WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Week 10 Update – Telephone Town Hall Next Week

Greetings from Olympia!

Last week we hit a major milestone in the 2015 legislative session – we passed the House of Origin Cutoff. House Bills must be passed out of the House and sent to the Senate and vice versa for Senate Bills (with some exceptions – namely, bills that are necessary to implement the budget). We are now hearing Senate bills in House committees.

At the same time we are putting the final touches on our budgets. The House will be rolling out our budget proposal first this year, and we will be presenting our budget draft publicly in the next week to ten days. I am working to make sure that this budget reflects our shared values – providing our kids with a great K-12 education, making higher education more affordable, protecting our environment, and protecting our most vulnerable.

Speaking in favor of my Minimum Wage bill on the House floor

I am happy to report that both my minimum wage and oil transportation safety bills made it out of the House before cutoff. The oil transportation safety act will be heard in the Senate’s Energy, Environment and Telecommunications committee later this week, and I am hopeful that the minimum wage will be heard soon in the Senate’s Commerce and Labor committee. These bills speak to values we all hold – a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, and feeling safe in our communities. I know my colleagues in the Senate hold these same values, and am hopeful we can get these bills through the Senate.

Giving every child the opportunity to succeed

We all know how important those first few years are in a child’s development. Without a loving, responsive environment, kids start a lifelong race 20 yards behind. Most never catch up. If you’re a mom or dad, a business owner or a taxpayer, you should care. Because when children fail, we all pay the price. The good news is we have a solution. This week, the House and Senate passed The Early Start Act, sponsored by Representative Kagi and Senator Litzow.

This bill expands the effective, high-quality programs and policies that have made Washington state a nationally recognized leader in early learning. It is based on proven brain science and the positive long-term impact quality early learning has on a child’s school readiness, overall health and life. The evidence is clear – quality early learning is the best investment we can make to close the opportunity gap here in Washington. This is a bill I strongly support and will be working to get to the Governor’s desk.

The Equal Pay Opportunity Act Passes the House!

Women get paid less than men – 80 cents on the dollar in Washington state. Even controlling for factors, like age, education, hours worked, and so on, the gap still exists. It’s an unfortunate reality, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  One major reason we see the gender pay gap is retaliation from employers against employees who discuss their compensation. Even though there are federal and state laws to protect employees, this practice continues.

My colleague, Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, introduced the Equal Pay Opportunity Act, which improves upon existing laws and bans employers from punishing their employees for discussing what they are paid. I was proud to vote for this bill as the last bill before House of Origin cutoff. This will add some transparency to the process and let employees know when they’re being paid unfairly based solely on their gender.

Telephone Town Hall

Next Tuesday night (3/24 at 6:00 pm) your legislative delegation (Rep. Pollet, Sen. Frockt, and I) will be holding a telephone town hall. We know that it’s hard to make the trip down to Olympia to chat with us, so we’re taking Olympia to you! Shortly before 6:00 that evening, many of you will receive a phone call inviting you to stay on the line and participate in the Telephone Town Hall. If for some reason you don’t receive a call, you can join by calling 877-229-8493 and enter the code 18646 when prompted. I look forward to hearing directly from you on the issues you care about.

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. And if you find yourself in Olympia, please stop by the office and say hi!

All the best,

-Jessyn