WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Telephone Town Hall/Olympia Update

Dear Friends:

Greetings from Olympia!

A lot has happened since I last wrote. We went through committee cutoffs and House of Origin cutoff. Bills that failed to be passed out of the House or Senate are now dead, unless they are deemed necessary to implement the budget. As with any cutoff, some good bills, and quite a few bad ones, failed to make it through.

 The House ended its first round of floor action the way we started session by working across party lines to pass the Dream Act, a bill that will allow all children raised in Washington equal opportunity to compete for need-based funds to attend college. The Senate finally came around two weeks ago, agreeing that all Washington kids deserve a chance at college education. The bill is now in the Governor’s hands, and he has scheduled a signing ceremony this Wednesday.

Oil Spill Prevention

As I mentioned in my last update, I have been working hard on the Oil Transportation Safety Act. Our communities have a right to know how much oil is passing through them and this bill will help the state and our local communities prepare for the drastically increased amount of oil moving across Washington and through our ports. With seven new facilities currently being permitted to move oil onto barges and tankers for export, keeping our water and land is safe is a prudent move – we can’t wait for an accident to act.

I am happy to report that the bill was passed out of the House with a bipartisan majority, at 12:30 in the morning last Tuesday, and is now in the Senate. I am hopeful that this bill will be heard in the Senate Energy, Environment & Telecommunications committee, and that the Senate will vote on this common sense piece of legislation. That said, getting a strong bill out will be a heavy lift.

Other Legislation

The House has acted on a number of other exciting issues. We have voted on bills to improve early learning, increase tax loophole transparency, and make sure our next generation is the healthiest it can be. My minimum wage bill is stalled in committee, but I am working to keep it moving forward.

Telephone Town Hall – Tuesday, February 25th!

Tomorrow night, from 6:00-7:00pm, your 46th Legislative District delegation will be taking your calls. Many of you will receive a call right around 6 o’clock that will offer to connect you to the telephone town hall. Anyone who doesn’t get the call is encouraged to call the toll-free telephone number directly, 1-877-229-8493, and then enter PIN code 18646 when prompted.

Keep in Touch

As always, I welcome your comments, feedback, and visits! You can reach me at jessyn.farrell@leg.wa.gov. If you’re coming down to Olympia, make sure you let me know, and we can chat. If I’m not available, my Legislative Assistant Nigel Herbig is always happy to pass your concerns on to me.

All the best,

-Jessyn