WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Rep. Morris’s Week 4 E-Newsletter

We’re already in the middle of Week Four of the 2013 session, and it has been a week packed with activity here on the capitol campus.  One way that you can keep up with what’s going on in the House is to check out the House Hot Sheet, which is updated weekly.  It lists the time and location of public hearings in the House on bills of interest.

We get thousands of visitors on the campus each week.  Some are here to rally or protest, some are here to testify in committee or visit their representatives, and some – like the busloads of school children we see almost every day – come just to see their Capitol.  Here is some information about visiting the legislature; if you make plans to be here, please let us know. We’d love to see you!

Protecting our ferries

HB 1129 – legislation I introduced that would help fund construction of a third new, 144-car ferry to replace one of our aging vessels – was heard late last week in the House Transportation Committee. The testimony was largely positive and the bill was well-received by my fellow committee members. It is scheduled for an executive session this week, after which it will head to the rules committee and then to the house floor for a vote.

Protecting women’s reproductive health decisions

While state legislatures across the country are turning back the clock on women’s health, Washington state and House Democrats are continuing to move forward as a leader in reproductive freedom.

This week, the House Health Care and Wellness Committee heard public testimony on the Reproductive Parity Act.  The bill protects a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions by requiring insurance plans to offer full coverage for reproductive health.

Nearly every single insurance plan in our state already covers both maternity services and abortion services.  However, with the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act, these reproductive choices could be limited, and women could suddenly find themselves without access to abortion coverage.

Washingtonians have a long history of supporting reproductive rights that stretches back to even before the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.  That support has been reaffirmed by initiative over the years, and the Reproductive Parity Act simply protects the reproductive health choices women here already have, enabling them to continuing making choices that are right for themselves and their families.

Education reform
Over the last several years, House Democrats have championed legislation to reform our public schools.

Two of the biggest reforms were passed a few years ago – HB 2776 and HB 2261. These measures redefined “basic education” and provided a road map for fully funding basic education by the year 2018. Full compliance with these two measures will get us back on the right track with keeping our promise to fully fund our public schools- an opinion reaffirmed by the state Supreme Court in the McCleary decision.

We’ve also enacted additional reforms to other parts of public education in response to issues that needed fixing. A new  Teacher/Principal Evaluation Program , passed last year, will ensure a great teacher is in front of every student in every school. We’ve also adopted Common Core Standards to ensure our students are learning what they need to know so they can be successful in life after high school.

But despite adopting these sweeping reforms, some are calling for new measures that take our schools in another direction. A recent article in the Washington Post, while not referencing our state specifically, shines some light on a national school reform effort with an agenda that appears to be mirrored in legislation being introduced here.

More reforms aren’t necessarily what’s needed.  We’ve passed plenty of reforms, but now it’s time for us to fund them.  Funding education right, and ensuring that we comply with the McCleary mandate, is a task legislators are tackling head-on this session.  I’ll continue to provide updates on our progress.

Last Week

I met with constituents from all over the district. I’d like to thank all of the following for making the trip down to see me:

  • Legislative Youth Advisory Council
  • WSFF Firefighters
  • WA Restaurant Association
  • WEA
  • WSP Troopers
  • WA State Dairy Federation
  • SEIU
  • And more…

Introducing Granicus
Want to share your thoughts and suggestions on pending legislation?

There’s a new online comment tool for bills under consideration in the House and Senate, and it’s called Granicus.   You can try it out here.

Granicus will ask for your home address so it can determine your legislative district. But your comments will only be visible to legislators and legislative staff, and your personal information will never be given to third parties for commercial purposes.

Keeping tabs on your Legislature

I appreciate hearing from you throughout the session, and I want to help you stay up-to-date on budget and other discussions. We’ll do our best to keep you informed on with this e-memo, but there are several other ways to stay connected with us: