Dear Friends and Neighbors,
When a police officer engages in egregious misconduct, the state should intervene and take away that officer’s certification. Unfortunately, our current system makes it very difficult to decertify an officer. In this week’s GoodMinute, I summarize the State Oversight and Accountability Act, a bill I have sponsored in the House, which will strengthen the state’s ability to get problem officers off of the street:
Giving our kids a fair start in life
Accessible, affordable, high-quality child care is the key to restarting our economy, getting parents back to work, and giving our kids a fair start in life.
I recently joined my House colleagues to pass House Bill 1213, the Fair Start for Kids Act, because our economy and our children’s success begins with child care.
We urgently need strong support for child care and early learning programs so families and businesses can thrive. And we must ensure livable wages for our child care providers, who are overwhelmingly women of color going without sufficient pay.
Children are our most precious resource! Investing in them is an investment in the future of Washington.
Washington is Number 1. Again.
That’s right, we’ve been here before or, rather, we haven’t left since we hit the first place in 2019. Washington is the first state in the nation to maintain the number one spot twice in a row.
U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and civic journalism, evaluated all 50 states across a range of categories to capture how states best serve their residents.
To ensure that their rankings are objective and fair, U.S. News weighted eight categories based on results from a representative survey to determine the factors that most influence Americans’ satisfaction with their home states.
Washington is among the top 10 states in infrastructure, education, economy, fiscal stability, and health care. Adding it all up puts us above all the other states for overall well-being.
Click here to learn more about why we’re at the top. Take a look at the chart below for a closer look at the rankings:
Not your mascot
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I joined my House colleagues recently in passing an important bill to end the derogatory use of Native Americans as mascots.
Native Americans are people, communities, and nations—not symbols. They are survivors of genocide and displacement, and they deserve respect.
House Bill 1356 extends healing and solidarity to ensure that we authentically honor the first nations who preceded us here. Schools that feature Native American mascots or imagery will have to phase out the use of those mascots. The bill makes exceptions for schools that have been authorized by a tribe to continue to use such a mascot.
As always, please reach out if you have questions, comments, or ideas.
All best wishes,
Roger Goodman
Representative, 45th District
Washington State Legislature