Reminder: 45th Telephone Town Hall this Thursday!

Join us this Thursday, March 7 at 6 PM for a live telephone town hall!

If you don’t have a landline or don’t receive the call, you can still participate by dialing 877-229-8493 and using ID Code 116292.

Alternatively, you can live-stream the town hall online: 45th LD Telephone Town Hall

Bold Green Transportation legislation

How will Washington state lead the way when it comes to new technology and ideas for a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system? One possible answer to that question is House Bill 2042.

The bill includes major reforms to move away from the costs and pollution of fossil fuels and toward cleaner technology, including:

• Making electric vehicles more affordable and accessible for everyone;
• Increasing the network of electric car chargers across the state;
• Helping transit agencies transition to electric buses;
• Solving the last-mile problem in mass transit, to get you from a ferry terminal, bus stop or train station to your final destination; and
• Enhancing efforts to get cars off the road through increased carpooling, vanpooling, telecommuting, walking, biking, or taking mass transit instead of driving alone to work every day.

This legislation works hand-in-glove with clean fuel and electricity reforms that were passed out of the House Environment & Energy Committee.

The goal of all these related reforms is to keep Washington state a world leader on new ideas in clean technology, and to leave our children with a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system.

Should Washington #DitchTheSwitch?

If you’re not a fan of changing your clocks twice a year to “spring ahead” or “fall back,” then you might be interested in a bill that’s still moving through the legislative process. House Bill 1196 would put Washington state on year-round Daylight Savings Time.

There are legitimate health concerns about what changing our clocks does to our bodies’ natural rhythms. In fact, a health impact review by the state Department of Health found there’s a spike in heart attacks, strokes, and even car accidents each year when we “spring forward.” Since we’re already on Daylight Savings Time eight months of the year, it isn’t much of a stretch to keep it for all 12 months.

A similar bill was introduced in the Senate, but what makes the House bill different is that it gives the voters a chance to weigh in on the idea at the ballot box. The federal government has the final say, because they have to give Washington permission to make the switch to permanent Daylight Savings Time. But a vote of the people in favor would send a strong message to Washington’s congressional delegation to push for this in the other Washington. What do YOU think? Should our state #DitchTheSwitch?

What’s happening now in Olympia?

We recently passed two key deadlines here in the House – one for policy committees and another for fiscal committees.

We will spend most of the next week on the House floor debating and voting on the bills that made it out of their respective committees by these deadlines. Legislation passing off the House floor will then go the Senate for their consideration, just as Senate bills will cross the rotunda for consideration by House committees.

Bills considered necessary to implement budgets are exempt from these cutoff deadlines and could be voted on up until the last day of session.

Please visit http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ if you’re interested in the status of any bill.

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have questions, comments, or ideas!

All best wishes,

Roger Goodman
Representative, 45th District
Washington State Legislature