Dear neighbors,
It’s hard to get three people to agree on anything tough. So you can imagine the difficulty when it’s 98 people in the House and 49 over in the Senate.
Yet we are working together and are almost finished with this session.
This e-newsletter is a quick look at what’s happening, what’s next, and why it matters to all of our families back home.
I also want to thank everyone who participated in our town hall meeting! If you didn’t catch it, you can watch it by clicking here or on the photo below.
What’s happening
On Saturday, Feb. 24, we passed our proposed operating budget state. This is a supplemental year, so we made adjustments to the budget passed last year to keep up with a growing population and emerging needs like housing and the opioid crisis.
There’s also good news on funding for higher education, which is essential to our high-tech economy. I’m proud that we’re also passing reforms to make it easier for high school students to earn dual credit and attend Running Start.
Building a better Washington
In supplemental budget years like this, we might have only $100 million to $200 million to add to the capital budget, which pays for public construction projects across the state.
This year, the bipartisan House capital budget is $1.3 billion due to increased revenue from capital gains and the Climate Commitment Act.
Those funds mean good jobs for folks in hard hats across the state and new schools, college lecture halls, parks, and other infrastructure that will serve the people of our state for generations.
What’s next, and why it matters
All our families and neighborhoods will be affected by the three state budgets along with the bills passed this session:
- public schools;
- the cost of college;
- affordable housing and the homeless crisis;
- transportation;
- small businesses;
- health care;
- public safety; and
- protecting the environment.
When we’ve finished work, I’ll update you—by email and a printed mailer—about the biggest changes.
There isn’t enough room to tell you about all the bills that passed or failed, with thousands of bills proposed each year. If you have a question about a specific bill or issue, please get in touch with my office!
And if you have an idea for a bill, please reach out. I hope to hear from you soon, and I look forward to being back home in the 1st District!
