Newsletter

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Legislative Update: Floor Action, Congrats to Tacoma Public Schools, and Protecting Reproductive Health

Dear friends and neighbors,

Hello from Olympia, where we’re wrapping up our third week of this year’s legislative session. This year is a short session and it’s going by quickly, but we’re taking advantage of the time we have. We’ve already passed 32 bills off the House floor, half of which have passed unanimously. This includes:

• Giving law enforcement agencies a wider pool of candidates by allowing lawful permanent residents to serve in these positions (HB 1530)
• Removing the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue for that abuse in civil court (HB 1618)
• Expanding access to anaphylaxis medication in our schools to help students that have allergic reactions get immediate care (HB 1608)
• Raising awareness about dual credit opportunities where high school students can earn college credit alongside their high school credit, giving them a jump start and reducing their potential student debt (HB 1146)

This is really just the tip of the iceberg, if you’re curious about what else we’ve passed you can learn more at leg.wa.gov, you can also check out bills by issue area here.

I also want to recognize Tacoma Public Schools for hitting a new record with a 91.1% graduation rate! This is the result of a lot of work done by our students, teachers, staff, and administrators over the years, and I’m so grateful for their commitment to our youth.

I’m thinking about how this news is connected to some other recognition we’ve received recently – Washington has been named the safest state for high school students, in no small part thanks to the steps we’ve taken support our students and protect them from gun violence. We were also recently recognized as one of the best states in the nation for working parents. These things are all connected, and while we’re celebrating the recognition we know there’s still more we can do for students and working families across our state.

We’ve got 41 days left this session, and I’m looking forward to what else we can accomplish.

Earlier this week we also recognized the 51^st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. I am proud of the work that Washington has done to protect access to reproductive care like abortion, and I continue to believe that Washington serves as a beacon of light for people impacted by draconian, anti-choice laws in other states.

However, the fight over reproductive health is happening everywhere. In the last eight years Republicans in the Washington State Legislature have sponsored over 40 bills to restrict access to abortion and reproductive care. We have stopped those bills every time.

We also know that just stopping those bills isn’t enough; we have to ensure that our protections for people seeking reproductive health care meet the moment. That’s why last year we passed bills that strengthen protections for people seeking reproductive care, and this year we’re working on legislation that will fine tune some of those protections.

Legislative Update: Kicking off the 2024 legislative session

Dear friends and neighbors, Earlier this week we kicked off the 2024 Legislative Session! Our legislature works on a biennial/two-year calendar, and we alternate between short sessions (60 days) and long sessions (105 days). This is a short session, and the second year of the biennium. One of the neat things about the second year of a biennial system is that bills we were unable to get to last session are automatically up for consideration again this year. Because of that, we’ve been able to get right to work and pass bills off the floor starting day 1, I’ll highlight some of those bills later in this newsletter. The first day of session also brings with it a host of ceremonial activities and long-time traditions. Monday morning I talked with Mike McClanahan at TVW about our goals for this session, you can watch that interview here. As Speaker of the House, I also have the privilege of doing the opening address on the first day of session, during those remarks I got into more detail about the work we’ll be doing over the next 60 days. You can read those remarks or watch them here. I’m optimistic and determined about this session. The people of Washington state expect us to work together and get things done, and I’m ready to do that. As we’re looking at the issues we need to address this session it’s clear how connected everything is, housing and behavioral health, child care and our workforce, the climate and our economy. Our challenges don’t exist in silos, and we cannot solve them in silos. For the next 60 days we’ll be pushing hard to make positive change for people across our state, and I’ll keep you posted on our work.

Short sessions go by quickly, but we’re committed to using every second we can to help make our state a better place. That’s why we had legislation ready for a vote on the floor starting day 1.  We know the threat that climate change poses, so we passed legislation to help our local jurisdictions respond to extreme weather events (HB 1012). We know that the housing crisis is deeply impacting people across our state, so we made it easier to build more housing (HB 1245). We know that we have to protect kids from abuse, exploitation, and trafficking, so we passed legislation prohibiting marriage for minors under 18 years old (HB 1455). There’s lots of work to do, and much more to come over the next 55 days.

