WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Post-Session Wrap-up/Next Steps

Hello Friends:

Greetings from the 46th District! A little over a week ago we wrapped up our 60-day 2014 legislative session – and on time, no less! We passed a responsible, if imperfect, supplemental budget that restored funding to our social safety net and put needed funding into our public schools. (Remember, the supplemental budget is just a modest adjustment to operating budget that is passed every two years).

While I didn’t pass every bill I worked on, I was able to help move the conversation around the minimum wage forward, assist our communities in getting a better handle on the increase in crude oil being transported by rail, invest in our kids’ health, and improve government efficiency in the transportation sector. Here’s a quick recap of the session and a look ahead.

Minimum Wage

In January I sponsored House Bill 2672, which would have raised the State’s minimum wage to $12/hour over the next three years (from the current $9.32), and then peg it to the Consumer Price Index, as is done currently. A modest increase phased in over time was proposed to give our employers time to adjust, while at the same time ensuring that anyone putting in a full day’s work would be able to cover their basic necessities – rent, groceries, doctor’s bills, utilities, etc. Unfortunately, the bill got stuck in the House Appropriations Committee. I will continue to advocate for this legislation as our economy further recovers and the Legislature sets the full biennial budget in 2015.

rep farrell podium
Oil Transportation Safety

In the last two years the United States has seen more oil spilled because of train derailments than we saw over the previous 40 years. Folks are scared of the trains running through their communities. Earlier this year I sponsored House Bill 2347, the Oil Transportation Safety Act, which would have taken steps to help prepare our cities and first responders to deal with potential dangers associated with the increase of oil being transported across our state, by requiring disclosure of information about oil shipments, and incentivizing safer movement of oil over our waters. Unfortunately, after passing the House with bipartisan support, it never received a hearing in the Senate. Once it was clear that my bill was dead, I worked to secure some funding in the Operating Budget for the Department of Ecology to study the issue of oil transport over our water and railways, including public health and safety, as well as environmental impacts. This study should give us the policy direction we need to keep our communities safe in the future.

Healthiest Next Generation

Every child deserves a chance to grow up healthy and live a long life. The Healthiest Next Generation bill, House Bill 2643, didn’t make it all the way through the process, but we did make some modest investments in nutritional assistance in our public schools and early learning settings and I’m looking forward to a continued conversation about how we can make sure our kids get healthy foods and plenty of physical activity in their day-to-day lives.

Making Government more Efficient

The State of Washington is on the hook $2 billion to fix or replace storm water facilities across the state and make them passable for fish. A good number of these culverts flow underneath state highways or other property owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Before session began the City of Kenmore reached out to me. They had a project coming up to redo a large portion of State Route 522 (Bothell Way) and it would require digging up the road directly above a state-owned culvert that needed to be replaced. They asked me to help them with coordinating the WSDOT culvert work – they didn’t want to build a nice new road and then have it immediately torn up by WSDOT, and they thought it would be a good way to save everyone some money – if the road is already dug up, why not do both projects at the same time?

Unfortunately, WSDOT didn’t agree with me or Kenmore, and instead scheduled this culvert replacement for the end of their repair schedule (putting it off 17 years).

I was disappointed, so I changed the law! I added an amendment to Republican Representative J.T. Wilcox’s fish passage bill directing WSDOT to coordinate with other stakeholders when prioritizing their culvert replacement work, and to do that work in the most financially efficient way possible for every party. With this legislation in place, future jurisdictions like Kenmore can trust that they can work with WSDOT to save valuable taxpayer dollars.
Looking to Next Year

In 2015 I will continue to advocate for sensible regulations around the transportation of oil as well as a living wage for all working Washingtonians.

As we set next year’s operating and transportation budgets I will continue to search for ways to deliver the most efficient and effective government services possible.

In addition, I will be pushing for a sizable investment in our children by fully funding K-12 education. As the product of local public schools, and the parent of a Seattle Public School student, I recognize that our public education system is one of the best investments we can make in the future of Washington state. The Supreme Court has spoken loudly on this issue with last year’s McCleary decision – we are, by any measure, underfunding our future. Our children deserve the same opportunities we had, and they aren’t getting them in our current K-12 system. This year we added $58 million in flexible school materials funding – a nice investment, but not enough to make a dent in our McCleary obligations. We can and must do better, and next year is our best opportunity.

Keep in Touch

As always, I love hearing from you! Feel free to email me at jessyn.farrell@leg.wa.gov with your thoughts and concerns.

All the best,

-Jessyn