Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We’re almost half-way through this 60-day session, and there is never a dull moment in virtual Olympia!

The big news last week was that Governor Inslee signed the two measures to make reforms to the WA Cares Fund. House Bill 1732 delays the start of the program by 18 months and House Bill 1733 allows military spouses and disabled veterans to exempt themselves from the program. We made these changes because we listened to your concerns and because they were necessary; this delay will give us time to improve the program.

In other good news, the Department of Health just re-launched a website where Washington residents can order free, rapid COVID-19 tests delivered to their homes.

While the ordering website is currently only available in English and Spanish, additional languages are in development. Right now, people with limited English or internet access can get language assistance by dialing 1-800-525-0127 and pressing #.

Each household can only place one order per residential address and each order comes with up to five rapid tests. DOH has limited supply as demand for testing nationwide has surged in the past few weeks, but they will replenish as supply into the state increases.

Thanks for taking the time to read this update,

Join us for a Mini Town Hall Feb. 15!

Now that we’re almost halfway through session, I’ll be hosting a mini virtual town hall with Rep. Steve Bergquist on Tuesday, February 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. We want to hear from you! If you have any thoughts or concerns you’d like to share, I hope you’ll reach out to sign up for a 15-minute time slot.

Please email david.flasterstein@leg.wa.gov or call 206-490-0914 to schedule a call with us on Zoom or over the phone.

Video Update: 2022 Session Priorities

At the end of last month, I stepped in front of the camera to talk more in depth with you about my policy priorities this session, including clean energy, consumer protection, and low-income housing. Watch my latest video update to learn more.

Click the image to watch my latest video update.

Upcoming Legislative Cutoffs

Legislative cutoffs are milestones bills need to reach by certain dates in order to receive further consideration. Any bills that don’t make it to these milestones will need to wait until the next legislative session. Because this is a short, 60-day session, the first set of cutoff dates are quickly approaching. House bills that are not approved by House policy committees by Feb. 3 (or Feb. 7 for fiscal committees) will need to be reintroduced next year.

As strongly as we may feel about passing our top priorities, we always want to make sure that we’re making good policy — even if that means we have to continue the fight into the next session.

View the 2022 Session cutoff calendar on the Legislature’s website.

Where are my bills?

As we rapidly approach cutoff, I am happy to report that three of my bills have been passed out of committee and are awaiting a vote on the floor of the House.

HB 1793 – Allows for electric vehicle charging stations in HOAs and condominiums. Washington has over 86,000 electric vehicles and with $71 million from the federal infrastructure package to expand EV charging in Washington, the Clean Fuels Program, Climate Commitment Act, the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, and numerous other state programs, EVs will continue to rapidly increase in our state. With this expansion, it’s imperative to ensure everyone has affordable and convenient access to electricity as a transportation fuel, including at home. This bill helps achieve that by removing barriers for residents living in condos or HOAs. This is critical because about one-third of Washingtonians live in these common interest communities. Watch my testimony in the Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee.

HB 1956 – Protects the sensitive information of current and formerly incarcerated individuals from public records requests. The Department of Corrections (DOC) collects extremely sensitive information about current and formerly incarcerated people. This sensitive information, including body scanner images, certain health information, and records related to the PREA, is not protected by the PRA or federal or state privacy laws. Failure to protect extremely sensitive information will result in inmates failing to provide critical information needed to investigate allegations of sexual abuse, make housing and classification decisions, and maintain safety. Disclosure of this information can also follow someone even after incarceration when trying to reenter society. This policy does not prevent data from being released in the aggregate. It only prohibits extremely sensitive information about an individual from being released without their consent. Watch my testimony in the State Government & Tribal Relations Committee.

HB 1643 – Exempts the real estate excise tax for organizations maintaining affordable housing. Rents throughout Washington State have risen drastically and the inventory of naturally occurring affordable housing has fallen dramatically. Preservation of the existing housing stock is a critical way to maintain and expand the portfolio of affordable housing in our communities. Preservation can take many forms, including acquiring existing privately owned properties with below market rents, or, acquiring existing affordable housing properties at risk of conversion or “opting out” of their affordability restrictions. In both cases, acquisitions by non-profit or public entities stabilize rents and ensure the property’s long-term affordability. This bill provides non-profit developers and public housing authorities with a new tool to preserve existing housing and/or acquire land for new development by exempting such transfers from the real estate excise tax (REET). This would create an incentive for property owners to sell their properties to non-profit and public entities and help these entities compete in negotiations against other private purchasers. Watch my testimony in the Finance Committee.

Tackling our climate crisis

As I explain in my video update, one of my top priorities this session is to continue the great work we started last year to tackle one of the root causes of our climate crisis: burning fossil fuels in our homes and buildings. Our homes and buildings now generate nearly a quarter of our state’s climate pollution; and with the devastation of climate change at our doorstep, we simply can’t wait to get serious about addressing one of the last frontiers in our shared fight.

My colleagues and I have introduced four bills (House Bills 1766, 1767, 1770, 1774) to significantly reduce fossil fuel pollution from our homes and buildings while creating a path to a clean energy future that ensures everyone has access to efficient, affordable, reliable energy.

While my bill, HB 1774, has not had a hearing in the House Environment & Energy Committee, the Senate companion bill (SB 5722) is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee this week!