Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Thank you for virtually visiting Senator Valdez, Rep. Pollet, and I for our first town hall of 2023. I was excited to see so many people come share their thoughts and questions with us! For those who were unable to attend or experience technical difficulties, the event can be viewed here.
This e-newsletter is a quick look at what’s happening in Olympia and how it might affect all our communities. In this issue, I’ll share an update on legislative deadlines, the status of my bills in the Senate and discuss Nowruz. I hope you will find it useful!
Legislative Timeline
The last time I wrote at the end of February, we were approaching a major legislative cutoff where most bills had to be passed from House Committee to have a chance of passing the House. The following legislative deadline was March 8th marking the House of Origin Cutoff – the deadline for most bills to pass either the House or the Senate. We are now at the next major cutoff, March 29th, which is the last day for House bills to pass out of Senate Committees (excludes bills in fiscal committees). After April 4th, the legislature will resume full-time debate of bills on the House Floor and work to finalize the state operating, capital, and transportation budgets.
Bill Update
Legislative session is constitutionally limited to a 105-day session in odd numbered years and 60 days in even numbered years. This limits the amount of time we have to pass bills. I am happy to report that this year, we have passed over 300 bills out of the House – a record amount, with nearly two-thirds receiving unanimous support and over seventy six percent receiving strong bipartisan support. This includes a few of the bills I’m working on:
House Bill 1345 provides access to family visits and other privileges for incarcerated individuals to better facilitate the rehabilitation process and create equitable access to those services. The Senate Committee on Human Services heard and passed this bill last week. I look forward to seeing it voted out of the Senate soon.
House Bill 1541, the ‘Nothing About Us, Without Us’ act, increases representation from underrepresented communities on taskforces, workgroups, or advisory committees. This ensures that lived experience can be recognized and contribute to meaningful policy solutions rather than negatively impacting overburdened communities. This bill is scheduled for a hearing this Friday in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
House Bill 1618 seeks justice for child sex abuse survivors by removing the statue of limitations in civil court. This bill was heard and passed in the Senate Law and Justice Committee last week. It will now go before Senate Ways and Means as we discuss the fiscal impacts and hopefully soon off to the Senate Floor! For more of my thoughts on this bill, click here or on the image below!
Eid Shoma Mobarak!
Happy Nowruz! I am so pleased to be sponsoring House Resolution 4629 – the first resolution put forth in the Washington State House to honor the Persian New Year or “Nowruz”.
This holiday is celebrated by over 300 million people across the globe. Thank you to the Washington House Democrats for honoring this special day with me this year. To see more on the legislative event organized in celebration of Nowruz and Persian culture, click here or on the image below!
Share Your Thoughts with Me
I’m so excited to welcome constituents back to Olympia! If you come down to Olympia, please schedule a time for us to meet by emailing our office, so you can share your priorities with me. My staff and I are also happy to meet remotely if you are not quite comfortable in a public setting or simply can’t make it to Olympia.
In service,
Rep. Darya Farivar
State Representative 46th Legislative District