilmember Strauss is chair of the committee.

You're recognized in order to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President.

Everyone was able to see Kirsten Grove's first presentation at the Select Committee.

It was wonderful to have her back.

Thank you all for the additional questions that you added to her appointment packet.

I can tell you it is with great excitement that I bring forward this appointment to you today.

FAS, in my opinion, is the backbone of our city.

FAS are the folks that rent buildings to other departments such as ourselves.

We had a great conversation and committee about my D6 district office that is not owned by FAS, but they rent it out.

And it just demonstrates all the different layers of the city that FAS navigates for us, including for-profit tenants at places like the Seattle Center Armory.

They also maintain our motor pool fleets, whether that's for the motor pool that we have access to or the fire engines that are also repaired.

They're the ones that publish the RFPs for any department in our city.

They're the ones that implement the levies and collect taxes.

FAS is also in charge of our consumer protection departments and our customer service bureaus.

So for everyone in FAS who works at a front desk on behalf of the city of Seattle, thank you.

We see them here in City Hall and we see them all across our districts.

They also implement the Find It, Fix It app and under the last four years, or under the last two years specifically, I've seen great improvement in the Find It, Fix It app.

And they can only get the tickets to the departments responsible for that work.

So any problems that are going on with Find It, Fix It is also not their fault.

we can go and look at those departments.

Actually a really positive part of the conversation that we had at committee where COO Marco Lowe, when asked that question of why isn't it working for those specific departments, he took accountability for that.

So Kirsten, it's with a great honor that we put forward your permanent appointment as the director of finance and administrative services.

Colleagues, I urge a yes vote.

Thank you for that report.

Council members, if you were not at committee to sing the praises of Kirsten Grove, you are welcome to do so now or ask any questions you may have.

All right, seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of the appointment.

Council member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council member Kettle?

Aye.

Council member Moore?

Aye.

Council member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Solomon.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Congratulations, Director Grove.

You are recognized at this point to provide comments to the council and members of the public.

Why don't you step on up.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate you having me today.

Thank you for all the time you've invested in the thoughtful questions from last week.

Thank you, Chair Strauss, for your support during this process, and to Jesse Franz on your team for his assistance along the way.

I'd like to thank Mayor Harrell for his support and for his ongoing commitment to the work of FAS, and particularly to ensuring our women and minority-owned businesses have opportunities to work with the city.

I'd of course like to thank Marco Lowe, Kay Lee, Dan Nolte for their assistance and their time.

They each have been invaluable throughout this process.

And while FAS is largely an internal services department, our key community partners, including Tabor 100, Labor, and our small businesses are essential to ensuring that we provide excellent service.

And I wanna thank them for their support and for the work that they do on a daily basis to keep our city working.

I'd of course like to thank my fellow cabinet members for their mentorship and assistance, and in particularly Fire Chief Scoggins and the Human Services Department Director Kim.

And most importantly, my partner and our son for their humor and patience with my work at FAS and really during my entire time with the city.

FAS has a wide-ranging portfolio of responsibilities, including building and maintaining city facilities, such as our fire and police stations, supporting Seattle residents in all of our neighborhood customer service centers, administering the city's regulatory programs, procuring, maintaining, and fueling the city's fleet vehicles, and running Seattle Animal Shelter.

Just on our way over today, I saw our team working on the Seattle Municipal Tower Elevator Modernization Project.

I passed our consumer protection team helping people with licensing.

I saw our property management and janitorial team setting up for an event, and our customer service bureau answering community questions about city services.

I can't say enough about the amazing work of our almost 500 employees.

They are truly the backbone of the city and play a part in nearly every element of city service.

I believe strongly that the internal, often unseen work of city government has the ability to catalyze the most significant impacts, and this is the work of FAS.

None of this would be possible without our FAS leadership team.

I want to thank them for all they do to promote a work environment that fosters growth, collaboration, and excellent customer service.

