LEGISLATION

Although only in her first months as a state representative, Brianna Thomas has hit the ground running in Olympia. She was appointed in time for the 2025 legislative session and quickly assumed roles and responsibilities that leverage her expertise:​

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Sponsored Legislation

 

In the 2025 session, Brianna sponsored an array of bills reflecting her platform. Some of the notable bills Brianna prime-sponsored include:

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• HB 1732 – Restricting Corporate Bulk Home-Buying: This bill targets large corporate landlords to protect single-family homeownership for Washington residents. It would bar companies owning 25+ homes from purchasing additional houses, with commonsense exceptions for nonprofits, developers adding new housing, or flippers rehabilitating dilapidated homes. Violations would be enforceable under consumer protection laws. By curbing speculative purchasing, the bill aims to keep starter homes within reach of middle-class families instead of investment firms – a direct response to constituent frustrations about investors pricing locals out. 

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• HB 1733 – Increasing Relocation Assistance: This measure seeks to bolster support for people and small businesses displaced by public projects (like when the government builds infrastructure on existing properties). Brianna’s bill would raise relocation assistance limits and flexibility, for instance increasing the maximum reimbursement for re-establishing a displaced small business from $50,000 to $200,000. It also streamlines how displaced parties can claim expenses or opt for fixed payments. The goal is to ensure families, nonprofits, farms, and shops forced to move by projects (highways, transit lines, etc.) aren’t financially devastated. 

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• HB 1879 – Hospital Worker Rest Breaks: Brianna successfully shepherded this bill, which fine-tunes hospital employee break rules to be more realistic. It passed the House 98-0, marking Thomas’s first bill passed off the House floor. The unanimous support and subsequent signing of HB 1879 into law highlight Thomas’s skill in coalition-building – even hospital administrators and worker unions found a compromise in her bill. It’s a significant early accomplishment that addresses workforce burnout in health care.

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• HB 1864 – Ambulance Transport Alternatives: Brianna introduced HB 1864, which concerns alternative transport options for non-emergency medical calls. This allows flexibility in responding to 911 calls (for instance, using rideshare or taxis for non-critical patients to free up ambulances). 

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• HB 1951 – TNCs at Large Events: A bill relating to Transportation Network Companies (like Uber/Lyft) during large-scale events was co-sponsored by Thomas. This legislation aimed to improve traffic flow or rider safety when big events (concerts, sports games) cause surge demand. 

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• HB 1995 – Tax Preferences Review: Thomas dropped HB 1995 on tax preferences app.leg.wa.gov, which likely would review or close certain tax loopholes. This aligns with ensuring big corporations pay their fair share – something she advocated on the campaign trail (calling out companies that made “money hand over fist” during crises to contribute more) thestranger.com. While specifics aren’t clear, this effort underscores her watchfulness on fiscal policy that impacts resources for public services. The bill was in the House Finance Committee as of Feb 2025.