Happy Fantastic Friday!

Updates on my bills

House Bill 1172 repeals a part of Washington law in direct conflict with the judicially-affirmed and treaty-reserved fishing rights of Northwest tribes. The bill was voted out of the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee yesterday!

House Bill 1356 is my bill to help heal our communities and tribes by no longer allowing the derogatory use of Native Americans as mascots in public schools. The bill had a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Monday and was voted out of committee yesterday.

Throughout the legislative process, there has been compelling testimony from current Washington state students on this bill, which I wanted to be sure to share. Chaynannah Squally, a young leader in the Nisqually Tribe and keeper of the tribe’s Lushootseed language, testified in support of the bill in both the House Education Committee and the Senate Early Learning &K-12 Education Committee. Ivy Pete, a Native American student at North Central High School in Spokane and a member of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, also testified in support of the bill in both the House and the Senate.

Learn more about why this change is necessary in this article from the Journal of Race Ethnicity and Education, which is intended to provide educational decision-makers with a comprehensive review of research on the psychosocial effects of Native American mascots.

House Democrats unveil “Washington Recovery Budget” to aid local communities

Today, House Democrats announced the next step in Washington’s Plan for Community and Economic Recovery, the House operating budget proposal. The Washington Recovery Budget will ensure that the people of Washington, no matter the color of our skin, our background, or how much we earn, will have the support we need to recover together, especially those hit the hardest during this pandemic and face the most barriers to recovery.

It has been a rough year, but we can build back a better, more inclusive Washington that is even stronger than we were before. In the past, we made harmful cuts when budgets were tight that ended up holding back families for decades. That resulted in some people being left behind while the state prospered. The old ways weren’t working then, and they are still failing us today, with means testing and criminalization of poverty that meant people, especially our Indigenous, Black, and Brown families, faced barriers and shame when all they needed was some help. The challenges we face are real: A housing crisis, waiting lists and barriers to support, vulnerable populations being left out in the cold, socially isolated seniors, parents living in poverty and struggling to provide food, shelter, or a warm bed for their children.

It’s our obligation as state and elected leaders to ensure that everyone has a shot at opportunity, and that’s why I am proud to support the House Democrats’ “Washington Recovery Budget.” It is a vision for how the state serves the people, to be there when times are hard, and a helping hand when families are trying to get back on their feet. It is a great response to COVID-19, but it is also a dramatic change to how we help families in this state by doing more for communities who are struggling. It starts with supporting our most vulnerable community members: people who cannot afford groceries, who don’t know where they’ll sleep tonight, or who are turned away because they don’t have the right papers.

This budget says that if we are going to recover, we have to recover together and not leave anyone behind. We cannot keep making it hard on people who are struggling, putting up barriers, and making folks feel shame for needing help. We must trust our neighbors and give them resources to meet their needs. Because when they do, they invest in local businesses, boosting families, improving their community. When we invest in our neighbors, we are investing in ourselves.

The Washington Recovery Budget invests heavily in our communities.

I hope you’ll join me in supporting the Washington Recovery Budget and make it clear that we need to put our local communities first as we move toward a final budget in our negotiations with the Senate.

Budget details from the House Office of Program Research are available at leap.leg.wa.gov. Learn more about specific investments in this recent press release from the House Democrats.

The House budget proposal is scheduled for a public hearing tomorrow, Saturday, March 27 at 9 a.m. in the Appropriations Committee.

COVID-19 Updates

As of Monday this week, the whole state moved to Phase 3 in the Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan. Updated industry guidance to reflect Phase 3, including for religious services, is available on the governor’s website.

Last week the Governor expanded vaccine eligibility, beginning on March 31.

Commerce’s technical support center is currently open to answer any questions, and starting on March 29th they will be providing assistance in multiple languages. You can contact them by calling (855) 602-2722 or emailing commercegrants@submittable.com. Trusted community organizations are also providing translation and individualized guidance and their contact information is available through this directory.  This round of Working Washington grants is possible because we approved $240 million in February as part of an early action bill. That bill also included hundreds of millions of dollars to boost public health, keep people in their homes, get students caught up, keep food on the table, and a whole host of other things. It was step one in our plan for community and economic recovery and we are now focused on the next steps in our plan to ensure we recover together.

• House Bill 1277 increases the document recording fee to fund rental relief programs and homelessness services. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for rent assistance and there is not enough funding available to meet that need. Some tenants have to choose between paying for a car, rent, or groceries. The eviction moratorium has saved some families, but more help is needed.
• House Bill 1236 will prevent unjust evictions and prevent homelessness from increasing when the eviction moratorium is lifted by requiring landlords to have a legitimate business reason to evict. The “good cause” termination requirements in this bill are absolutely critical in order for rental assistance to work – without it, landlords can simply evict with a 20-day no cause notice, even if they have received rental assistance. Our state simply cannot allow homelessness to increase and must finally pass this critical protection this session.
• House Bill 1220 updates the housing goals of the Growth Management Act to include planning for and accommodating affordable housing, requiring jurisdictions to address moderate, low, very low, and extremely low-income housing. The bill also requires jurisdictions to address racially disparate impacts and displacement in their comprehensive plan. 
• Senate Bill 5160 provides certain tenant protections during and after public health emergencies, provides for legal representation in eviction cases, and authorizes landlord access to state rental assistance programs.

Protecting the Skagit River and Ecosystem

As you’ve heard from me before, I’ve long held concerns relating to mining operations in British Columbia impacting Washington salmon habitat.

Washington is spending a lot time and money to protect and restore salmon habitat, and mining operations in the Upper Skagit watershed could cause significant damage to our progress. The Skagit River is the only river in the lower 48 that produces all five species of salmon, including chinook, steelhead, and bull trout, which is why we must protect our precious habitat and resources. In fact, over 50 percent of chinook salmon rely on the Skagit River to spawn and chinook are the prime food source for our endangered southern resident orcas. The mining activities in British Columbia pose a significant risk to the health of these species, as waste from mining activities can be toxic to juvenile salmon.

To address this issue, last year Sen. John McCoy and I each introduced joint memorials (HJM 4013 and SJM 8014) to call on our counterparts in British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly to institute new regulations on mining projects.

This year, Sen. Jessie Salomon led on this issue, authoring a letter to John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia, which I and many other Washington legislators signed onto. Working together, we’ll continue to do all we can to prevent mining in the “donut hole” of the Upper Skagit watershed, in order to ensure the area’s environmental and recreational resources are permanently protected.

Claimstake Mountain, Skagit Headwaters Donut Hole. Wilderness Committee photo.

I was recently recognized by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) for my work to advance a more strategic approach to fish passage issues around the state. AWC honored me as a 2020 City Champion! The City Champion Awards acknowledge the hard work and dedication of legislators who led on critical city issues during the 2020 legislative session. I have worked hard in building a relationship with AWC to ensure that our state, city, county, tribal, and federal governments work together to sustain the future for our citizens.  The investment and trust the cities have provided to my office has guided important policies that impact our shared economies, resources, infrastructure, environment and growth of population. I have taken the guidance of AWC and worked side by side on bills and proviso’s that help us all invest in laws that build and sustain our communities.

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