And I want to particularly thank our Purchasing and Contracting Division Director, Presley Palmer, and our Director's Office team, Miki, Jesse, Adrian, Melissa, Jesse IE, Sherry, and Andy, for everything they do to support our team on a daily basis.

They make me proud of being a part of FAS.

I'm so honored to be the FAS Department Director And thank you again for your support during this process.

I look forward to working with you all.

Thank you.

Thank you very much and congratulations again.

All right.

Will the clerk please read the title of item 3 into the record?

The Report of the Governance and Accountability and Economic Development Committee.

Item 3. Council Bill 120950 relating to affirming the City of Seattle as a welcoming city, supporting access to reproductive health care services and gender-affirming treatment in Seattle, extending the responsibility of city employees to protect the provisions of reproductive health care services and gender-affirming treatment.

The committee recommends that the bill passes amended.

Thank you very much as chair of the committee and sponsor of the legislation.

I'll address the bill and then open the floor to comments.

Earlier this month, the mayor's office sent us this legislation to conform Seattle law with the Washington state shield law supporting access to reproductive health care services and gender affirming treatment.

The proposal creates a firewall preventing city employees from being used to enforce harmful and restrictive laws from other jurisdictions.

The mayor's office drafted the bill in cooperation with the city's LGBTQ commission, and it also has the support from the GSBA and Seattle Pride.

Key provisions of this ordinance include of the council will include, making Washington State's shield law enforceable at the city level, provides the authority for the CAO to bring a civil cause of action for interference with protected health services that would be created in the municipal court.

Now, such a cause of action is available under Washington courts in state law, but proposed SMC 14.115.040 would create one available through the municipal court as well.

And then finally, it prohibits city employees, including those in public health, social services, and law enforcement from cooperating with out of state attempts to penalize reproductive or gender affirming care that is legal in Washington.

This passed out of committee the week before last on a vote of four zero.

Are there any questions or comments?

Council member Moore.

I believe this is when I'm supposed to be doing this, Council President.

So at this time I move to amend Council Bill 120950 as presented on Amendment A on today's agenda.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to amend Council Bill 120950 as presented on Amendment A. Councilmember Moore as sponsor, you're recognized to address it.

And I would like to also note that you requested to be a co-sponsor of this legislation during committee last time.

So you are a co-sponsor.

Go ahead, please.

Thank you.

If I may turn it over to Tommaso to give a presentation as to what the amendment does.

Is that okay?

If there's no objection, central staff will present the amendment.

Hearing none, you're welcome to proceed.

Good afternoon.

Council central staff.

A brought by council member Moore would do two things.

It would define the term assistance, which is a term used in this ordinance and also used under Washington state law, but is currently undefined.

It would also explicitly add agents of city agencies, commissions, boards, or departments to the prohibition on cooperation with or provision of information related to protected healthcare services.

By way of background, both of these changes are being proposed by a bill currently moving through the Washington State Legislature that has passed the State Senate, but is currently in the State House.

And that state bill is being supported by the State Attorney General's Office.

Thank you for that.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tommaso, for your assistance with this and setting forth what the amendment does.

The reason that I wanted to bring it to this bill and incorporate it is in the offer, slim chance that that legislation does not pass the state legislature or be signed, that we would make sure that we do have more expansive protection in our Seattle codification of the state shield law.

And so that's why I'm bringing this here as just sort of basic backstop and additional protection.

And I would ask for my colleague's support.

All right.

Are there any comments on Amendment A?

All right, I'm not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment A. Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Solomon?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and Amendment A is adopted.

Are there further comments on the bill as amended?

Council President, I move to amend Council Bill 120950 as presented on Amendment B. Second.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment B. Council Member Rink, you're recognized in order to address it.

Thank you, Council President.

I'll save my remarks for after a presentation from the text of the bill.

Amendment B would add a trigger provision creating legal effect for the protections in the shield ordinance only if state shield law is repealed.

It would do so by modifying section two of the ordinance, which is the effective date provision, which normally would take effect 30 days after passage.

Thank you.

Thank you for that, Tommaso.

