Resolution No. 3856 – Opposing Initiative IL26-001 Page 1 of 4
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Sponsor: Hasegawa
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PORT OF SEATTLE 6
RESOLUTION NO. 3856 7
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A RESOLUTION of the Port of Seattle Commission expressing opposition to 9
Initiative Measure No. IL26-001, concerning the disclosure 10
of private student medical and mental health records without 11
student consent, appearing on the November 3, 2026 general 12
election ballot; and reaffirming the Commission’s 13
commitment, first expressed in Order No. 2022-08, to 14
protect the privacy of personal health information and health 15
care decisions. 16
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WHEREAS, the voters of King County authorized and approved the formation of a port 18
district coterminous with King County to be known as the Port of Seattle in a special election on 19
September 5, 1911; and 20
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WHEREAS, the Port of Seattle Commission is the legally constituted governing body of 22
the Port of Seattle; and 23
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WHEREAS, the Port of Seattle’s Century Agenda commits the Port to “become a model 25
for equity, diversity, and inclusion,” and the Port has long recognized that our region’s prosperity 26
— our ability to attract a talented workforce, welcome visitors from around the world, and grow 27
our maritime and aviation economies — depends on communities where every person is treated 28
with dignity and respect; and 29
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WHEREAS, the Port of Seattle established the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 31
in 2019, the first standalone equity department at any port authority in the United States, and 32
through its Welcoming Port Policy Directive has committed to ensuring that every person who 33
works at, travels through, or does business with Port facilities feels welcome, safe, and able to 34
access services, benefits, and opportunities; and 35
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WHEREAS, in 2016, the Commission publicly opposed Initiative 1515, which sought to 37
restrict transgender people’s access to facilities consistent with their gender identity, and in the 38
years since the Port has acted on that commitment: by Motion 2018-08 the Commission directed 39
the development of a gender-inclusive restroom plan for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 40
and the Port has since opened all-gender facilities that are among the first of their kind at any 41
North American airport and expanded services for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-42
nonconforming travelers, so that our airport serves as a safe and welcoming gateway for all; and 43
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Item Number: 10b_reso
Meeting Date: October 13, 2026
Resolution No. 3856 – Opposing Initiative IL26-001 Page 2 of 4
WHEREAS, in June 2023, the Commission’s Pride proclamation expressly recognized 47
that “new discriminatory and bigoted laws targeting the LGBTQIA2S+ community are on the 48
rise” and committed the Port to rejecting discrimination and supporting LGBTQIA2S+ 49
individuals, their families, and their fight for equal rights; and 50
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WHEREAS, among the Port’s core equity principles, adopted in its equity framework 52
Values in Action, is “Prioritizing the Most Vulnerable,” which provides: “In developing policies, 53
practices, and procedures, we are committed to engaging those who are most directly and 54
adversely impacted by our work,” and which defines vulnerable stakeholders to include both 55
people within the Port and vulnerable communities and no community the Port serves is more 56
vulnerable than children, so a measure that targets children, compelling the disclosure of their 57
most private information at an age when they are least able to protect themselves, is precisely the 58
harm the Port’s equity commitments oblige this Commission to speak against; and 59
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WHEREAS, the Port’s aviation, cruise, and tourism lines of business anchor a visitor 61
economy that depends directly on this region’s reputation as a safe and welcoming destination: 62
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport serves more than 50 million travelers each year; the Port’s 63
record 2025 cruise season carried nearly two million revenue passengers and generated an 64
estimated $1.2 billion in regional economic activity; and a record 2.1 million cruise passengers 65
are expected in the 2026 season; and 66
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WHEREAS, in June and July 2026 the Port helped welcome the world to Seattle for the 68
FIFA World Cup, during which Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recorded three of the 69
busiest days in its history and more than 750,000 fans attended official fan celebrations across 70
the city, a demonstration that the international sporting events, conventions, and tourism the Port 71
competes to attract are awarded to, and succeed in, destinations known for welcoming every 72
athlete, fan, and visitor; and 73
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WHEREAS, the experience of other states demonstrates that laws perceived as licensing 75
discrimination carry measurable economic consequences: after North Carolina enacted House 76
Bill 2 in 2016, an Associated Press analysis projected more than $3.76 billion in lost economic 77
activity over twelve years as employers canceled expansions, conventions relocated, and the 78
NCAA and NBA moved championship events and the All-Star Game out of the state, losses 79
concentrated in precisely the aviation-, tourism-, and event-driven sectors on which the Port’s 80
revenues and the region’s jobs depend; and 81
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WHEREAS, the Port invests millions of dollars each year in the young people now 83
enrolled in Washington’s public schools, through its Career Connected Learning programs and 84
