That’s a wrap on the 2023 legislation session! 🥳🎉

Dear friends and neighbors, 

Sunday officially marked the end of the 2023 legislative session and we want to highlight some of our biggest accomplishments of the last 105 days!

HB 1143 – WE DID IT! We passed a comprehensive suite of gun safety measures that will save lives including my bill to require a 10-day waiting period and safety training for all firearms purchases, a ban on assault weapons, and legislation to hold the gun industry accountable. Read more in the New York Times! 

HB 1570 – This bill will give 35,000 rideshare drivers in WA access to unemployment insurance and Paid Family & Medical Leave benefits, building on the landmark legislation I championed last year to provide these workers the highest wage and strongest protections in the country. 

HB 1575 – Allows county or city councils to raise a 0.1% sales tax to fund access to arts, culture, and scientific organizations. This will create more free access for students, seniors, and families to opportunities to learn, create, invent, and discover, and will be an essential lifeline for our cultural organizations still struggling to get back on their feet after the pandemic.  Programs funded through the cultural access tax can range from free arts programs in schools to free community-based performances to free admission to zoos and aquariums. It will also support good unionized jobs at our cultural and scientific organizations.  I know from personal experience how transformational access to the arts can be, and I’m excited to expand this access to the next generation of Washingtonians.  

HB 1247 – Establishes a professional license for Music Therapists.  This bill was brought to me by constituents in the 36th  who had been trying for the past 5 years to pass this bill. It was an honor to help get it finally over the finish line. Music therapists are trained practitioners who work alongside audiologists, speech & occupational therapists, and physicians to help patients build developmental skills, improve their quality of life, and treat complex conditions like memory loss, PTSD & depression. 

The arts 🎨🎬🎼 add so much to our lives. That’s why we are proud to secure funding for our community’s creative spaces in this year’s Capital Budget, including: 

• $750,000 for improvements to the Seattle Children’s Theatre  
• $1.2 million for accessibility upgrades for the Seattle Repertory Theater   
• $500,000 for renovations to SIFF Cinema Uptown   
• $258,000 for the National Nordic Museum east garden project  

Beyond the arts funding there’s a lot more coming your way here 👉 bit.ly/41PmWFv

As your urbanist voice in the State Legislature, we’re thrilled that this year’s Transportation Budget includes investments to improve safety and access for bike lanes 🚲 and pedestrian pathways 🚶 and funding for other exciting local projects, including:  

• $200,000 for the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development to conduct an I-5 lid feasibility study  
• $5M for monorail improvements 🚆
• $6.5M for King County Metro projects 🚍
• $1.6 million for the Ballard-based Seattle Maritime Academy to train the next generation of ferry workers  
• $14 million for shore power pilots for the Northwest Seaport Alliance, helping to reduce emissions impact for neighborhoods near port and cruise terminals  

Plus, billions to improve the Washington State Ferry system, including building new hybrid-electric ferries. Check out these and all the other projects coming here 👉 bit.ly/40FmGIb

We’re looking forward to being back home and catching up with you! As always, please keep in touch. 

Best wishes,