Colleagues, while I absolutely support mayor's intentions in drafting this ordinance and council president and the co-sponsor's intentions for sponsoring this here at council, we share the concerns of many of the stakeholders we've listened to, including Seattle's LGBTQ commission who have shared their endorsement of this amendment with all council members.

And in my research and conversations with organizations on the front lines of LGBTQ and reproductive rights fights locally and nationally, as well as consultation with the law department and city attorney's office, I've come to understand that this sends an important message, but does little above the existing state shield law when what it already does for our community.

And this will add risk and uncertainty at a time when that is what we need a lot less of.

We certainly don't need more uncertainty.

The mayor's proposed ordinance sends an important message, but unfortunately does not add any new substantive protections to our neighbors.

As for city employees, this ordinance would allow for the city attorney's office to proactively seek out and litigate potential violations on behalf of certain city employees, which the state attorney general can do currently.

But my concern is that adding this law to city code would also expose the city to increase legal and financial risk.

An unintended consequence of adding the state law to city ordinance is that if another state or federal government wants to pick a legal fight over shield laws, they'd have the opportunity to pick a fight with our city lawyers instead of the state's largest law firm, which is the attorney general's office.

So in summary, I share and wholly support the intentions behind this ordinance, but have serious concerns about the impacts and unintended consequences.

So I'm proposing this amendment to Council Bill 120950 that will, in my estimation, do two things.

First, ensure that Seattleites will be protected by a local shield law, even if the state shield law goes away for any reason.

And second, ensure that Seattle will not be singled out and targeted for its shield law by another government that's looking for a legal fight against a smaller team than the state attorney general's office already has at the ready.

Colleagues, I ask for your support on this amendment.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any questions or comments on this amendment?

All right.

As the sponsor of the legislation, I would say that it's my understanding that the amendment would effectively nullify or put on hold the additional protections of Council Bill 120950 by making this ordinance only effective if the state shield law is repealed.

And so I am going to vote against this.

Councilmember Hollingsworth.

I think Councilmember Moore was...

Oh, Councilmember Moore.

Whatever is best.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, first off, I want to thank the mayor's office for bringing this down, Council President for co-sponsoring it, all the people that brought amendments.

I know Councilmember Solomon has one.

Thank you, Council Member Rink, for all your hard work on amendments, and I know Council Member Moore brought hers as well.

From my understanding, and just for the record, the city shields law has additional and expanded actions compared to the state's legislation law.

So the city law would make it applicable to our local municipal court judges and employees, whereas the state would only allow to state courts.

So this allows individuals to have the city attorney bring legal action.

The bill does not take away the state's AG's ability to enforce, but it gives people the option to seek enforcement action at the city or state level.

That's my understanding, and I had asked law to help us read through that, because sometimes it can be confusing, reading all bills and just trying to understand that.

I already know that we are a target already as a sanctuary city as well.

And it's not new for our city to regularly codify state law so that we can locally enforce provisions instead of depending on the attorney AG's office.

So a prime example is our Office of Civil Rights enforces housing and employment discrimination, which is also illegal at the state level.

So anyways, that's how I understand this.

I really appreciate Council Member Rinks bringing this.

Today I can't support your amendment, but I really appreciate all the hard work that you put into this.

Thank you.

Councilmember Moore.

Thank you, Council President.

And also I did want to say thank you to Councilmember Rink for reaching out to other stakeholders and asking them their thoughts about this after this bill did come down.

I know when we were at committee I also asked about why we were not doing a trigger making this a trigger law instead and was convinced both at committee and then in separate meeting with city council and mayor's office that would actually be more protective if we codified the state law in the SMC and for many of the points that Councilmember Hollingsworth has just made.

And I appreciate that there are concerns about us being potentially targeted for litigation.

I want to point out though that even if we had this trigger bill and a city employee refused to comply on the basis of state law, we could still be sued under that scenario.

And I also think that if we were to codify this and suddenly now be targeted, we have a number of options.