Happy holidays, and FAFSA applications open soon

Dear friends and neighbors, This will be my last e-newsletter of 2023! I hope that you are all able to spend time with family and friends as we celebrate this holiday season and the start of a new year. I wanted to express my gratitude for all the ways you’ve shown up this year, from emailing and calling the office to showing up at town halls and community coffees, this community makes me so proud. I may be biased but I definitely have the best constituents. I also wanted to pass along a little information about how to get involved in the upcoming legislative session. We’ll start next year’s 60-day session bright and early on January 8th, and are keeping many of the pandemic-era options for virtual engagement, so you don’t need to go to Olympia to get involved! Learn — Curious about how the legislative process works? You can watch a start-to-finish overview by clicking here. If you prefer text instead, click here. Watch — TVW.org broadcasts all legislative debates, votes, committee hearings and other events in the House and Senate. There’s also an extensive archive of past events if you can’t watch it live. Check out TVW’s “Legislative Review” for a quick recap of everything that’s happened each day of session. Research — Find detailed information about legislation by lawmaker or topic by clicking here. Testify — Share your thoughts on legislation! This session, you’ll be able to testify in person, remotely or in writing based on what’s easiest for you. Click here for more information on how to testify.

I also wanted to pass along some information about FAFSA/WAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid/Washington Application for State Financial Aid) applications. If you’re considering attending higher education, getting a credential, or doing an apprenticeship program in the 2024-2025 academic year than please apply! Washington has one of the best financial aid programs in the country, and we want everyone to take advantage of it. This application qualifies you for things like the Washington College Grant, which is free funding that does not need to be repaid and can cover the entire cost of attendence for families with lower incomes.

Applications will open by the end of the month, and the application process has been re-designed and will hopefully be easier than ever. You can learn more about the FAFSA/WAFSA and how to apply here.

Committee Assembly Days and Survey Results

Dear friends and neighbors, As we start to wrap up 2023, next year’s legislative session is right around the corner. Earlier this week the House had its Committee Assembly Days, one of the only times all the legislators are down in Olympia outside of session. Committee Assembly days happen every year in late fall, and the time is used for legislative committees to meet and for legislators to touch base about their work in the coming session. It was great to see everyone and to get a preview about all the good work to come. We’re still finalizing our priorities as a caucus, and I’ll be sharing more about those soon. In the meantime, I wanted to report back some of the results from our recent constituent survey. I’m grateful that so many people took the time to let me know their priorities. We received over 500 responses from around the district! The top four priorities identified for the upcoming session were housing and homelessness, community safety, gun violence reduction, and behavioral health. Many of you also gave responses to clarify your priorities in each area, and we’re compiling that data as well. It’s truly helpful for me to hear from so many in our community, and it’s front of mind as we work on the priority areas for House Democrats this session. Thank you all again for taking time out of your day to do things like fill out the survey or read these updates. It’s truly an honor to serve you all in the legislature.

Food Assistance Availability

Dear friends and neighbors, As we head into the holidays I wanted to take some time to talk about the resources available (below) for anyone facing food insecurity. We know that nearly 700,000 people in Washington don’t have consistent access to enough food for everyone in their household. Last session we passed legislation to help meet the need left by reduced federal funding, we expanded free school meals to 90,000 additional students, and removed barriers for college students to access basic needs like food, water, housing and childcare. We invested $95 million in food assistance programs, $81 million for refugee supports, and $44 million to fund an increase for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and other cash assistance programs. We also invested $19 million in TANF for diaper subsidies and a time limit extension. This is good work, but there’s more to do next session. In the meantime, if you or your family would be helped by any of these food or cash assistance programs, I have more information below.

To learn more about temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) click here.

To learn more about food assistance (called Basic Food in Washington, also known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP) click here.

To apply for either/both TANF or Basic Food, or other state assistance programs, click here.

To learn more about food banks in Pierce County click here. To find your closest food bank click here. (This includes Nourish Pierce County food banks, you can find more information about their food banks and what to expect here.)

To sign up for home delivery of food assistance click here.

