Happy Fantastic Friday!
A worthy honor for Billy Frank Jr.
I am very excited to share that on April 14, Governor Inslee is scheduled to sign House Bill 1372, my bill to authorize putting a statue of Billy Frank Jr. in the National Statuary Hall collection in our nation’s Capitol. Billy Frank Jr. dedicated his life to advocating for equality, justice, and environmental protections. He vocally advocated to unify people to save salmon and restore their habitat. His endless work on salmon recovery was based on inclusivity and an understanding that tribal treaty rights will help recover salmon and benefit everyone.
A statue among other national heroes is the right way to elevate his story and continue to acknowledge and apologize for the decades of violence and oppression the federal and state governments perpetuated against Native Americans and sovereign tribes and nations. Billy Frank Jr. will stand as one of our state’s two statues in the National Statuary Hall in Washington D.C.
“It’s a great bill because Billy Frank was a great man. Don’t take my word for it. It’s no accident that he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest reward, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, won the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award and countless others.” – Lt. Governor Denny Heck in his testimony on HB 1372
The bill passed the Senate earlier this week on a bipartisan vote of 44-5!
My Bills that have Passed the Senate
In addition to House Bill 1372, the Senate passed a few other of my bills this week.
- House Bill 1326, which addresses qualifications, training and accreditation for coroners and medical examiners, passed on a bipartisan vote of 46-0;
- House Bill 1356, which no longer allows the derogatory use of Native Americans as mascots in public schools, passed on a bipartisan vote of 40-9; and
- House Bill 1072, which eliminates a provision in current law that restricts undocumented immigrants from accessing state-funded civil legal aid, denying them equity under the law and access to justice, passed on a vote of 28-21.
On April 6th the Senate took the final legislative step in removing a painful stain on our state’s commitment to the fair and equitable administration of justice. While Washington state has long provided financial support to ensure that low-income residents had access to civil legal assistance on matters affecting their most basic needs, for 29 years such assistance was denied to people residents who were determined to be non-compliant with federal immigration laws. The Senate’s action on April 6th, following similar action by the House of Representatives, opened the civil legal aid system – and the promise of equal justice under law – to our immigrant friends and neighbors, so many of whom have disproportionately suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. – Jim Bamberger, Director of the Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA), on the Senate’s passage of HB 1072
Remember, vaccine eligibility expands to all Washingtonians 16+ on April 15!
All adults over 16 will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting April 15th, next Thursday!
Use the Vaccine Locator find a vaccination appointment, now available in multiple languages. And if you can’t get online, call the state COVID-19 Assistance Hotline at 1-800-525-0127.
Even with expanded eligibility for the vaccine, please continue to protect yourself, your family, and your community by continuing to wear masks, physical distance, and wash your hands.
WSDA grant program offers help to qualifying ag businesses
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is offering grants to small agriculture-related businesses in sectors that have suffered economically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been left out of earlier relief programs.
The WSDA Relief and Recovery grants, funded through a partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce, are intended to assist small businesses in four agriculture sectors, including shellfish growers, farmers market organizations, agritourism farms, and small breweries, cideries, wineries, and distilleries that depend on tap and tasting room sales.
The WSDA grants are a way to bolster the health and diversity of the entire state economy by supporting disproportionately affected and previously underserved agricultural sectors. These four sectors were selected because they did not qualify for other small business and agriculture COVID-19 relief programs.
The application period for the WSDA grants will be open for two weeks, beginning as soon as today! Visit agr.wa.gov/grants to learn more about each of the grants and whether your business qualifies.
Businesses who do not qualify for the WSDA grants can visit www.commercegrants.com for information on other assistance available to Washington businesses.
Constituent Corner: Farmworker Overtime
I’ve received emails from some of you about Senate Bill 5172, which address overtime pay for certain agricultural workers. In November of 2020, the Washington State Supreme Court issued the Martinez decision, which made it clear that overtime protections were coming for the entire industry. This bill controls that process, giving employers time to adjust.
SB 5172 was negotiated to balance the interests of farmers and farmworkers. Undoing Jim Crow era labor laws designed to exclude workers of color from the protections of overtime pay, the bill establishes dates for phased in overtime protections for non-dairy agricultural workers, while providing retroactive overtime claims protections for employers. This bill is a very important first step in achieving justice for farmworkers, who have been unfairly excluded from overtime pay for 60 years.
The bill is anticipated to be voted on in the People’s House today!
Photo by Kirsten Strough/US Department of Agriculture
Protecting our Marine Waters from Plastic Garbage
Our marine waters, including our beloved Puget Sound, are awash in garbage. Single use expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) containers and plastic service ware are contaminating our recycling and compost systems. Our state needs to reduce its environmental impact and begin to transition away from plastic products. Senate Bill 5022 takes major steps to protect our ecosystem and meaningfully address our plastic waste problem.
SB 5022 tackles plastic waste in several distinct ways. First, it sets standards for minimum recycled content for common plastic items such as beverage containers, household cleaning product containers, personal care product containers, and trash bags. The bill requires trash bags to be at least 20% postconsumer recycled plastic by 2027 and the remainder of products to be at least 50% recycled plastic by 2031. By requiring increased recycled content in our plastic products, we can create markets for our recycling and reduce the overall amount of waste. Next, the bill would ban the sale, manufacture, or distribution of expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) products by June 1, 2023. This would include food service products, coolers, and packing peanuts. Styrofoam is one of the largest polluters of our waterways. Because it is light and crumbles easily it often ends up in our waterways. Once there it will break down into microscopic styrenes that will linger in water and soil for centuries. Even when properly disposed of in a landfill, Styrofoam leaches into drinking water and can cause liver, kidney, and circulatory problems. It is well past time to get rid of this toxic petrochemical. Finally, the bill tackles unnecessary plastic waste by making plastic service ware opt-in instead of opt-out. How many times have you been given plastic utensils with a takeout or delivery order only to throw them away unused as the end of the meal? This bill simply requires restaurants to only offer plastic straws, utensils, condiment packages and cold cup lids upon request or to have them available in self-service bins. Not only will this provision save restaurants money, but it will prevent unnecessary plastic waste that could end up in the ocean or a landfill. SB 5022 is a comprehensive approach to protection our waterways and deducing plastic waste. It creates a market for recycled plastic here in Washington, bans outdated and toxic products, and works to reduce the volume of unnecessary plastic waste. The bill passed off the floor of the People’s House on Wednesday with bipartisan support! |
Join me for the last virtual Constituent Coffee this session
It has been an honor to meet with you throughout this session to hear your thoughts and answer your questions. As we gear up for the last few weeks of session, I want to hold one final Constituent Coffee on Tuesday April 13th at 8 a.m. We will have just passed the last major cut off and will be headed into final budget negotiations and conferencing to reconcile differences in bills passed out of both the House and Senate. Pre-register for the final Constituent Coffee of the 2021 legislative session today!
Please also note that due to the ever evolving nature of legislative session, we may need to cancel or reschedule this meeting. If you have any questions, please contact my Legislative Assistant, Kaylee, at kaylee.galloway@leg.wa.gov.
Stay tuned for an announcement of an after session town hall!
A Constituent Coffee event from February.
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