The Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee held a contentious hearing on House Bill 15 31, a measure intended to ensure that state and local public‑health guidance is "guided by the best available science" and to protect public‑health officials’ ability to provide evidence‑based information on vaccines and other disease‑control measures.

Caitlin Stafford, the governor’s senior health policy adviser, testified in support and told the committee the governor wants Washingtonians to have access to accurate health information that aids decision‑making. Dr. Tao Kwon Get, the Washington State health officer and a pediatrician, said the bill “would make sure that Washington families get that kind of accurate information” and emphasized the need for public health to communicate about isolation, quarantine and vaccination during outbreaks.

Multiple public‑health officials and clinicians, including Jay Miller (Tacoma‑Pierce County health officer), Dr. Beth Ebel (Washington Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics) and Dr. Carrie Horwich (past president‑elect, Washington State Public Health Association), testified in favor, saying accurate, evidence‑based public health guidance prevents outbreaks and spares families needless harm.

The hearing also featured extensive opposition testimony and sharply critical public comment. Speakers opposing the bill included Anthony Mixer and Dakota Manley of the Washington State Young Republicans and other organized opponents who argued the measure contained vague language, could enable state overreach and might suppress dissenting viewpoints. Bob Runnels of Informed Choice Washington and other opponents raised concerns about undefined phrases such as "best available science" and the bill’s emergency clause.

Testimony included both historical appeals (Jan Nichols, a polio survivor, urged the Legislature not to return to the pre‑vaccine era) and modern controversy: opponents cited concerns about past public health guidance and federal actions during COVID‑19, while supporters pointed to measles outbreaks in other states and the public‑health need for timely, evidence‑based messaging. Committee members asked questions about quarantine practices, herd immunity thresholds (the health officer said about 95 percent vaccination coverage is needed to protect those who cannot be immunized) and communications strategies for reaching immigrant communities.

The transcript records sign‑in totals provided by committee staff at the end: 569 pro, 4,686 con, and 7 other. The committee closed the hearing after a long panel of oral testimony; no committee vote is recorded in the public hearing transcript.