Fighting source of income discrimination
There is an affordable housing crisis in Washington. With the work of stakeholders on both sides of this issue, we are making strides toward creating a solution. HB 2578, a bill I proposed to prohibit source of income discrimination, passed the House on Friday. Listen as I go more in-depth on the battle against source of income discrimination in the video below:
Dental residency program gets new funds
Encouraging the growth of Eastern Washington’s medical field has been a priority of mine since I began my role as a legislator. With the passing of the new capital budget, $15.6 million has been given to dental capacity and residency. $2 million of the new budget goes directly to Spokane, funding three new clinics. Not only will this provide dental care to 60,000 new patients, it will also bring jobs to our area.
Expanding dental access is vital. Good overall health begins with dental health. This program will increase dental access for Medicare recipients across the state. Providence Sacred Heart’s campus will have a dental clinic with 6 chairs and a new community dental clinic near Providence Holy Family with 20 chairs is in the pipeline.
Citizen Advocates
It is an honor to have visitors from Spokane during the legislative session! Here is a look at just a few of the folks who made the long trip to our state capital to speak with me about the issues that matter to them:
Spokanites with ArtsWA visited the Capitol on Wednesday. This government organization facilitates access to the arts in our communities. They spoke to me about a number of programs bringing beauty and value to Spokane.
A large group of constituents with Service Employees International Union came to visit with me on February 1st. SEIU represents many people in service roles in our state. This group represented home care workers in Spokane. They shared various issues their profession is facing and we discussed what the state can do going forward. Thank you for your work!
Kandy, with the Retired Public Employees Council, made the trip across the state and we had a great discussion. She shared her concerns about cost-of-living adjustments in Public Employee Benefits Board (PEBB) Medicare benefits. It was great having a thoughtful conversation with someone who has dedicated their life to public service.
As always, your engagement is critical. Please keep in touch!
Best Regards,
Representative Marcus Riccelli
3rd Legislative District – Spokane