Dear friends and neighbors,
Last week the 2023 Legislative Session got underway and the first week was a busy one! We got to work immediately, and I have to say, it’s so nice to be back in person for the first time since 2020. This year’s session is considered hybrid, as the Legislature is keeping many of the remote features established in the earlier days of the pandemic. If you plan on testifying in a committee hearing this year, you still have the option to testify remotely via Zoom if you prefer.
This year, I am serving as Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee, as well as serving on the Rules and State Government & Tribal Relations committees. This biweekly newsletter will give you a sense of the issues I am working on, and the progress being made. I welcome your ideas and encourage you to reach out about issues important to you and your loved ones. I also encourage you to follow my legislative Facebook page for regular updates.
Emerging Priorities This Session: Reproductive Freedom + Addressing the Workforce & Housing Shortages
Last week, HJR 4201 (SJR 8202) on reproductive freedom in our state was read on the floor for the first time. I was the primary sponsor of this bill in the House. If approved by the Senate and House of Representatives in the Washington Legislature, voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on an amendment to the state’s constitution on an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom. This would include an individual’s right to an abortion or accessing contraception.
Washington state has a long history of protecting reproductive freedom and women’s right to choose. In fact, Washington was the first state in the country to approve a ballot measure safeguarding abortion rights when voters narrowly approved Initiative 120 in 1991. However, with the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in June of last year, this landmark piece of legislation dismantled 50 years of a federal right to an abortion practically overnight. Now, each individual state can decide whether a woman has a right to choose.
With so many states curtailing or outright banning abortion, this is why now, more than ever, I support this work towards amending Washington’s Constitution to ensure that every woman in our state maintains the right to bodily autonomy.
Last week, I also introduced HB 1129, which concerns the sale or lease of manufactured/mobile home communities and property on which they sit. It was read on the floor for the first time Jan. 9 and was already scheduled to hear public testimony on Monday, Jan. 16.
I introduced this bill because manufactured/mobile homes provide a significant source of homeownership opportunities for Washington state residents. Many who live in these types of homes are senior citizens or those with low incomes. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of closures and conversions to other uses of manufactured housing communities and mobile home parks. For seniors and those on a fixed income, being displaced from their homes leads to housing instability and decreased quality of life. Housing insecurity has been linked to negatively impacting one’s physical health and making it harder to access health care.
This bill will encourage and facilitate the preservation of existing manufactured housing communities or mobile home parks; or, at the very least, when a sale or closure of such a park or community is necessitated, homeowners would receive a minimum of three years notice to justify the loss of their homes. This bill is important to me as everyone deserves the right to stable housing.
This week, I introduced HB 1392, which is a bill on the Right to Repair. It isn’t the first time a Right to Repair bill has been introduced in the Washington State Legislature. The first time was in 2020 and in ensuing years forward. Last year, it passed out of committee for the first time. The idea behind the bill is quite popular around the country, with slightly more than half of the 50 states trying to enact such legislation. New York was first in the country to sign the Digital Fair Repair Act into law late last year, making it the first state in the nation to guarantee the right to repair, protecting consumers from anti-competitive efforts to limit repair. New York’s law includes electronics, which has been a hot-button issue here at home in Washington state in previous years such bills were introduced in the Legislature.
In the past, some technology/electronics companies have been vocal advocates against Right to Repair, but there are promising signs that advocacy groups have made significant headway and are getting these companies on board with the idea of allowing consumers more choice. It is my goal to make Washington the next state to enact such legislation and this quick video gives more insight into what the bill is aiming to achieve.
Why is Right to Repair good for our state? Here are three solid reasons:
- It is good for the planet. Repairing our devices keeps them out of landfills. Old devices often leak toxic heavy chemicals (e.g., lead, mercury, and cadmium) and produce about 176 pounds of electronic waste each year.
- It is good for the economy. Instead of looking to overseas manufacturers (or specially delegated stores or partners) to make necessary repairs, more local repair businesses will provide jobs, decrease the cost of repairs, and speed up the service. Consumers will also be less impacted by global supply chain disruptions.
- It addresses digital equity. Rural communities will have more convenient access to repairing their electronic devices, hard to reach communities will have better access to repairing their electronic devices, and kids in school will have access to refurbished laptops and tablets for schoolwork.
The Legislative Page Program is Back!
With the Legislature back to an in-person session in Olympia, the legislative page program is back and accepting applications! The page program gives young Washington residents the chance to learn and participate in the legislative process by attending page school, assisting offices, delivering messages, and working on the House and Senate floors.
This unique opportunity is open to Washington residents who are at least 14 years old but have not reached their 17th birthday. We’re making a one-time exception this session to allow 17- and 18-year-olds to participate during two specific weeks since the program was discontinued during the remote sessions in the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information, visit the page program’s website by clicking here.
Best wishes,