The city attorney's office can contract out with private counsel, which they frequently do.

We could also ask the AG to intervene.

or we can enjoin the AG.

And I have no doubt the assistant of the Attorney General's office would want to be actively engaged in any litigation because a lawsuit brought to challenge the Seattle law would actually be challenging the underlying state bill.

So I understand the concerns but I don't think that they are hypothetical and I think There are enough alternatives that I think realistically we would be well represented if there were any legal action taken against the city.

I do think that it's important for us to basically make it clear, to send a loud and clear statement that we do support the state law and that we support its implementation and expansion here in the city of Seattle.

And I would hope that, in fact, it might serve as an example to other jurisdictions.

Seattle is often serving as an example to other jurisdictions that they follow suit.

So perhaps it would give others a sense that they would be okay to follow suit as well.

And basically for those reasons, I don't share the same concerns, although I appreciate that they have been aired.

So for those reasons, I will not be voting for the trigger amendment.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any further questions?

Comments?

Okay.

Seeing none, or would you like to go ahead and have the last word?

Certainly, thank you.

I think just taking a moment to clarify a point that just was raised, I wanna be clear that our folks who work in municipal courts are covered under our state law.

Everybody who is a Washingtonian is covered by the shield law.

So I really wanna make that abundantly clear for anybody who may be listening.

This theoretically could only be more protected if the city attorney proactively sought out or brought in in defense of a municipal court employee.

So I just wanted to take a moment to clarify that matter.

If you are within this, if you are a Washington resident, you are protected by the state shield law.

Thank you.

All right.

I'm not seeing any other hands up.

So will the clerk please call the, okay.

Council members, will the clerk please call the roll on the pass on the adoption of amendment B.

Council member Hollingsworth.

No.

Council member Kettle.

No.

Council member Moore.

Council member Rink.

Yes.

Council member Rivera.

No.

Council member Saka.

Nay.

Council member Solomon.

No.

Council member Strauss.

Yes.

Council president Nelson.

No.

Two in favor seven opposed.

The motion fails and amendment B is not adopted.

Are there any further comments on the bill as amended?

Council member.

Okay.

Council member Solomon.

Thank you council president.

I would like to move amendment C.

Second.

Okay, great.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on amendment C.

Council member Solomon, you're recognized in order to address it.

Thank you, Madam President.

And I hope you will consider this a friendly amendment.

Amendmency is an expression of our intent to stay current with potential changes to the state shield law, ensuring that this body can respond to those changes in a timely manner to best protect our constituents.

And to that end, it calls on the Office of Intergovernmental Relations to do what they do best, which is keeping this council appraised of changes to those laws which matter most to the people who live and work in Seattle.

I want to thank OIR for their tireless efforts, and thank you colleagues, and I humbly ask you to support Amendment C. Thank you for that.

Do you have anything to add, Tommaso?

No, nothing to add.

All right.

Are there any comments or questions on Amendment C?

All right, and yes, I do consider this a friendly amendment.

Yes.

All right, seeing no other questions or comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment C?

Council member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council member Kettle?

Aye.

Council member Moore?

Aye.

Council member Rink?

Yes.

Council member Rivera?

Aye.

Council member Saka?

Aye.

Council member Solomon?

Aye.

Council member Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

The motion carries and amendment C is adopted.

All right, are there any further comments on the bill as amended?

Council member Rivera.

Now we're making comments on the full bill.

Yes.

Correct.

No more amendments.

Correct.

Thank you.

Colleagues, I want to thank Council Member Nelson and the Mayor's Office for bringing this legislation forward and one that Council Member Moore and I wanted to co-sponsor because We believe so strongly in this ordinance.

Having this law on our books very clearly states our commitment to support access to reproductive health care and gender affirming treatment in Seattle and to extend and in essence shielding our employees from supporting the provisions within.

During these times, it's important to stand up and support our community, and this is the right thing to do.

And I appreciate my colleagues for the amendments that you all brought.

