Happy Fantastic Friday
It’s the third week of session, and earlier this week, I stepped into my office to talk with you about some of the issues I’ve been working on. I discussed the multitude of my bills that received public hearings this week, including those to improve salmon recovery.
I also celebrated the passage of a Clean Fuels Standard out of the People’s House, applauded the work of Sen. Liz Lovelett on legislation that Rep. Ramel and I support, which would help address the levy issues our school districts are faced with, and took a moment to remind you of the upcoming town hall events I’ll be hosting.
Watch the video to learn more about week three of the 2020 session!
Keep up with my legislative work, and track my bills here.
The House passed Clean Fuels!
The 2019 session included passage of some key environmental policies, including a bill to transition our state to 100% clean energy by 2045, legislation that phases out super pollutants, a bill that supports increased energy efficiency for commercial buildings, and much more. While these were big victories, we know that there’s a lot more work to do to.
This week, House Democrats led the charge toward another climate victory by once again passing a Low Carbon Fuels Standard for Washington state. Nearly half of our state’s greenhouse gas emissions are from the transportation sector. Implementing a clean fuels standard would deliver the triple win of protecting our climate, cleaning our air, and growing clean energy jobs.
If the bill makes it all the way through the Legislature this session, Washington would finally join its west coast neighbors in adopting a Clean Fuels Program!
Learn more by watching my speech on the House floor in support of the bill.
My Bills are Moving Through the Process
It’s been a busy week! I testified in the public hearings held for many of my bills, including:
- HB 2548 – The Northwest Indian College is the only regionally accredited tribal college serving Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It provides a valuable, culturally based postsecondary experience for tribal and nontribal students alike. However, as a result of only receiving federal funding for tribal students, it is underfunded. This bill recognizes the unique benefit the Northwest Indian College provides to our state and sets up a process to better fund tribal colleges and universities.
- HB 2550 – As many of you know, I’m committed to recovering our state’s dwindling salmon populations. This bill, which comes out of the Orca Recovery Task Force, would establish a standard of net ecological gain. Essentially, any construction or projects in our state will now have a “leave it better than we found it” policy when it comes to environmental impacts, which will help restore habitat and achieve a healthier environment for current and future generations. This change is all the more significant, as we mourn another Southern Resident orca, known as Mega, who is feared dead.
- HB 2549 – This bill is also focused on prioritizing salmon recovery in Washington state. It would integrate salmon recovery into the Growth Management Act (GMA), which guides land management and planning in our state. Learn more in this recent article from Capital Press.
- HB 2765 – In another effort to preserve and prioritize our state’s resources, I’ve introduced legislation to create a joint select committee on water resource policy. This bill will help us ensure our state’s water resources are appropriately allocated for current and future needs.
- HB 2769 – Another bill to protect our water, this legislation would strengthen the Derelict Vessel Removal Program, help reduce costs over time, and reduce impacts to important aquatic resources and species.
- HB 2785 – This bill requires that two private citizens, at least one from an underrepresented community, serve on the Criminal Justice Training Commission, which develops and provides training for law enforcement. It’s the result of a long process of communities working with law enforcement to improve interactions between police and the communities they serve. This bill represents a commitment that the collaborative work will continue.
Learn more about the legislative process.
Upcoming Events
- My office will be holding constituent coffees in Olympia throughout February. Reach out if you are interested in joining one and have questions. Please RSVP.
- I’m also holding a Telephone Town Hall next week, on Wednesday, February 5th. Find all of the information for this event on my website.
- And mark your calendar for in-district town halls on February 22. I’ll be in Mount Vernon in the morning and Bellingham in the afternoon. More details to come!
Constituent Corner: Dental Therapy
My office has heard from many of you, both in support of and against HB 1317, which would create a license and regulatory framework for dental therapists in Washington state.
Two years ago, the Legislature authorized dental therapists to provide care through Indian health programs. Many tribes took the opportunity to improve health care for their tribal members and are operating successful dental therapy practices.
Dental health is key to whole body health, and there are many children and adults on Medicaid and vulnerable populations that do not have access to dental care. Designating dental therapy can modernize our dental care delivery system, improve access, and help meet high demands, especially in low-income and rural areas. I have heard from dentists who have serious concerns, as well as a broad coalition of labor unions, tribal governments, health care professionals and patient advocates who support this bill. I look forward to working together to find solutions that work for everyone. Let’s get this bill passed because every smile matters!
Notable Meetings
- PORTS: I met with the Ports of Anacortes, Skagit, and Bellingham. I appreciate the good work of ports in developing and expanding economic development and prosperity in our district and was happy to discuss the legislative priorities of the ports with their representatives.
- CITIES AND COUNTIES: I met with Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood, Bellingham City Councilmembers Pinky Vargas and Michael Lilliquist, and Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu this week. It was helpful to hear more about the priorities of our cities and counties, including housing and homelessness, jobs and economic development, transportation, climate change and behavioral health services. I share many of these same concerns, and I look forward to continuing to work together to address these issues in our community.
I also met with the Skagit STEM network, and was inspired by the work they are doing to promote women and young people in STEM!- And I got to meet inspiring advocates from Community Action of Skagit to discuss affordable housing and transportation as well as SEIU 775 and OneAmerica to discuss bilingual education and caring for our workers who are caring for others.
- Thursday of this week was Environmental Lobby Day. I was honored to speak at their rally and meet with local environmental advocates, including The Nature Conservancy, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, Whatcom Land Trust, and Skagit Land Trust.
- I was also happy to have the opportunity to meet with members of the Friday Harbor Eco Club, who traveled a long way down to Olympia to testify on HB 2747, a bill I cosponsored with Rep. Ramel to designate the tardigrade as Washington State’s Micro Animal. I love seeing young people engaged!
Rep. Lekanoff with members of SEIU 775.
Thank you all for taking to the time to read this week’s Fantastic Friday, and for taking an interest in our progress at the House of Representatives. I will be sending out a Fantastic Friday letter each week throughout the legislative session.
Please feel free to reach out to me using the information below, with any questions, inquiries, or concerns you may have.
I am here for you!
All best wishes,
Rep. Debra Lekanoff