I also wanted to pass along a reminder that the House Page Program has started accepting applications for next session. This is an opportunity for students ages 14-17 to come to Olympia for a week and learn more about how our state legislature works. Students page for one week at a time, attending a Page School to learn more about the legislative process and supporting the operations of the House during floor action and with other daily tasks. Pages also receive a stipend for their time and can earn community service hours.

You can learn more about the program here, and apply for the page scholarship here. Interested students should complete an application as soon as possible – the 2024 session only runs for 60 days and the first pages will serve the week of January 8-12.

The Page Program, 2024 Legislative Priorities Survey, and a Working Families Tax Credit Update

Dear friends and neighbors,

Thank you so much to everyone who filled out the session priorities survey in my last e-newsletter! If you haven’t had a chance to fill it out, it’s not too late. You can still do so here. We’ve received a lot of responses so far, and I’m grateful for the guidance as we plan for next session. I will give an overview of the results in an upcoming newsletter.

The House Page Program has started accepting applications for next session, and I’m looking forward to sponsoring students from our district. This is an opportunity for students ages 14-17 to come to Olympia for a week and learn more about how our state legislature works. Students page for one week at a time, attending a Page School to learn more about the legislative process and supporting the operations of the House during floor action and with other daily tasks. Pages also receive a stipend for their time and can earn community service hours.

The program is open to all and I welcome applications from students of all backgrounds who live or attend school in the 27th District. Several years ago, a scholarship program was established to encourage any student, regardless of income level, to apply for and participate in the Page Program. The scholarship offsets the costs of traveling to and staying in Olympia.

You can learn more about the program here, and apply for the page scholarship here. Interested students should complete an application as soon as possible – the 2024 session only runs for 60 days and the first pages will serve the week of January 8-12.

You can also check out this interview I did with Viviane, who paged in the House last year.

I’m looking forward to meeting this year’s 27th LD pages!

Earlier this year I mentioned that the Working Families Tax Credit was accepting applications, and I’m incredibly excited to know that we’ve already refunded more than $108 million to working families across the state. We’ve received nearly 190,000 applications, and it’s not too late for you to apply. You can learn more about whether you qualify and how to apply here.

Survey on 2024 Session Priorities

Dear friends and neighbors,

This interim I’ve covered a lot of the work we did last session (you can see all my previous e-newsletters here). As we get closer to the end of the year, and the beginning of next session, I’m reaching out to hear more from you about your priorities, so that I can use that feedback to guide my work. I have a survey here where you can help me to identify key issues for next session.

I am incredibly proud to represent our community in the legislature, and it’s an honor to have your trust. I look forward to going over the responses to this survey and using that to inform my work next session, and as always, please reach out to my office with any questions or concerns you may have.

2023 Legislative Victories: Consumer Protection, plus Legislative Internship Applications

Dear friends and neighbors,

Over the last couple months, we’ve covered nearly all the major issue areas from last session. This will be one of our last “legislative victories” e-newsletters as we pivot to preparations for next year. This one is dedicated to the work we did in consumer protection, but you can see any of the other issue areas on my website here. If there’s something we didn’t cover that you want to hear more about, please let me know.

I’m proud of the work we were able to do this year to protect Washington consumers from scams and predatory practices. Creating a more fair and transparent business environment benefits all our residents, especially the most vulnerable in our communities.

One example of this is HB 1051, which protects Washingtonians from predatory robocalling and telephone scams. This legislation strengthens our laws around robocalling, makes it easier for people to recover damages, and connects these predatory calls and scams to our Consumer Protection Act and the protections it provides.

Another example is HB 1311 which helps bring more transparency to the credit repair act, strengthens our laws governing credit services, and empowers consumers. This bill will help ensure that credit repair services are doing what you expect them to and following through on promises they’ve made. This bill also provides consumers more information about their rights, and ability to file a complaint with the Attorney General.

