Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This week marks the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, and I am honored to be back in Olympia as your 45th Legislative District representative.
Each new biennium, the structure of policy committees goes through adjustments. Committee planning for this session took place before the holidays, and I am pleased to announce that I will continue to serve as the Chair of the House Public Safety Committee. I will also continue as a member of the newly renamed Civil Rights & Judiciary and Human Services & Early Learning Committees.
The 2019 session brings not only new committees, but also new state representatives and new legislative dynamics. House Democrats have welcomed twelve new members, nine women and three men, who bring a lot of knowledge and diversity to the legislature. I look forward to the fresh ideas and energy that they will bring to our work addressing the critical issues facing families and communities in our district and around the state.
I’m ready to get to work!
Clarifying and Strengthening Initiative 940
Families, community groups, representatives of law enforcement, and lawmakers have been working for years to find a way to update the use of force in community policing statute and begin repairing the trust between the public and law enforcement.
Last session saw success at last with the passage of both Initiative 940 and House Bill 3003, which included agreed-upon clarifications to the initiative language. Unfortunately, questions about proper procedure caused the State Supreme Court to invalidate HB 3003 and send the initiative to the ballot in November.
Now that Initiative 940 has been passed by a vote of the people and the legislature is back in session, it is time to move forward and enact the strengthening and clarifying language. I am proud to sponsor that legislation (House Bill 1064), and am pleased to report that the bill has already had a hearing and been voted out of the House Public Safety Committee.
Together, the initiative and HB 1064 will improve public safety and the interactions between communities and law enforcement. These measures will increase training and accountability, require law enforcement to render first aid at the earliest opportunity, institute processes for independent investigations for deadly force incidents, create standards for family and community notification, and institute an objective good faith standard by which prosecutors can more fairly evaluate deadly force incidents.
Legislative page program now accepting applications
Every year, students ages 14 to 16 come from all over the state to serve as legislative pages in the House of Representatives. The Page Program is a great opportunity for youth to learn how our state government works, and gain hands-on experience with the ins and outs of the legislative process.
While the Page Program is free, and students receive a small stipend for their work each day, requirements like transportation to the Capitol and the costs of living in Olympia for a week can keep students from participating. Fortunately, the legislature created a scholarship program in 2016 to help offset those costs.
If this is something your teen might be interested in, go to the Page Program website to learn more, fill out an application, and get information on how to apply for the Gina Grant Bull Scholarship.
How to stay involved
Now that we are back in Olympia, feel free to stop by my office (LEG 436B) while you are on campus. Even if you can’t make it down during the session, don’t hesitate to reach out to my office by calling 360-786-7878 or sending an email to roger.goodman@leg.wa.gov.
Want to track what’s happening in Olympia? I can’t recommend enough TVW’s “Legislative Review” – a 15-minute overview (30-minute on Fridays) of what happened each day here in Olympia. It’s a quick and easy way to learn how the legislature works and you can stream or download it on your mobile device.
Look for more updates coming soon and please reach out if you have questions, comments, or ideas.
All best wishes,
Roger Goodman
Representative, 45th District
Washington State Legislature