Dear Friends and Neighbors,
With the beginning of week 8 of legislative session, I have drafted and submitted twelve bills, two resolutions, and introduced numerous budget requests that benefit our communities. Four of my bills, HB 1001, HB 1009, HB 1030, and HB 1069 have been voted out of the House to the Senate! In this issue, I’ll provide an update on public safety, supporting veterans and military members, addressing the behavioral healthcare workforce, supporting victims of domestic violence, and my upcoming town hall. I hope you will find these resources useful!
Legislative Update
Public Safety & Law Enforcement: Last year, the Legislature passed a comprehensive set of bills designed to improve trust between law enforcement and the community and to uphold the policing profession. Since this legislation went into effect a few months ago, we have heard concerns and confusion from police, from mental health professionals and from the public that these new laws might be restricting what police can do, especially in trying to help people suffering from mental health crisis.
As a result, I have spent the last several months meeting with law enforcement leaders, other first responders, mental health professionals, and cities and county officials to gather feedback and ensure that our officers have the clarity in law necessary to do their jobs. As a result of these discussions, I have been working on the following bills to provide law enforcement the tools necessary to keep us safe.
Based on feedback, I served as a co-sponsor on HB 1363. This bill supports our law enforcement by allowing suspects to be pursued under reasonable suspicion of criminal activity under certain conditions. By balancing the risk of not apprehending the offender and the risk of the pursuit, HB 1363 serves to ensure public safety and reduce deaths among innocent bystanders. Another piece of legislation that will protect our communities is HB 1209. By restricting the possession and purchase of equipment used to create controlled substances such as fentanyl we can reduce substance abuse, expand behavioral healthcare access, and provide law enforcement with the tools necessary to keep us safe. We are also working to recruit and retain our Washington State Troopers, through HB 1638, to keep our public safe on the highways and strengthen pedestrian safety.
Veterans & The Military: Two pieces of legislation that I am honored to co-sponsor are HB 1384 and HB 1346. The first will provide life-time free access to veterans for state parks. The second would create the purple star award which will recognize military friendly school districts that show a commitment to students and families connected to the nation’s military. In addition, I am sponsoring HB 1009, the Military Spouse Employment Act, to allow a military spouse to terminate an employment contract without penalty after the spouse receives orders for a permanent change of station. Smoothing the path and reducing barriers to get to work is the least we can do as a State as they serve our communities.
Behavioral Health Workforce
In 2021, more than half of our community behavioral health centers faced staffing shortages that caused them to turn away clients. As we continue to see a growing need for behavioral health care, our staffing isn’t keeping up and it is preventing us from helping everyone we should be. I’m working with my colleagues in the legislature to boost our behavioral health workforce so we can help our neighbors and foster healthier communities. For more information about the work being done to address this issue, click here or on the image above.
House Bill 1724 addresses the shortage of behavioral healthcare workers by requiring the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board to examine licensing requirements for certain behavioral health professions. This would also create a program to help better place behavioral health associates with clinical supervisors and
We are also addressing behavioral health workforce shortages by limiting the loan interest rate and repayment interest rate for conditional scholarships under the Washington Health Corps through House Bill 1763. Under certain circumstances, this bill would require exceptions for participation and repayment obligations of Washington Health Corps conditional scholarships and would provide wraparound services to certain Washington Health Corps participants to aid in the completion of their service obligations.
House Bill 1242 creates a behavioral health workgroup to further study why we’ve seen a rise in behavioral health issues, and why there is a workforce shortage. We’re also creating a training program to increase staffing for crisis hotlines, so we make sure our 988 line is fully staffed and fully capable of helping people when it’s needed most.
Supporting Survivors of Domestic Violence
In Washington, 20% of all murders are domestic violence offenses. Nearly 60% of intimate partner violence related homicides include firearms. Two weeks ago, my colleagues in the Senate and House met to discuss the need for stronger protections, better services, and adequate funding for survivors of domestic violence. To hear more on the work being done to help survivors, click here or on the image below.
You’re invited to my first town hall of 2023!
Join your 28th District representatives for a live town hall on Saturday March 18th from 11am to 12:30pm. Rep. Bronoske and I will share our legislative priorities with you and answer questions on the issues important to you. We look forward to seeing you there!
Let Me Know What Is Important To You
If you plan to come down to Olympia, please schedule a time for us to meet so you can share your concerns with me. I am also happy to meet remotely if you are not quite comfortable in a public setting or simply don’t have time to make it to Olympia. My priority is hearing from you however you are most comfortable, whether remotely or in person.
If you have comments, questions, or ideas, please contact my office. I hope to hear from you soon!
In service,
State Representative Mari Leavitt
28th Legislative District