We also passed legislation to end the puppy mill to pet store pipeline, HB 1424. Washington has worked hard over the years to protect consumers and animals in pet store settings, however some stores exploited loopholes to get around breeding requirements and use predatory third-party lending services. This legislation helps ensure that all animals sold in Washington meet the state’s breeding requirements and prohibits the use of predatory loans. Another area where we increased consumer protections is in the construction industry. HB 1534 helps protect consumers that are looking to build or remodel their homes by increasing bond payments for contractors to establish a Homeowner Recovery Program. It also helps prevent the “revolving door” problem by ensuring that contractors cannot simply open a new business to get out of judgment in a complaint process. I covered our reproductive health legislation in an earlier e-newsletter, but one bill that deserves to be mentioned again here is the My Health, My Data Act, HB 1155. You should have control over your sensitive health data, and thanks to this legislation websites and apps cannot collect and share that information without your permission.

Last month I mentioned that the legislative internship program is accepting applications. The priority deadline for those applications is October 22^nd.

This program is an incredible opportunity for higher education students – you’re matched with legislators in the House or Senate based on your interest areas and political ideology, and you spend a session working in Olympia and learning about the legislative process. You also receive academic credit for the program as well as a monthly stipend of $2,400.

Pierce County high-profile trial begins today: Info and resources for the public

Dear friends and neighbors, 

I’m reaching out with some information as our community prepares for the trial of the three Tacoma Police Department (TPD) officers charged with the murder and manslaughter of Manuel Ellis during March 2020.

Manny Ellis’ death was tragic and preventable. Over the last few years we’ve passed legislation to help prevent the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers, including creating standards for police use of force that require exhausting all de-escalation options and increased accountability and oversight when force is used.

While these changes help make everyone safer going forward, they don’t erase what happened to Mr. Ellis. Our criminal justice system is supposed to provide accountability and justice. As we all know, that doesn’t always happen. I hope we experience it in this case. I also want to recognize how the renewed coverage of Mr. Ellis’ death will be difficult or traumatic for Mr. Ellis’ family and friends and for many in our community. His loss is a challenging reminder of the ways our society is still reckoning with racism and anti-blackness.

With all that in mind, I am passing along some resources to help you know what to expect as the trial continues. The jury has been selected, and the trial itself could take as long as 8-12 weeks. Pierce County has put together a website for this trial that includes an FAQ, information on the timeline and process, case documents, and more.

They have also provided information about in-person attendance and virtual streaming options.

If you have questions, there is also a two-minute video that covers the process for high profile trials and what to expect.

2023 Legislative Victories: Environment & the Climate Crisis

Moving towards a clean energy future means we’ll have to build more energy production facilities, things like wind, solar, green hydrogen, and more. This year we passed legislation to help streamline the permitting process, which will help get these clean energy facilities up and running faster.

We’re also requiring cities and counties to consider the impacts of climate change in their planning, from infrastructure to development and more. This investment and attention will help create more livable and sustainable communities, and will protect us from additional costs or losses later on.

As we transition away from fossil fuels our demand for electricity will increase, that’s why we’re requiring electric utilities to plan ahead to ensure we’ll have consistent, reliable electricity for years to come.

I mentioned record-breaking heat earlier, and unfortunately, we’ve seen just how deadly that can be. This year we passed legislation to help vulnerable communities by stopping utility shutoffs during extreme heat events. These protections already existed during extreme winter weather conditions, and we know they’ve helped save lives. We also know that fighting climate change will need serious investments. Thanks to the Climate Commitment Act we’ve been able to put more money towards the transition to clean energy, protecting our natural resources, and increasing our resiliency. This year’s operating budget included $45 million for forest health and wildfire protection, $36 million for salmon production, habitat, and recovery, $25 million for protecting our biodiversity, and $14 million to manage invasive species. Our capital construction budget also made significant investments. We’re cleaning up our water and planning for floods with $798 million for water quality and $156 million for water supply, $177.8 million for flood risk reduction and habitat restoration, and $184.3 million for toxic cleanups and prevention. We’re also spending $56.6 million to improve air quality across Washington state. Thanks to the money from the Climate Commitment Act we’re able to invest $177 million in active transportation, making it safer and easier to walk and bike in Washington. We’re also investing $406 million in transit programs and projects. We’re transitioning our ferries to electricity, building better infrastructure for our rail, freight, and ports, and much more.