Join me tomorrow for Town Halls!
I’ll be holding two in-person town halls this Saturday, February 22. The first will be from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. in the Skagit Valley College Multi-purpose Room. The second will be from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. in the Fairhaven Library Fireplace Room.
I hope to see you there!
For more information, check out the Facebook events for each of these town halls: Mount Vernon area Town Hall & Bellingham area Town Hall.
My kitchen table is your kitchen table – I will always have a chair for you.
Week 6 of the 2020 Session
It’s been a long week on the floor, with some weekend work included, but we’ve made it past House of Origin cutoff. To survive the House of Origin Cutoff, bills needed to be passed out of the chamber where they were introduced. One of the bills I was very happy to see pass include House Bill 1390, which would provide a cost of living adjustment for certain retired public employees.
Overall, the House passed out legislation to increase affordable housing, reduce the costs and increase transparency in healthcare, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, feed hungry students, offer free and reduced tuition for college and apprenticeships, and much more.
With a few exceptions, the House will now be turning our attention to bills passed by the Senate. So, we’ll be busy with more public hearings in the coming weeks. And over in the Senate, they’ll be doing the same, holding hearings on bills we sent them.
That means I’ll be headed to Senate Committee meetings to testify on my bills still moving through the process.
In fact, my bill to allow students to wear tribal regalia at graduation was heard in the Senate earlier today!
Learn more in my recent video update.
Climate Resiliency
The 40th Legislative District is partnering with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), local counties and cities, and federally-recognized tribes to develop a district wide climate change resiliency plan. We will be the first district, city, and tribal model in Washington state, and the hope is to share this model with all our fellow districts in the future.
Learn more in this recent news release from DNR.
From the release: “Increasing resilience to climate change is vital for communities and tribes in Puget Sound and along Washington’s coast. Our communities are facing increasing floods from more intense precipitation, and our shellfish and salmon are suffering from warming waters in rivers, loss of habitat, changing ocean acidity and ocean temperature. We appreciate DNR’s leadership in articulating responses. It’s critical that we build our capacity and work together.” – Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, 40th District
Notable Meetings
This week I met with:
4-H Know Your Government
- Members of this youth development program visited Olympia to learn more about how their state government operates. I was impressed by the knowledge and passion of these young people.
National Alliance on Mental Illness
- I’m so grateful for the education, support, and services NAMI provides for individuals and families experiencing or impacted by mental illness.
Planned Parenthood
- Supporters of Planned Parenthood were down in Olympia to testify on the importance of comprehensive sexual health education that teaches young people about consent and healthy relationships.
Center of Excellence Consortium Members
- Centers of Excellence are tasked with connecting industry and education. Eleven Centers representing the major economic drivers in Washington are each strategically housed at a community college around the state. Skagit Valley College houses a Marine Manufacturing Center of Excellence, which is a significant benefit to developing our local workforce development and supporting our local economy.
Opportunity Council Early Learning in Bellingham; Skagit/Island Head Start; & Mount Vernon ECEAP
- At this week’s constituent coffee, I met with parents representing and supporting these early learning organizations. We discussed the importance of early learning and access to affordable and quality child care in our community.
Poetry Out Loud
I’m excited to share that a student from our district, Grace Hill, has been named a regional champion in the Washington State Poetry Out Loud program! That means Grace will be participating in the Poetry Out Loud Final, which will be held March 7 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. The event is open to the public.
Poetry Out Loud is a national competition, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. The Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) coordinates the program here in Washington. Poetry Out Loud teaches the power of poetry to high school students through memorization and performance. This year, nearly 18,000 students in 60 schools across the state participated in the competition. Now the twelve regional champions will compete in the State Final next month!
Did you know…?
The state has an official definition of the Salish Sea. A decade ago, Washington state and the federal government adopted regulations defining the Salish Sea as the combination of three specific bodies of water: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Georgia Strait, and the Puget Sound.
Named for the tribes of Washington State and First Nations of British Columbia that live in the region, the Salish Sea touches twelve counties in our state: Clallam, Jefferson, Island, San Juan, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Thurston, and Mason counties.
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