high school internships at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the $4.1 million Youth Maritime 85
Career Launch program developed with the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and 86
Washington Maritime Blue, and its Duwamish Valley youth programs, because today’s students 87
are the Port’s future workforce, and measures that make schools less safe or push young people 88
out of school activities directly undermine those investments; and 89
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Resolution No. 3856 – Opposing Initiative IL26-001 Page 3 of 4
WHEREAS, on July 12, 2022, following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in 93
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, the Port of Seattle 94
Commission unanimously adopted Order No. 2022-08, aligning Port policing policy with 95
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s Directive 22-12 and directing the Port of Seattle Police 96
Department to refrain from cooperating or assisting with any out-of-state investigation, 97
prosecution, or other legal action concerning reproductive health care that is lawful in 98
Washington; and 99
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WHEREAS, in adopting Order No. 2022-08, the Commission affirmed an enduring 101
principle: that a person’s private health care information and health care decisions belong to that 102
person, and that government must not compel their disclosure, weaponize them, or condition 103
participation in public life upon surrendering them; and 104
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WHEREAS, Initiative Measure No. IL26-001, sponsored by the political committee 106
Let’s Go Washington, was certified to the November 3, 2026 general election ballot after the 107
Legislature declined to act on it during the 2026 session; the measure would partially repeal the 108
student privacy protections of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1296, enacted by the Legislature 109
in 2025, by allowing certain private student medical and mental health records to be disclosed to 110
parents without the student’s consent and by requiring parental notification before medical 111
services are offered; and 112
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WHEREAS, not every young person has a supportive or safe adult at home, and stripping 114
students of confidential access to counseling, health care, and trusted school staff would place 115
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students and other vulnerable youth at heightened 116
risk of harm, rejection, and instability, and would chill young people from seeking the care and 117
support they need; and 118
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WHEREAS, Initiative Measure No. IL26-001 rests on the same premise the Commission 120
rejected in Order No. 2022-08, that government may compel the disclosure of private health 121
information and intrude upon deeply personal health care matters, and the students it would strip 122
of confidential counseling and care are the same young people the Port recruits into its 123
internships, career-connected learning, and maritime career programs, so that harm to their 124
stability, mental health, and school engagement is harm to the Port’s own workforce pipeline; 125
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WHEREAS, civic institutions across the region and state have urged rejection of the 128
measure, including the Washington State PTA and the American Civil Liberties Union of 129
Washington, and on July 28, 2026, the Tacoma City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 130
No. 41972 expressing its opposition to both of Let’s Go Washington’s initiatives; and 131
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WHEREAS, the Port of Seattle is a major public employer that competes nationally for 133
talent, and workers, employers, and visitors alike choose regions whose laws protect their 134
employees, their children, and their neighbors; discrimination against any community, including 135
the LGBTQIA2S+ community, diminishes the welcoming region, thriving workforce, and 136
vibrant economy that the Port exists to advance. 137
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Resolution No. 3856 – Opposing Initiative IL26-001 Page 4 of 4
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Port of Seattle Commission as 139
follows: 140
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SECTION 1. The Port of Seattle Commission hereby expresses its opposition to Initiative 142
Measure No. IL26-001, finding that the measure would compel the disclosure of private health 143
information, endanger young people, undermine the Port’s investments in its future workforce, 144
threaten the welcoming reputation on which the Port’s aviation, cruise, tourism, and events 145
businesses depend, and conflict with the values of equity, dignity, and inclusion that guide the Port 146
of Seattle. 147
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SECTION 2. The Commission reaffirms Order No. 2022-08 and the principles 149
underlying it, including the protection of private health care information and health care decisions 150
from compelled disclosure and government intrusion, and directs that the policies implemented 151
under Order No. 2022-08 remain in full force and effect. 152
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SECTION 3. The Commission reaffirms its Welcoming Port Policy Directive and its 154
commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and affirms that all people, including transgender 155
youth and the LGBTQIA2S+ community, are welcome, valued, and safe at the gateways and in 156
the workplaces of the Port of Seattle. 157
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ADOPTED by the Port of Seattle Commission at a duly noticed public meeting thereof, 159
held this 13th day of October, 2026, and duly authenticated in open session by the signatures of 160
the commissioners voting in favor thereof and the seal of the Commission. 161
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Port of Seattle Commission 172