You know, and I always say we're going to agree to disagree on some things, but I know on this bill, we all agree.

the need to bring it at this time and for the reasons we want to be supportive.

And I also want to give a special thank you to the LGBTQ Commission for their work on this bill and for standing up.

and for requesting that the mayor and that council bring this forward.

I really appreciate your work and your partnership, and I am very supportive of this ordinance.

Thank you.

Thank you for those comments.

Okay, looking around for any further comments before.

All right, I'll just close this out and say that this legislation sends a very clear message that Seattle is and will remain a safe harbor for communities under relentless attacks from the Trump administration and its allies.

Seattle has long been a welcoming city, offering services and support to anyone in need, and this proposal will defend vulnerable people from anti-choice and anti-transgender policies that do not reflect our values and needs as a community.

Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you.

Sorry, Council President, if I missed my opportunity to speak.

I just wanted to take the moment to thank Mayor Harrell for transmitting this legislation because it does add important protections to our city and our residents.

Thank you, Council President.

And I wanted to also thank the LGBTQ commission for bringing, for working so, for bringing this, for working so closely with the city to bring this before us.

And this really does show that this has been a, it's been a group effort and I hope that people are hearing us when we say that we are committed to our values as a welcoming city, so.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended.

Council member.

Council member Hollingsworth.

Just correct for the record as amended.

I did say that.

Yep.

Okay.

Yep.

Yes.

Sorry.

Council member Kettle.

Aye.

Council member Moore.

Aye.

Council member Rink.

Aye.

Council member Rivera.

Aye.

Council member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Solomon.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes as amended and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Thank you very much everyone for that.

So there were no items removed from the consent calendar.

and there is not a resolution for introduction and adoption today.

Is there any further business to come before Council?

Council Member, is that an old hand, Council Member Strauss?

Yes, it is.

All right, Council Member Solomon.

Yes, thank you, Madam President.

I request to be excused on April 8th.

I'll be going to Puerto Rico to attend my daughter's wedding.

Wow.

Congratulations to your family.

If there's no objection, Council Member Solomon is excused.

Thank you.

All right.

Council Member Rink.

Thank you, Council President.

I wanted to circle back to the letter of support for LGBTQ students that we discussed yesterday and bringing back four signatures today.

As stated yesterday, right now we know that the LGBTQ community, as we've just voted to affirm support of, they're facing direct assaults at a variety of levels.

The letter of support before you in support of House Bill 1296 and Senate Bill 5181, which is currently being considered by the state legislature to support LGBTQ students in our public schools, is incredibly important.

The bills would ensure safety, privacy, and legal rights within existing law and allow them to access accurate information and support by trusted adults while allowing parents to stay involved with their education.

This legislation requires cooperation between the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington State School Directors Association to develop a model transgender student policy and procedures that at minimum include incorporating OSPI guidelines to eliminate discrimination in public schools on the basis of gender identity and expression, addressing the unique challenges and needs faced by transgender students in public schools, describing the application of the model policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying to transgender students.

The legislation has been widely supported by every member of Seattle's legislative delegation in Olympia.

House Bill 1296 was supported by every Democrat in the State House.

Senate Bill 5181 was supported by every Democrat in the State Senate.

As representatives of Washington's largest city, we must ensure that our youth understand that we have their backs.

I know when I came out when I was 12, I was able to go at my own pace and I had the support of my school and I want that for every Seattle kiddo as well.

Additionally, I want to make it clear, just based on the discussion yesterday, I want to make it clear that my staff followed the appropriate process for letter review and approval for both council briefing yesterday and today's council meeting.

We worked with the staff in the council president's office last week to ensure it was on the agenda for yesterday's briefing.

We emailed all of the staff of our members to solicit feedback from each office on the language with a deadline that was included for suggested edits.

The letter was also flagged in the weekly legislative assistant meeting last Thursday, and my staff had direct discussions with staff from Council President Nelson, Councilmember Rivera, Councilmember Solomon, and Councilmember Moore's offices last week ahead of council briefing.

