Dear neighbors,
How can we work together to make this a better place to live and raise a family?
I’m happy to report that so far, we’re making major progress on key issues, including housing, public safety, the environment, workforce shortages, and reproductive rights.
And unlike what you see on the news, most issues that we vote on receive strong bipartisan support. Because whether I agree with you or not, we can listen to each other and have a respectful dialogue. That’s the only way to make progress on our common problems and dreams.
It’s happening in Olympia this year. Out of the roughly 330 bills that passed the House so far, 257 bills received the support of 80 percent of lawmakers, and 196 of those votes were unanimous.
I hope we can continue to have a good dialogue about the challenges and opportunities of today, back home in the 1st District and in our state capitol.
And I’d like to invite you to our 1st District Town Hall meeting—scroll down for details!
Progress on major issues
Housing
The housing crisis affects us all, whether you rent, own a home, or can’t find an affordable home near your workplace and face a long commute. I want to tell you about two landmark reforms the House passed that are now being considered in the Senate.
Middle housing (House Bill 1110) helps create housing in the missing middle—such as cottage courts and duplexes—where we need it most, near transit and other services. Our grandparents used to have these housing options, and it’s time to bring this proven idea back.
Mother-in-law units (House Bill 1337) are a great option for people who want to build a small place to live on their land for aging parents or other relatives. It’s also a great option for folks who want to rent it out for extra income.
Reproductive rights
We protected your reproductive rights with bills to make sure doctors and patients aren’t vulnerable to civil lawsuits and prosecutions via other states (House Bill 1469) and passing the My Health, My Data Act (House Bill 1155) to guard against your private medical information from being disclosed. The sad fact is that data is now being used for profit and for political purposes. We will end this.
Public safety
We passed serious reforms to make our streets and neighborhoods safer, including:
- a massive strengthening of our laws to protect survivors of domestic violence (House Bill 1715)
- an independent prosecutor’s office to review and take action on deadly force by law enforcement (House Bill 1579)
- stronger gun safety laws, with new safety training requirements (House Bill 1143) and a ban on the sale of dangerous assault weapons (House Bill 1240).
Workforce shortage
Critical industries and services like health care are suffering from a shortage of workers. We passed a dozen bills out of the House to address these worker shortages and to ensure that students get the education they need for these high-demand, high-wage jobs.
Bills I passed!
I’m thrilled to say the House passed four of my bills before the deadline:
Cutting red tape (House Bill 1167) — This legislation breaks through local logjams and delays to speed up the building of housing.
Better planning (House Bill 1181) — Adds climate change and resiliency to our state’s land use planning to better prepare us for climate change and natural disasters.
Buy Clean, Buy Fair (House Bill 1282) — This law is about giving people more information about building materials. We can’t build more sustainably without knowing what’s behind the drywall in a new house.
Energy use of homes (House Bill 1433) — When you buy a car, the sticker tells you the miles-per-gallon. Your home also uses energy, but nobody tells you how much before you buy the home. This law would give people that kind of information about a house before they buy along with ways to save energy and money.
You’re invited! I hope to see you at our Town Hall Meeting
I hope to see you there!
