Dear friends and neighbors,
On April 26, after 105 days, the 2023 legislative session concluded. This year brought us back to Olympia, in person, where each day provided new opportunities to help our communities. Major legislative priorities included helping to give working families and military spouses a pathway to economic stability and prosperity, reducing the proliferation of fentanyl in our community, making historic investments in education (particularly special education), addressing workforce shortages, and providing wrap-around services to address the root causes of the behavioral health crisis.
While more work remains, this year made great headway into the issues you told me mattered most to your families, neighborhoods, and communities. I am hopeful that we are better positioned to tackle the future than ever before.
In this issue, as your 28th district legislator, I wanted to reach out with an update on my work. In the next e-newsletter, we’ll dive into the great investments made in our community and state. I hope you’ll find it useful!
Legislation Passed
House Bill 1001 streamlines interstate certification of speech therapists and audiologists for continuity of care from providers. Compact participation alleviates the time-consuming licensure process and provides a multistate license option for practitioners moving to Washington. Waiting lists for access to these critical health professionals are too long. This bill will help expand access to this important workforce.
House Bill 1002, the Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Act, reclassifies hazing from a simple misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor. In cases resulting in substantial bodily harm, hazing is elevated to a Class C felony and also allows students who experienced hazing to seek restraining orders as is the case for other serious crimes. The bill is named after a Washington State University freshman who died of acute alcohol poisoning as the result of a 2019 hazing incident. Sam’s parents, Jolayne Houtz and Hector Martinez, have been outspoken advocates for this change in state law.
House Bill 1009, the Military Spouse Employment Act, will help military families frequently moving across the nation who experience difficulty transferring professional licensing credentials and employment. Under the bill, state agencies will remove barriers for military spouses who would like to pursue new opportunities in Washington and establish opportunities not currently in practice and allow spouses to terminate employment without penalty when their partner gets a new duty station order.
House Bill 1030 allows regional universities to offer applied doctoral degrees to train the highly skilled workforce of tomorrow. This bill is important for place-bound students who need to advance in their fields. Not offering applied doctorates means students and workers are forced to leave their families and face significant financial hardships to obtain a desired credential.
House Bill 1051, the Robocall Spam Protection Act, will provide Washington with the tools needed to deal with the daily onslaught of robocalls and protect consumers. With the passage of this policy, consumers will be protected from these bad actors and state law will incentivize voice service providers to use available voice technology to reduce robocalls, block them entirely, and provide consumers with mitigation and monitoring of attempted scams.
House Bill 1069 allows behavioral health counselors to practice across state lines to increase workforce supply and meet needs of traveling personnel such as military families. Compacts remain a high standard to ensure the quality of candidates while allowing them to practice across state lines and preserve state licensing systems.
House Bill 1209, known as the Tyler Lee Yates Act after a constituent of Rep. Dan Griffey’s who died as a result of fentanyl use, will make it a felony to possess, purchase, or sell a tableting machine knowing that it will be used to manufacture a controlled substance like fentanyl. We know what equipment is being used to manufacture and distribute fentanyl. Now we’re sending a clear message that if you’re someone who is planning on using this equipment to harm our communities, our laws will hold you accountable.
House Bill 1012 did not pass, but we secured grant dollars in the final approved budget to help local jurisdictions set up warming and cooling centers, and shelter in times of poor air quality, to protect vulnerable residents during extreme weather events.
Recognizing Our High School Champions
Educationally based athletics improve student grades, mental health, and leadership skills. Teams demonstrating commitment, perseverance, excellence, and teamwork achieve the highest levels of success. Last month, it was my honor to pass two resolutions honoring teams at Curtis Senior High School.
House Resolution 4634 honors the Curtis Senior High School Boys Varsity Basketball team for winning their second consecutive state basketball championship in the South Puget Sound League (SPSL) and West Central District (WCD). House Resolution 4635 recognizes the Curtis Senior High School Girls Bowling team for winning the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Tournament (WIAA) for the first time in school history and advancing to third place in the South Puget Sound League (SPSL).
Both teams began their season with the goal of earning a championship. Join me in recognizing their historic accomplishments!
28th Legislative District Budget Wins
During the last week of session, we focused on reconciling differences in the House and Senate versions of budgets through concurrences and conferences. As a result, we’ve once again passed the two-year operating, capital, and transportation budgets on time. The budgets maintain critical investments made over the last few years and increase support for K-12 and special education, workforce development, and affordable housing. Notable investments and projects coming to our community include:
- Housing Trust Fund: Housing for individuals with developmental disabilities, permanent supportive housing, preservation projects, and mobile home restoration. ($500,000)
- Clover Park Technical College & Pierce College: High priority building repairs ($4.75 million combined)
- Western State Hospital: Construction of a new 350-bed forensic hospital at Western State hospital. ($613 million)
- Joint Force Readiness Center: Design and construction of a new National Guard Joint Forces Headquarters at Camp Murray. ($54 million)
- McNeil Island Passenger Ferry Replacement: Funding design of one new passenger ferry and a marine transportation study to evaluate the best alternatives for vessels and infrastructure to support ferry reliability. ($900,000)
- Statewide Communications Systems Condition Assessment: Funding a study to assess and modernize existing department telecommunications infrastructure. ($25 million)
- I-5 JBLM Corridor Improvements: Addressing congestion and mobility issues due to high traffic volumes via construction of an additional lane between Thorne Lane and the Mounts Road Interchange, as well as a connector road between Gravelly Lake Drive and Thorne Lane to divert local traffic off I-5. ($555 million)
- Nisqually Delta/I-5 Improvements: Funding early phases of corridor improvements on I-5 from Tumwater to Mounts Road with a focus on the Nisqually Delta Area. ($58 million)
- Pierce Transit Spanaway Transit Center: Expand and enhance park and ride facilities. ($7 million)
In addition to these projects, the budget includes funding for several local community projects including: expanding the KIDS RIDE FREE program to youth taking the Pierce County ferries; a community center renovation project on Anderson Island; a critical history project in partnership with the Nisqually Tribe at Fort Steilacoom Park; help with sewer costs in University Place; the Day Island Bridge project; getting PFAS out of the water system in Lakewood; environmental cleanup on a project in Dupont; resources to renovate the Steilacoom Tribal Center; adding pickleball courts in Harry Todd Park; keeping folks safe with important crosswalk work in Fircrest; and so many more critical local projects items to be outlined in future email updates.
Stay Involved This Interim
The policies above and those being drafted for next year are only possible if I hear from you on the issues that matter most to you and your family. In the next eight months, I will be traveling around our communities, visiting neighborhoods, and hearing directly from you.
As we move forward, I encourage you to stay involved, stay informed, and continue advocating for the issues that matter to you. Never hesitate to email our office with ideas and suggestions.
Always at your service,
State Representative Mari Leavitt
28th Legislative District