Dear friends and neighbors,
Greetings from your state capitol! We’ve just passed the halfway point of the 2017 legislative session. This has been a busy week, with some long days spent passing legislation on the House floor. Next Wednesday, March 8th, is House of Origin cutoff. That’s the deadline for bills originating in the House to be passed by the House in order to continue moving forward in the legislative process.
I came to the legislature wanting to ensure local communities have a say in the policies drafted at the state level. So I’m pleased to report three bills I’ve sponsored that support stronger, safer communities all passed the House this week. They now head to the Senate for consideration. Details on the bills are below.
As always, I welcome your questions, concerns and feedback. Please don’t hesitate to email me at Shelley.Kloba@leg.wa.gov or call my office at (360) 786-7900. I also hope to see as many of you as possible at my upcoming town hall on Sunday, March 12th (details below).
Sincerely,
Town Hall meeting scheduled for March 12
Join Rep. Shelley Kloba, Rep. Derek Stanford, and Sen. Guy Palumbo for a town hall meeting.
Date: Sunday, March 12
Time: 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Place: Mobius Hall, UW Bothell/Cascadia campus, 18345 Campus Way NE, Bothell
Therapeutic courts: Protecting communities & saving lives
When I ran for the legislature, I met a woman who shared with me her personal story of recovery from substance abuse. She said something that really stuck with me: “Drug court saved my life.”
As taxpayers, we all want to receive the most benefit for our tax dollars, and we want to ensure the programs we fund are truly effective. Drug courts and other therapeutic courts accomplish both of these objectives. They help people get their lives back on track and reduce harm in our communities caused by substance abuse.
My therapeutic drug courts bill (HB 1524), which passed with nearly unanimous support, makes an important tweak to current law by broadening the category of what the drug treatment account can fund. This aligns our drug courts with best practices for recovery support, enabling people to be more successful in their recovery so they remain clean and sober and our communities are safer.
Safer roads for bicyclists = safer roads for everyone
Cooper Jones was a 13-year-old boy who was killed when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike. After his tragic death, Cooper’s parents pushed for bicyclist safety legislation, resulting in the Cooper Jones Act of 1998. Among other things, this legislation directed the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety education. But over time, resources have been shifted away from these efforts. Meanwhile, bicyclist fatalities increased 12 percent in our state from 2012 to 2014, compared with 2009 to 2011.
I sponsored a bill to establish the Cooper Jones Bicyclist Safety Advisory Council (HB 1795). It gives renewed attention to the issue of bicyclist safety, and the opportunity to look at what’s happening in communities across the state. The council would analyze data on bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries, and identify opportunities for safety improvements.
The council’s mission supports Washington’s Target Zero goal of reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Washington’s roadways to zero by the year 2030. And it’s not just good for bicyclists – improvements that create safer roads help everyone travel more safely and efficiently. I’m pleased legislators from both sides of the aisle came together to pass this measure.
Giving metropolitan park districts options, with strong accountability
I mentioned in my last e-newsletter that the first piece of legislation I sponsored is one giving metropolitan park districts (MPDs) an optional tool to help build the facilities their residents desire, along with strong accountability measures. After a Kirkland ballot measure to build a new community pool failed, the lessons learned from that effort went into drafting this bill. It allows MPDs to customize a ballot measure for a lower levy rate if that is all that is needed. Additionally, if there is a future need to raise the levy rate, it would go to a vote of the people, rather than simply a vote of the MPD board. The measure, HB 1456, passed the House yesterday.