Dear Neighbors,

We are less than two weeks away from the end of the 2014 session and the pace here in Olympia reflects that! Both the House and the Senate released supplemental budget proposals this week, policy committees hit the final cut-off for bills from the opposite chamber, and soon we will be on the floor all day as we complete our work for this year.

Update on my bills

A bill I introduced that is very important to our district, SHB 1292, concerning vacating prostitution convictions, passed the House 91-1 and has passed the Senate Law & Justice committee!  It now goes to the Senate floor for consideration.

Under this bill, victims of commercial sex trafficking can apply to the courts to erase their criminal records.  They could apply for the record-scrubbing whether or not they face pending criminal charges for prostitution or previous convictions have been vacated via the process.

This legislation will give women who are trying to recover from their experience in the sex trade the opportunities they need to really rebuild their lives.  This bill is nothing short of a lifesaver for these young women, many of whom were dragged into the sex trade industry as underage girls and forced into servitude. Once their prior convictions are vacated they can get jobs and find good housing. These women want to give back to the community.

Prostitution is one of the many forms of human trafficking, and itsvictims deserve the chance to start their lives over when they manage to get out of the commercial sex industry.

 

 

Education, mental-health treatment, and child care focus of House supplemental budget

The supplemental budget proposed by the House this week makes adjustments to state services that are necessary due to things like increased prison populations, more students in public schools, and forest fires, floods and other disasters requiring state assistance.

But it also makes additional targeted investments in areas like K-12 education and mental health treatment.  The need to address these issues has been well-covered by the media: the State Supreme Court’s most recent McCleary order for example, and the tragedies involving untreated mental illnesses.

Here are some key points in our proposal:

• Adds $60 million for books, supplies and technology (MSOC) which is part of our obligation to fully-fund our schools.
• Funds child care family home collective bargaining agreement.
• Improves community mental health services and services at the state hospitals.
• Provides $8.2 million to develop intensive mental health services for high-needs youth.
• Gives counties some flexible funding to respond to mental health needs.
• Improves the WorkFirst program by using TANF grant savings to improve client services and program infrastructure.

This is a responsible proposal that makes some progress toward our basic education obligation and is balanced over the next four years.

But is it enough?

We are facing a $2 billion hole next year in education funding if we are to meet our paramount duty to provide our children with a basic education.

Besides the budget described above, the House also introduced a modest proposal that would close four (out of 650) tax preferences and redirect those resources to two areas of education:

• Restore the voter-approved cost-of-living-increases for public school teachers.
• Fund the Early Start Act of 2014 to ensure that at-risk children get high quality early learning opportunities that help them arrive at kindergarten ready to learn.

Here is more information about the tax preferences we are suggesting for closure and the Early Start Act of 2014.

Instead of beginning to roll back ineffective and costly tax exemptions, the Senate proposal adds and extends over 20 tax preferences – a plan that will cost taxpayers $250 million over the next four years.  I think that is the wrong approach for our kids and our families.

We can’t lower class sizes without more classrooms

In 2009, the Legislature laid out clear goals to reduce class size and provide all-day kindergarten across the state by 2018. We are taking steps to meet this deadline, but a growing problem is emerging.

School districts don’t have the space necessary to accommodate all-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes. For instance, last year the Mukilteo School District turned down state funding to expand access to all-day kindergarten simply because they didn’t have the space. School districts from across the state, east and west, have said that they simply don’t have classroom space to lower class size.

Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of legislators presented the solution. The legislation sells $700 million in bonds backed by lottery revenue for grants dedicated to constructing classrooms for full-day kindergarten, as well as K-3 class size reduction. Four other states sell lottery-backed bonds and continue to enjoy strong credit ratings.

This plan, crafted by Democrats and Republicans alike, will build classrooms to meet the goals of universal all-day kindergarten and reduced class sizes in grades K-3. Before a teacher shows up to teach and a student shows up to learn, we must have a safe place to put them. This initiative builds that space and creates 7,000 jobs at the same time.

The bill was approved by the House Capital Budget Committee earlier this week, and will likely come to the floor for a vote in coming days.

For more information on the legislation, click here. You can learn more about the other state selling lottery-backed bonds here and here.

Ask Me!

Click to watch me respond to constituent emails on the Early Learning Act and investing in tobacco prevention programs.

 

As always, I appreciate your feedback on issues of importance to you.  Keep your calls, emails, and letters coming!

Sincerely,