And my staff, again, had conversations with each office to ensure everyone once again had a chance to suggest any language changes, and I've spoken directly with some members today to ensure that there's no potential confusion.

And I explain all of this to say, last week as a council body, we sat on the dais and heard from members that they had time to quickly read up on nine different amendments that dropped the day before to vote on one of the most controversial legislative items this year.

But when it comes to simply voicing support, encouraging our state delegation to stand up for queer and trans youth, and when we went through the official process and allowed for ample time for engagement, I'm hearing members ask for more time.

Again, this letter does not bind us as a city.

We are voicing our support to the state delegation for two bills to protect kids that are facing increasing and constant attacks.

So there was time to decide on where you'll stand with this simple show of support for queer and trans kids.

And I think it's worth our signatures.

I know I'll be voting to sign.

And with that, I will turn it over to the council president.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for those remarks.

Are there any questions, comments from council members?

Council member Moore.

Thank you, Council President.

So thank you, Council Member Rink, for bringing this bill, sorry, this letter about these bills.

I did, my office did have a chance to work with your staff and read the letter Friday, I think it was.

We were on track, so thank you for that.

And did have an opportunity to read through the bills.

And I just want to be very clear for the record.

It's a complicated bill in that it's three sections.

It's the first part.

Sorry, let me pull it up here.

Part one, protection of students' safety, education, access, and privacy does create new language that requires the schools to eliminate discrimination in public schools on the basis of gender expression and gender identity to address the unique challenges and needs faced.

by transgender students and gender expansive students in public schools, and goes on to elaborate that.

And I am 100% supportive of that.

I think it's incredibly important.

The second part of the bill relates to the statement of students' rights.

And then the third part of the bill is a statement of rights of parents and legal guardians.

So while having raised three boys through the Seattle public school system and having experienced our own challenges, in the school system with bullying and hazing and a very unresponsive school administration.

I, and having tried to get access to academic records and help, I'm very, very familiar with this process and the frustrations of a parent.

And I'm very much supportive of students having their rights and parents having rights as well.

But in looking at this bill, there are some provisions in which I am not entirely comfortable.

Some are relating around to the time frame of which records are to be released.

I happen to think 45 days is too long a time to wait to have records released to parents.

There are some other provisions of the bill around parent rights that are concerning to me. in terms of other academic avenues that a parent would apparently have a right to.

So because this is a state legislation, it is currently, the bill is different now than it was when it originally introduced.

It's still iterative and we don't have any control over what the final version looks like.

I am not comfortable at this point because as I said there are pieces of this that I would like to see changed.

The broad strokes and certainly the message that we are not going to tolerate discrimination in our public schools against transgender students, gender expansive students, gender identity and that we need to protect that I am 100% supportive of and certainly would be willing to bring sign off on something to that effect.

But this, because of the sort of postural position of this bill, I am not comfortable at this time.

So thank you for bringing it forward, but I will be abstaining in my vote today.

Thank you.

Council Member Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

Following the shield law, I do believe it's important for us to make the point that we should be supportive of our LGBTQ plus community members generally, but also looking out for different elements of that to include the protection of students and parents and families.

I'll say families twice because I think ultimately that's very important to support that process.

I also, in terms of the bills, I understand that they're working House and Senate, and there'll be changes, no doubt, and considerations before the final, but I think it's support to consideration of these two bills in the state legislature as they move forward.

As I read the letter, I also wanted to note Over the last year plus, I've gotten to know Dr. Jones, and I have great respect for Dr. Jones.

I know he recently made his announcement.

in terms of his leaving his post after basically four years.

And I just want to thank him for his service.

Obviously, there's different challenges in the Seattle Public Schools system, include the fiscal crisis.

There's a lot of pieces that go to that.

It's extremely complicated.

But I just wanted to take the opportunity to recognize Dr. Jones' service to the community.

The next point I just wanted to note is I recognize what is happening in the other Washington, D.C., and it's tragic in many ways what's happening with our new administration.

and this happens on so many fronts, to include, as noted in the letter, military personnel.

