Greetings, friends and neighbors.
I hope you are all doing well and staying safe!
We are now at a year since we all started working together to social distance and keep our neighbors safe from COVID-19. Our family has continued wearing masks, washing hands and sanitizing, helping folks connect to vaccination sites, and staying connected to small, local businesses to keep our local economy moving.
Last week was the cut-off date to pass bills out of our House fiscal committees, meaning legislation that did not make it to the Appropriations and Rules committees will most likely not become laws this session. My colleagues and I will head back to our committees next week to review legislation that was passed out of the Senate.
To check out important dates for the remainder of the session, click here.
What’s Happening on the Floor
Last week, the House unanimously passed my sponsored legislation, HB 1083, allowing mobile and manufactured homeowners to receive relocation assistance when their mobile home community closure forces them to move.
Many families in these communities are either low or fixed-income and often face homelessness when their park closes. The changes we passed will now allow them to access relocation money to help secure housing. They weren’t evicted nor broke community rules but forced to relocate because the park is closing through no fault of their own. Moving is not an overnight decision, it takes time and money, and for these families, it’s limited.
With these changes, they can now allow access to relocation assistance, helping secure housing after their community closed.
I am also happy to say that we increased the relocation funds in the bill:
Single-section homeowners: $7.5K –> $11K
Multi-section homeowners: $12K –> $17K
Earlier this week, my sponsored legislation, HB 1365, was voted out of the House, addressing digital equity by making remote learning accessible for all students, and assisting school districts in procuring digital learning devices.
Before the pandemic worsened the technological divide across the state, some communities were already experiencing digital inequities. Nearly one in 10 students in WA lived in households without learning devices, with low-income and students of color most likely affected. Their primary source of a digital device is a cell phone, which is not adequate to do homework. Also, some households do not have the bandwidth for everyone to video conference at once. It is not enough to say that it is the school’s responsibility to provide devices.
This bill provides staff with technology support, training, and access needed to support their community. It enables a coordinated response from the system by encouraging collaboration with districts, educational service districts (ESDs), and community-based organizations.
Check out from floor speech here!
Huge thanks to colleagues who helped us get these important bills to the Senate!
HB 1460 addresses the digital divide affecting, some of our most marginalized communities – including senior, low-income, rural, and BIPOC communities. Their lack of access to reliable, affordable, user-friendly digital devices creates technological barriers to connect with friends, family, and public health officials. Also, It establishes the Digital Equity Opportunity Grant Program and the Digital Equity Planning Grant Program and creates a Digital Equity Forum.
In this edition on Visiting with Mia, I chat with Patricia and Patty Gonzalez on my sponsored bill HB 1460, closing the digital divide in Washington.
Watch it here.
Do you know a high school student who will be a freshman, sophomore, or junior next school year who’s passionate about community work and making a change?
The Legislative Youth Advocacy Council is a nonpartisan, student-led youth advisory body under the Washington State Legislature. Students across Washington from different backgrounds make up this extraordinary group of young leaders, promoting youth participation in the state government, fostering long-lasting relationships between policymakers and young people, and achieving tangible legislative progress on behalf of Washington students.
Check out their website here and apply here.
Save The Date!
Join your 33rd District representatives for a live virtual town hall on Wed, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m.
Rep. Tina Orwall, Sen. Karen Keiser, and I will share our thoughts on our legislative priorities and answer your questions on issues you care about.
You can submit questions ahead of time here or submit questions live during the event in the comment section.
Other ways to watch
YouTube
The live video will appear on the House Democrats channel as soon as the event begins at 7 p.m. on Mar. 24.
youtube.com/c/WAHouseDems/videos
The live video will appear on the House Democrats profile as soon as the event begins at 7 p.m. on Mar. 24.
We look forward to seeing you there!
COVID-19 Vaccine Locations
Are you ready to get vaccinated?
Head over to the Washington State Department of Health website to see where the nearest vaccine location is near you. To assess your eligibility for Phase 1A or 1B to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the Phase Finder web form. If you are eligible, please print or copy the confirmation page and share it with your vaccine provider.
To stay up-to-date on the issues I am working on, visit my legislative website or follow my official Facebook page.
Please, do not hesitate to email me with your questions or concerns.
Warm Regards,
