Dear friends and neighbors,

Earlier this month we kicked off the 2024 Legislative Session! Every year we alternate between a short session, which is 60 days, or a long session, which is 105 days. This year is a short session, and it’s off to a fast start. We were ready to pass bills off the floor starting day one, and we’ve been busy with committee hearings and more floor action since then. We’ve got more updates in our sections below. We’ve also added some (hopefully) helpful information for folks looking to get involved in our work. Like we said, this session will go fast, but we’re excited to work hard on your behalf.

Thanks for reading-

A Note from Emily

Helping the people of Washington have access to quality and affordable housing and childcare remains the focus of my second session in Olympia.

At a time when working families and older adults are facing real economic pressures, we can provide some stability in the single greatest cost in a household budget — housing costs. My HB 2114 will stabilize renters by stopping excessive rent increases, lowering the costs and fees associated with getting new housing, and providing greater predictability for millions of renters in the district and state.

Improving access to quality childcare is good for families and necessary for our economy. My HB 1945 will streamline access to quality childcare to families who qualify for food assistance. I am sponsoring HB 1969 to increase access to homecare for seniors and people with disabilities, by making it easier for family members to be home care providers.

I am also working with my colleagues to pass policies to prevent gun violence and prioritize investments in public education. As you can see, we’ve got a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and tell your stories so we can continue to pass legislation that will change lives.

 

A Note from Joe

There’s a lot of great work happening this session and I wanted to share more on some of the bills I’m particularly excited about.

We know that it’ll take a lot of different policies working together to address our housing crisis. One of the other ideas we’re working on is co-living housing, like small apartments with shared kitchen spaces, which create more flexible and affordable options for multi-family housing. HB 1998 by Rep. Gregerson would set standards for and legalize the development of co-living housing statewide, you can read more about it here.

We’re also working on public safety, similar to housing there’s a lot of different pieces that will come together to help create safer communities, one example is Rep. Ryu’s legislation to help address and prevent catalytic converter theft.

Rep. Riccelli has a bill that would help preserve access to preventative health care services without cost sharing. That includes things like immunizations, blood pressure screenings, lung cancer screenings, and more.

In the labor space, Rep. Fosse’s HB 1940 prevents employers from punishing workers that refuse to attend or participate in “captive audience” meetings. These are meetings held by employers explicitly to communicate religious or political matters, and aren’t related to the employee’s work, so we think employees should be able to choose if it’s the best use of their time.

Stay Engaged this Session

Stay Engaged this Session

• Learn — Curious about how the legislative process works? You can watch a start-to-finish overview by clicking here. If you prefer text instead, click here.
• Watch — TVW.org broadcasts all legislative debates, votes, committee hearings and other events in the House and Senate. There’s also an extensive archive of past events if you can’t watch it live. Check out TVW’s “Legislative Review” for a quick recap of everything that’s happened each day of session.
• Research — Find detailed information about legislation by lawmaker or topic by clicking here.
• Testify — Share your thoughts on legislation! This session, you’ll be able to testify in person, remotely or in writing based on what’s easiest for you. Click here for more information on how to testify.

You can find the contact info for our offices in the footer below 

Contact Rep. Emily Alvarado: 425 John L. O’Brien ● PO Box 40600 Olympia, WA
98504 ● Send me an email  ● (360) 786-7978

Contact Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon: 339A Legislative Building ● PO Box 40600 Olympia, WA
98504 ● Send me an email ● (360) 786-7952