And I've had direct contact from individuals who are looking to find support for trans Navy JAG officers who have been representing our country with honor, but they're now going to be exiting military service because of the change in the administration.

And that's sad.

One note, though, on a kind of a recommendation related to that paragraph.

I also don't believe that we should just say Trump's various federal executive orders.

I think whether for or against, he is president.

So I would recommend being President Trump's various federal executive orders or the Trump administration's various federal executive orders.

Because I think if we get to that point where we're just calling the president by the name his last name like that, I think that just opens us up for, you know, it's the former first lady said, go hi.

And so with that, I just wanted to make those comments.

And the last piece I wanted to note is in the House bill, I really believe that our nation is in dire need of civics education.

It is sad that, you know, the most that some people may get is Schoolhouse Rock.

And we need to have greater civics education.

We need to have this understanding of what's happening related to our democracy, related to the rights that we all hold, you know, those inalienable rights and how to make ourselves a more perfect union.

And I think because of the lack of understanding about our civic world is undermining our democracy.

And I think that if everyone had a better sense of our civic lay down in terms of our democracy, I think we would be in a better place.

And this is on both sides of the political spectrum and those in the middle as well.

And this is one area that saddens me greatly as somebody who comes from a I read part of a blue state, and as a former military officer, I see this play out constantly, and it saddens me greatly.

And I think this is something that we need, and I think it'll help us protect our rights long-term if everybody understood, particularly as I see reports now going after the federal court system.

It's unbelievable.

So with that, I just wanted to make those comments, Council Member Rink, and I'll support the letter, recognizing Council Member Moore's point, but I think moving forward and showing support for our LGBTQ community, who's really, for lack of a better phrase, canary in a coal mine, related to our democracy, I think it's important to make that statement, so thank you.

Council Member Rivera.

Thank you, council president.

I want to thank you council member ring for your work in this area.

I know that this is something you care a lot about as I do.

And I really want to thank you for making time today to talk to me about this letter.

Um, and some of the concerns I had with the structure of the letter.

Um, I want to say that, uh, you know, as sorry, um, as we clearly indicated in passing, Council Bill 120950 today.

Of course, I support trans and LGBTQ plus kids' rights and the rights of all students broadly, and that includes privacy in the schools.

I had two daughters in Seattle Public Schools.

I have one left in Seattle Public Schools, and I very much respect their privacy.

And I understand that not all families are like our family.

and that some students don't have the support of their families, and so the privacy piece is important.

However, related to this letter, and I did share with you, Council Member Rank, I have some statements that give me pause unrelated to the policy.

I'd like to address some of these for the record.

As I stated yesterday during our council briefing, The city has no authority over Seattle Public Schools.

SPS is governed by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, as we all know, OSPI, at the state level.

If a school is in violation of state law, parents or students would need to seek recourse and enforcement from OSPI.

I don't want to leave the impression that these issues are under city authority, particularly because we would have no ability to enforce these laws.

Regarding the language about budgetary issues faced by SPS, this paragraph is not relevant to the bills mentioned in the letter and also leaves the impression that the city has authority over SPS's budget, which we of course do not.

While we may be supportive of the policy in these bills, this letter is not a commitment to SPS that the city can or will cover their financial needs.

That is the state's responsibility.

Nothing in this letter presupposes the city will cover SPS's deficit just as the state would not cover the city's deficit and vice versa.

I am pleased that Governor Ferguson has made a commitment to prioritize education as is the state's responsibility.

Given the structure of this letter and based on these concerns, I will not be signing my name onto this letter, although as council member, I agree with council member more at a later point in time.

If there is a letter that is supportive of the underlying rights of students that does not include somehow our oversight of SPS or that would better clarify, then I would be open to reconsidering that.

Thank you.

Council Member Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

Just taking a moment to echo some of Council Member Kettle's comments regarding proper acknowledgement of position or administration, wondering to the sponsor if we can make that change.

