Friends and neighbors,
The 2020 session began with a new face at the House rostrum: Speaker Laurie Jinkins! It is the first time in nearly two decades that a new Speaker takes the gavel. It was exciting to join the first woman Speaker and all other female legislators on the rostrum that same day to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage. It was a powerful reminder of how humbled I am to serve you, the good people of the 5th Legislative district.
60 days to create change for our community
I’m often asked how our state Legislature works. Good question! Our state’s legislative process can be confusing at times, but as with so many things, there is a method to the madness. There are many “Why does the Legislature…?” questions, and today I wanted to start with one I get often about the length of the legislative session.
Q: What’s a ‘short session’?
Our state uses a two-year legislative cycle called a biennium. A biennium starts in odd-numbered years when a long session (105 days) convenes – timed to coincide with elections that bring many new members to Olympia. More time means more issues are discussed and debated. Most importantly, we write and approve two-year operating, transportation and capital construction budgets.
Even-year “short” sessions (60 days) help solve issues that come up between long and short sessions. For example, legislators review the existing operating budget to see where changes are needed such as unanticipated natural disaster expenses, increased health care caseloads, revenue receipt changes and the like (which is why you’ll hear reference to the “supplemental budget”). Proposed bills from the previous session are still in play, and new ideas are also introduced.
We are 15 days into a short session, and we’ve already made a ton of progress. We’re focused on confronting our homelessness crisis, fixing the transportation system and ensuring kids get a fair start in their early education.
Homelessness reaches all ages, all races, all backgrounds. And we know there is no one cause. Too many people are one financial crisis away from being homeless. The immediate need for many on the streets is a safe place to lay their head while they work to improve their lives. I know this is a big challenge. But we don’t shy away from those. Let’s bring Washingtonians in from the cold this year.
Another major issue this session is adjusting to the passage of Initiative 976. The voters made their voices clear. Unfortunately, it means a loss of more than $450 million in revenue for the state transportation budget. The initiative is being challenged in court so we probably won’t know the initiative’s final fate until this summer, long after we finish work during this short 60-day session. But the transportation budget has to be balanced, now, however painful the cuts or project delays might be. We’re going to work together to manage the budget shortfall and look at funding strategies that make sense for our voters.
Finally, we are focused on ensuring kids have access to high-quality child care and early learning. Child care is more expensive than college these days. It’s costing our kids, families and businesses. Nearly half of Washington parents have a hard time finding affordable child care, directly affecting their employment. This means Washington businesses lose $2.08 billion a year due to lack of child care. We are taking a comprehensive approach to make high-quality child care affordable and accessible to so that our businesses, families and littlest learners grow strong!
What I’m working on
This year, I’ve sponsored 12 bills. Many of them focus on improving the lives of vulnerable youth. I believe that if we focus on setting them up for success now, we improve the lives of everyone in our community. That’s why my bills would help to provide the supports they need when and where they need them. I’ve testified in numerous hearings about the merits of the policies and the way they will have a meaningful impact on the lives of all of us. Some of them have been voted out of committee and are on their way to the floor. You can track my bills by clicking here.
Thanks to those of you who’ve shared your thoughts and ideas with my office. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve met with and heard from hundreds of you. Each and every comment helps to inform that work that I do on behalf of our community.
Please continue to email, call, or come visit us here in Olympia. You can reach me at lisa.callan@leg.wa.gov and (360) 786-7876.
Take care,
Lisa