I know it has been hard for you and your family. The past two years have been rough, our nation is experiencing inflation, and too many workers and small businesses…
Category: Debra Lekanoff
Week 9 | The 2022 Session Comes to an End
We just wrapped up the 2022 Legislative Session! After a jam-packed 60-days, we adjourned late last night after passing the finalized transportation and operating budgets. In future newsletters, I’ll go…
Week 8 | Behavioral Health, Salary Transparency, Catalytic Converter Theft, & More
MMIWP Alert System Bill Passes the Senate As many of you know, I am the only Native American currently serving in the Washington State Legislature, and that is the perspective…
Week 7 | Budget Week & Billy Frank Jr. Statue Meeting Scheduled
It’s budget week in Olympia! With only a few weeks left in the 2022 legislative session, my colleagues and I are hard at work finalizing the details of supplemental state…
Week 6 | Supporting Students & Parents, ADUs, WA Silenced No More, & the Small Biz Flex Fund
We’re Two-Thirds of the Way Through Session This past Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. marked a major deadline in our 60-day legislative session – house of origin cutoff, the time by…
Week 5 | Move Ahead WA, Supporting Our Healthcare Heroes, & Serving WA
Introducing Move Ahead Washington, a transportation package for a sustainable future I’m excited to announce that House Democrats have unveiled Move Ahead Washington, our transportation package that creates a sustainable, achievable…
Week 4 | Legislative Cutoffs, Building Electrification, & Charity Care
Understanding Legislative Cutoffs Although it feels like we just started, we’re over a third of the way through this year’s legislative session! In fact, yesterday we passed the first legislative…
Week 3 | Protecting and Restoring Salmon, Police Accountability, & You’re Invited to a Lunar New Year celebration
House Bill 1117 Passed the House A bill I introduced last session, House Bill 1117, passed the House again this week on a vote of 57-40! The bill integrates salmon recovery into the Growth…
Welcome to the 2022 Legislative Session!
Just like last session, we’ll be doing most of our work virtually to help keep the public, staff, and lawmakers safe. There are also some guidelines we’ll be following to help protect…
Moving Past Native American Mascots
Below is the copy of an article I wrote for the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) policy publication, Policy & Legal News. Moving Past Native American Mascots Healing and…