Making Oil Train Awareness a Priority

Over the last few years there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of oil traveling over water, on land, and underground in Washington state. As you can see from the oil train route map, oil trains run right through our communities.

While discussions about the role that our state plays in transporting oil are controversial, one thing we should all agree upon is that, as long as oil is traveling through our state, we need to be prepared in case of an incident. I am supporting two bills this year that will help keep our communities safe.

House Bill 1698 will require the state to create emergency preparedness guidelines. State Department of Health officials will work with local city and county officials, first responders, and public health authorities to develop plans and information for us all to be a little safer and more knowledgeable.

House Bill 1611 will boost the Department of Ecology’s oil spill prevention efforts and increase safety measures. We need to keep prevention efforts in place and make sure that our communities and our first responders are prepared if there is an oil spill, explosion, or fire.

 

Supporting families

This year I am proud to be standing up for women and families with my fellow House Democrats. There are a number of bills that would provide better outcomes for moms, dads and kids, including Paid Family and Medical Leave, the Equal Pay Opportunity Act and the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act.

Paid Family and Medical Leave – House Bill 1116, would allow workers to take up to 26 weeks of paid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child or to take care of a seriously ill family member, and up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave to take care of their own serious health condition. Paid family and medical leave helps families make decisions that are right for them, and not be forced to choose between getting a paycheck or taking care of a newborn or elderly parent.

Equal Pay Opportunity Act – Even though we passed the Washington State Equal Pay Act in 1943, women across all occupations still make less than men. One of the challenges is that many women lack information about what their co-workers are paid because their employer prohibits disclosing salaries. House Bill 1506 would prohibit pay secrecy policies, allowing employees to discuss their wages. The bill would also ban retaliation against workers who ask for equal pay and offer some better options for enforcing the laws regarding equal pay.

Pregnant Worker Fairness Act – House Bill 1796 would require employers to provide appropriate accommodations to pregnant women and new moms, including accommodations necessary to express breast milk. The bill would also require other changes like allowing cashiers to sit or have extra bathroom breaks. These accommodations can allow a woman to safely work longer into pregnancy and have healthier babies in more financially secure homes.

Our policies need to support working families. These bills help us take some important steps.

 

Fixing legal financial obligations and ending debtor’s prisons

While we outlawed debtor’s prisons many years ago, many people are ending up in jail because they can’t pay their legal fees and fines.

When criminal offenders serve time in prison for crimes there are often fines, fees, or victim restitution, called legal financial obligations, involved in their punishment. Those fines and fees usually accrue interest and offenders can be in so much debt when they are released that they won’t ever be able to pay it off. The debt blocks any chance they have for successfully rejoining the community. On top of struggling under the weight of the debt, some local governments even put people in jail for not paying.

I am supporting House Bill 1783 which reforms the LFO system. The bill will lower the burden that LFOs place on people trying to get their lives back together. The bill also prioritizes the payments that are made to make sure restitution to victims is paid first.

I was proud to have cast my vote in favor of reforming the LFO system when it passed out of the House last year and will continue to support this badly-needed reform bill.