Dear friends and neighbors,
Earlier this week we officially crossed the halfway point for this session and we’ve also passed our first two deadlines for this year! Nearly every bill proposed in the legislature goes through a policy committee focused on topic, and if it has a financial impact, it must go through a fiscal committee, too. We set deadlines every year for bills to get through these committees to keep our work moving, last week was policy cutoff and Monday was the financial committee cutoff. That means this week we’ve been on the House floor to pass bills like:
- HB 2228, which will make it cheaper to build more housing and expand the amount of housing that can fit on a lot by allowing different stair types
- HB 1155, which will ban non-compete agreements, giving people flexibility to make the decisions that are best for them and their family instead of being governed by a previous employer
- HB 2338, which will make it easier for our state’s weatherization program to serve community-scaled projects. This will bring down costs for the state, helping us serve more people by reducing energy costs for families and ensuring safe, healthy housing for more Washingtonians
We have until next Tuesday, February 17th to pass bills off the House floor, then we’ll return to committee to hear the bills sent over from the Senate.
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Please join Sen. Trudeau, Rep. Fey, and I for a town hall on Saturday, February 21st from 10AM-12PM! We’ll be at the Stadium High School Auditorium (111 N E St. Tacoma, WA 98403). If you’re taking public transit, it’s accessible from the Sound Transit Light Rail and the 11 and 16 bus line.
Come ask questions and get an update on our work this session! You can also submit your questions in advance here, and share the event on Facebook here.
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I also can’t wrap up this newsletter without a hearty “go Hawks”! The Senate Majority Leader and I made a friendly wager with the Massachusetts Speaker of the House and Senate President- looks like they’ll be sending us some lobster!
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