I know it's too late for the draft that's been distributed, but if we can make an oral or verbal amendment, just adding president in front of the name, that would help me.

I'm seeing a nod, so let the record show that that change will be made.

Wonderful.

I'm looking forward to supporting the letter.

Thank you for putting this together.

I'll let you have the last word.

I just wanted to vouch for the fact that yes, you did follow the proper procedure, and I know because Jeremy makes people do that, and so I just wanted to validate that and recognize that last week was a busy week because of the legislation that we voted out on Tuesday, which was time-consuming for everybody to get their minds around, and then probably emails fell off the the inbox and perhaps staff did not have a chance to inform council members, just wanted to recognize that last week was pretty busy.

So with that, go ahead and you're welcome to provide the last word.

Well, thank you, council president and thank you colleagues for your comments.

And I'll just reiterate here, we are not crafting legislation or fixing the public school system here.

We need a lot more time for that.

The question before us is simply, is this small show of support for our colleagues in Olympia standing up for queer and trans kids worth your signature?

Yes or no?

Thank you.

All right, with that, let's have a, will the clerk please?

Actually, Council President, I just, sorry.

take issue with that statement.

This isn't a do you support trans kids or not or students in general or not.

We've stated our rationale behind what we would like to see in the letter and I just I do not accept that that is the vote that I am taking today.

Council Member Moore.

Yeah, I'd like to echo those comments.

I think I made it very clear that I absolutely support the right of transgender, gender fluid, gender expressiveness, gender identity, willing to sign a letter.

This bill is three parts.

It relates to protecting against discrimination on, for those bases, Student Bill of Rights and Parent Bill of Rights.

It is a complicated bill, a vote.

My abstention has nothing to do with my support.

And I want that to be very clear.

Thank you.

Before we get signatures, I will remind people that there are many ways that we can express support or opposition to bills in Olympia by signing in pro or con, by talking to legislators in Olympia ourselves.

by writing a letter on our own individually to our delegation or members, individual members therein.

So it's sometimes hard to get a handle on just the legislation before us, the city legislation, and it is...

I recognize what you said about this having three parts and you might agree with some of them but not others.

So just wanted to make sure that people reach out to OIR Olympia staff to keep apprised of pieces of legislation that you are tracking and monitoring and care about so you know other ways to express your support or opposition.

With that, go ahead.

I just have a point of clarification for Council Member Strauss.

Was the request to add additional language to the letter?

Thank you, clerk.

Yes, just to add the word president before the president's last name.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Will the clerk please call the roll on, as long as there's nothing else.

Okay.

Seeing no further discussion on the letter, will the clerk please call the roll to determine which council members would like their signature fixed to the letter in support of House Bill 1296 and Senate Bill 5181?

Council member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council member Kettle?

Aye.

Council member Moore?

Abstain.

Council member rank.

Yes.

Council member Rivera.

Abstain.

Council member Saka.

Council member Solomon.

Council member Strauss.

Council President Nelson.

I seven signatures will be affixed to the letter.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Uh, let's see other business.

Um, I believe there is an item two here.

Let's go ahead.

Council member Moore.

I think that you had, do you want me to, sorry, I don't have anything.

There was a request for an absence for April 1st.

I already asked for that last time.

Do I need to ask again?

Has it been made already?

Yeah.

I made a joke about it being on April Fool's Day.

Thank you.

Council President.

Hold on a second.

So there is no objection.

There was no objection.

So Council Member Moore is excused from the April 1st City Council meeting.

Is there any further business?

Council President.

Council member Strauss.

Thank you.

I am just confirming because right after council Moore made that request, I made the same request.

So I'm just double checking that my request is already on the books.

Confirmed.

Thank you.

All right.

Okay, going once, twice, third time for additional business.

Seeing none, we've reached the end of today's agenda, and our next regularly scheduled city council meeting is on April 1st, no joke, at 2 p.m.

Hearing no further business, we are adjourned, and it is 3.06 p.m.

Thanks, everybody.