WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Rep. Luis Moscoso’s Legislative Update – March 8, 2013

Dear Neighbors,

Since my last update the legislative process has progressed past two sets of deadlines that bills must survive to continue being considered. Now, my colleagues and I are spending our days (and many nights) on the floor of the House debating and voting on amendments and bills. I’d like to take this opportunity to go over some of the more noteworthy legislation we’re discussing during these long days.


Education

My House colleagues and I are focused on improving schools to build a better future for our children. We approved several education bills at the beginning of this week and more are making their way to a vote on the House floor before the March 13th deadline.

HB 1178 will give colleges of education more testing options when recruiting highly-motivated students into the teaching profession. It’s a key bill to get us closer to our goal of having a quality teacher in every classroom. HB 1251 will help the Opportunity Scholarship Board raise more money, which will give more students an opportunity to achieve their dream of a college education. Another important bill, HB 1336 will save lives by giving school personnel the tools and training they need to identify and respond to early warning signs of troubled youth. Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year-olds.

In the coming days, the House will be debating another round of education issues that will focus reducing the number of high school dropouts, getting students career and college ready, and closing the opportunity gap.


Voting Access and Elections

Last night I was honored to have my bill, HB 1413, also known as the Washington Voting Rights Act, passed out of the House. This bill promotes equal voting opportunities and fairness in local political subdivisions to improve representation of underrepresented groups by encouraging cities, towns and other local jurisdictions to switch from at-large elections to smaller districted elections. What this boils down to is that when a neighborhood or community cannot elect representation from their locality, then that democracy is not served, and our American dream is diminished

Also passed, HB 1267 will remove barriers to voter registration by changing registration deadlines from the current 29 days before the election to 11 days for both online and in-person registration. In the same vein of encouraging registration to vote, HB 1279 allows 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote when obtaining a driver’s license, giving them access to the “motor voter” system – the most popular method of voter registration in our state. A common-sense efficiency and cost saving proposal, HB 1103 moves the state along a timeline toward one uniform ballot design to lower elections costs and minimize potential voter confusion


 

Safe, affordable housing

Everyone should have the right to a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home. Several measures passed this week will provide better protections for both renters and homeowners.

HB 1529 prevents discrimination against victims of domestic violence when they seek housing. It prohibits a tenant screening service from disclosing whether an applicant is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. HB 1617 requires landlords to exercise care in the safekeeping of duplicate keys to tenant dwellings. If these keys can be easily accessed by unauthorized individuals, the tenant could be at risk of harm.  HB 1170 updates the property-tax-exemption program to help make sure that people on fixed incomes – such as low-income senior citizens, as well as disabled veterans and other people in need – aren’t being taxed out of their homes.



Our Evergreen legacy

Protecting our state’s quality of life is the overarching theme of several environmental and natural resource-related measures championed by House legislators. Maintaining a healthy and sustainable quality of life in our state will strengthen our economy and attract employers, as well as tourists, to the region.

HB 1245 provides funding for the clean-up and removal of unsafe, unsightly derelict marine vessels. These abandoned vessels pose a pollution threat to waterways and the folks whose livelihoods depend on the bounty of our waters. HB 1294 gets our state off the so-called “toxic treadmill” once and for all by banning two forms of the chemical Tris – a carcinogen that is known to cause developmental disabilities in children – from most upholstered furniture and children’s products, and preventing equally toxic chemicals from being substituted in their place. HB 1364 establishes a manufacturer-financed rechargeable battery stewardship program, keeping toxic waste out of our landfills and giving us a safe way to dispose of old batteries we might have lying around our homes.


Come to our Town Hall!

I am looking forward to co-hosting our first town hall meeting of this year with my seatmates Senator Rosemary McAuliffe and Representative Derek Stanford, on Saturday, March 16, in the multipurpose room of the Northshore Senior Center. The meeting will run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Northshore Senior Center is located at 10201 East Riverside Dr. in Bothell. Please come ready with your questions and comments — we can’t do our job representing you without hearing from you. 


As always, I appreciate the chance to represent you and the 1st Legsilative District here in our state House.

Yours, 

Moscososig