Dear neighbors and friends,
It’s hard to believe the legislative session is almost over. After 103 days, the legislature will adjourn, “Sine Die” (without end) this Sunday. During this last week, we focused on reconciling differences in the House and Senate versions of bills through concurrences and conferences. We also passed our state’s two-year operating, capital, and transportation budgets. In this issue, as your 38th district legislators, we wanted to reach out with an update on our work.
Behavioral Health Supports & Child Care
Compass Health: We’re supporting access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment and recovery services, including increased rates for providers and investments in behavioral health beds. This $18.75 million investment prioritizes care for vulnerable populations, such as children with complex needs, and supports the workers who provide these critical services.
Housing Hope: Building a new development center for children is critical to promoting equity and access to quality care for children; particularly those from low-income families and in kinship care. We are proud to support Housing Hope in seeking $3 million to better serve the Everett, Marysville, Snohomish area. This new facility will provide improved Early Childhood Education and Assistance Programs (ECEAP) and help children develop social, emotional, and cognitive skills, which are crucial for their future success.
Supportive Housing, Workforce Development, & Supporting Families
Homelessness services across our state are at risk of significant cuts beginning this July if we fail to act. A workforce crisis in the homeless services sector compounds this problem. We must prevent across the board cuts to critical services with Operating Budget investments that fully backfill a $200 million shortfall of revenues from document recording fees. This will go directly to service providers across the state and increase frontline worker wages with a permanent 6% wage increase to stabilize the workforce.
We are also proud to support the Regional Apprentices Pathway Program with $2 million in funding to expand facilities use to adult learners and non-traditional students. Everett Community College and other community partners play a critical role in providing access to vocational certificates that lead to economic stability and prosperity.
Supporting families in our community is a critical aspect of our work. We have worked with our colleagues to increase funding to leadership training institutes for rural areas of Snohomish County. Families with expanded access to these programs can take classes on tribal history, the public education system, and benefit from increased recruitment and training of new instructors. All in all, this will help families in our community learn about legislative advocacy, civic engagement, and engaging in their children’s education.
Improving Resiliency in The Marine Industry
This year has been a difficult one for the marine workforce, our state ferry system, and for our seaports. Rebounding from the lingering impacts of the pandemic will require targeted investments in all these areas, but particularly the modernization and improvement of seaports.
Working with the Port of Everett, we have identified projects in need of vital fundings including the electrification, supporting military’s operations, shipbuilding, and facilitating cargo movement. The new Norton terminal will provide an electrical foundation for emerging green equipment and tugboats for continued economic resiliency and prosperity of the port.
With this $5 million investment and funding from federal partners, this modernization project will support the growth of over 300 family wage jobs in Washington’s blue economy.
First Bills to The Governor
A Note from Rep. Fosse: Nearly 158 years after slavery was abolished in the United States, Washington state’s unemployment insurance and paid family and medical leave laws still use the terms ‘master’ and ‘servant’ in statute. It is well past time to eliminate this racist legal language. That’s why I introduced House Bill 1107, which will update these terms to be more reflective of the values we seek to embody today. I am pleased both chambers unanimously agreed, and Governor Inslee signed the bill into law on April 6th.
A Note from Rep. Cortes: I introduced House Bill 1481 to provide a great retirement benefit to our law enforcement partners serving tribal communities. Currently, tribal police officers lack access to the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Firefighters’ Retirement System Plan 2 (LEOFF 2). This hurts the retention and recruitment of quality officers. With this bill, we extend the same benefits local and state police officers receive for the same service. It’s been great to work with our tribal partners on this important issue. I am proud to share this bill passed off the House and Senate floor unanimously and was signed by the Governor on April 13th.
The Importance of Representation for All
Representation matters. Rep. Cortes recently had a conversation with Rep. Lilian Ortiz-Self about strides Latinos and Latinas have in the Washington legislature over the years. As chair of the newly formed Latino Democratic Caucus, Rep. Ortiz-Self shared her perspective and her hopes for the future. Click here or on the image below to watch. ¡Sí se puede!
Share Your Thoughts with Us
In the next eight months, we look forward to traveling to our communities, visiting your neighborhoods, and hearing directly from you. As we move forward, we encourage you to stay involved, stay informed, and continue advocating for the issues that matter to you.
In Service,
State Representative Julio Cortes
State Representative Mary Fosse
38th Legislative District