Dear friends and neighbors,
Thank you to all who joined us for our first-ever virtual town hall last night. Sen. Darneille, Rep. Fey and I were glad to see so many folks from the 27th District take the time to submit questions and feedback to us.
Some of the topics covered included affordable housing, policing reform, vaccine distribution and access, transportation and infrastructure, addressing our state’s regressive tax structure, and more. If you were not able to attend online yesterday, you can still watch the entire town hall on Facebook or YouTube.
While the virtual town hall format worked well and I’m pleased with the amount of engagement we received, nothing compares to coming together as a community in person. I am hopeful that will be the case for next year’s town hall.
House of origin cutoff reached,
Working Families Tax Exemption advances
On Tuesday, we reached another important cutoff in the Legislature: House of origin cutoff. This is the deadline by which bills have to be voted off the floor of the chamber in which they were introduced in order to keep moving forward this session. The exception is any bill that is necessary to implement the budget.
The last bill voted off the House floor before Tuesday’s cutoff is one that is especially important during these challenging times. The Working Families Tax Exemption would mean greater financial stability for over 400,000 taxpayers in our state, making them eligible for a credit between $500 and $950. This would put more money directly into the pockets of these working families.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are causing many families to struggle financially, including here in our own community. Passing the Working Families Tax Exemption can provide some measure of financial security in the midst of this struggle, letting families know we have their backs. Almost all my House colleagues agreed – the bill passed the House overwhelmingly on a 94-2 vote. I hope the Senate takes similar action and sends it to the governor for signature.
Priority bills advance
The House passed a total of 216 bills before cutoff. The majority of those bills fall within one of the four top priority areas for House Democrats this session: COVID-19 response, economic recovery, racial equity, and climate.
From allocating $2.2 billion to families and businesses most impacted by COVID-19, to preventing homelessness by ending no-cause evictions, to a robust package of policing reform bills that build accountability and transparency, to a clean fuel standard that protects our climate, cleans our air, and grows clean energy jobs, House Democrats are focused on protecting Washington’s families, workers, communities, and businesses during these tough times, and ensuring an equitable and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.
For more info on the major bills that made it through cutoff, click here.
If you have questions, comments, or feedback on anything in this newsletter or other legislative topics, please don’t hesitate to contact me. It’s an honor to represent you.
Sincerely,
