Dear friends and neighbors,
July is Pride Month in Tacoma and as we celebrate I’m thinking about how these events have always been an act of resistance. It was about being visible in our communities before it was safe, and how that continues to be true for too many of our neighbors.
This session we worked hard to advance policies that protect all Washingtonians. We were able to push back on and prevent many bills that directly targeted members of our community or attempted to dismantle necessary services like we’ve seen happen at the federal level.
I was thinking about this work last week when I joined City Council Members Olgy Diaz, Kristina Walker, John Hines, Jamika Scott, Sarah Rumbaugh, Sandesh Sadalge, and Joe Bushnell, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, and Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello in opening a new Pride-themed crosswalk near the farmers market in downtown Tacoma (on Broadway, between South 9th and 11th). This was a great celebration, and it raised a lot of feelings for me. In my lifetime I have seen Tacoma go from rejecting initiatives to provide LGBTQ+ people civil protections at work or in housing, to proudly having LGBTQ+ people serving in all levels of government. That I now get to help ensure that we expand protections instead of moving backwards is an extraordinary privilege.
Read on for more about how we’re protecting our neighbors – communities of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and others who have historically been left out or left behind.
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When we talk about protecting our neighbors, I think what we didn’t do is just as important as what we did. This year Republicans in the House and Senate proposed legislation that would have rolled back LGBTQ+ protections, would have privatized our K-12 education system, would have required our local law enforcement officers to work with ICE, would have restricted access to reproductive health care, would have ended vote-by-mail, would have brought back the death penalty, would have frozen the minimum wage, and would have gutted necessary state agencies like the Superintendent of Public Instruction or the Office of Financial Management.
It matters who sets the agenda. None of these bills moved forward, and they won’t as long as I am Speaker.
So, what did we do to help keep our neighbors safe?
- With HB 1052 we clarified the definition of a hate crime to strengthen accountability and ensure justice for victims.
- HB 1232 strengthens oversight at the Northwest ICE Processing Center and is our latest step in attempting to regulate the conditions in these facilities. As a federally-run facility our options are limited, but we are trying to ensure that the people detained there are treated humanely.
- We’re promoting a safe and supportive public education system by ensuring parents have access to translated materials, that school district employees have anti-retaliation protections when they follow the law, and that parents’ and students’ rights are clear and easy to understand. Students deserve to learn in an environment free from discrimination, and parents should have the support they need to be active in their child’s academic success (HB 1296).
- We passed the Keep Washington Working Act with bipartisan support in 2019, which limits how much our local law enforcement officers can work with ICE or enforce federal immigration law. This year we expanded those protections to ensure that bail bond agents aren’t working with federal immigration authorities (SB 5714 – sponsored by my seatmate Sen. Yasmin Trudeau).
- HB 1875 allows people to use paid sick leave to participate in certain immigration proceedings, protecting people’s jobs and paycheck as they navigate our complex immigration system.
- People should be able to access the healthcare they need, when they need it. This year we ensured you can access a 12-month supply for all contraceptive drugs, not just refills (SB 5498). We also ensured you can access a 12-month prescription of hormone replacement therapy, or six months for testosterone-based HRT, which is classified as a controlled substance so subject to stricter laws (HB 1971). As the federal government attempts to make these medications harder to access, we’re protecting your health care here in Washington state.
- We’re recognizing Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as holidays in Washington state. These are two of the most significant holidays in Islam, and this recognition officially sends a powerful message that Muslim Washingtonians are valued and respected. These are legislative holidays for now, not paid state holidays, but I’m excited that we will get to formally celebrate them for the first time next year (SB 5106 – also by Sen. Trudeau!).
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Our community conversations kick off this month! These are intended to be small group discussions so please stop by to ask questions or talk about issues that are important to you.
- Monday, July 21: 2:30-4PM, Fife Public Library, 6622 20th St. E.
- Tuesday, August 12: 5:30-7PM, Tacoma Public Library Main Branch, 1102 Tacoma Ave S.
- Thursday, September 25: 10:30AM-12PM, Franklin Park, Tacoma
- Monday, October 13: 10:30AM-12PM, Cutters Point Coffee Co.. 2209 N Pearl St., Ste 104
