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Dear friends and neighbors,
We are in the fourth week of this 60-day session, which means all the bills not voted out of policy committees by this Friday will be considered dead. The ones in fiscal committees still have a few more days to be heard and voted on. So, as you can imagine, everybody is in high gear and bills are moving really fast.
So far two of my bills have passed the House and are now waiting to be scheduled for hearings in the Senate:
I’ll give you an update on how the rest of my bills fare after this week’s cutoff in my next newsletter.
For now, I hope you will mark your calendars for our two upcoming town halls, one over the phone and the other one in district:
Telephone Town Hall Next Week
Please join Rep. Strom Peterson and me next Tuesday evening for a telephone town hall.
At 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11, calls will go out to thousands of homes (landlines) throughout the 21st Legislative District. If you do not receive the call, there are two ways for you to participate:
- Over the phone: Dial 877-229-8493 and enter ID Code 116357 to be connected to the call.
- Online: Go to our Vekeo channel and sign up to be called when the event begins. (You can also use that link to sign up for future telephone town halls, and to listen to past events.) Or if you’d rather livestream the event, go to the Vekeo page at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday to listen in and submit written questions.
We hope you will join us during this one-hour call. We want to hear from you so we can bring your concerns and ideas to the table over the next few weeks.
District Town Hall on February 22nd
Rep. Peterson and I will also host a district town hall meeting on Saturday, February 22, from 10 a.m. to noon at Mariner High School Commons, 200 120th St SW, Everett, WA 98204
We’re looking forward to seeing you there.
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Securing Washington State’s Election System
Bad actors are not focused solely on federal elections. Every day there are hackers from outside our country targeting Washington’s election system. In fact, Russian hackers targeted Washington state prior to the 2016 election. Thankfully, those attempts were unsuccessful.
We’ve taken many steps to ensure access to our democracy, such as removing barriers to the ballot, boosting voter registration, and ensuring fair and accurate representation. Now it’s critical that we take steps to guard against foreign actors who aim to undermine the integrity of our electoral system.
The House passed election security legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support last week. The bill requires the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Chief Information Officer to consult with county auditors to identify instances of security breaches in elections systems and determine whether they are foreign or domestic. It also requires the Secretary of State to report to the Legislature when security breaches happen and give options to increase the security of our elections systems.
We know that our election networks and data are under constant threat of being hacked. It is crucial that Washington’s election officials and the Legislature have the capacity to protect our infrastructure and thwart these attacks.
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The Childcare Crisis is Costing Us All
Childcare is more expensive than college these days. It’s costing our kids, families and businesses. Last week, in a public hearing on the Fair Start for Kids Act, the Human Services & Early Learning Committee heard from over 40 parents, childcare providers and companies about just how much it’s costing them.
I am co-sponsoring the bill because I’ve also heard from so many parents about the skyrocketing cost of childcare. In fact, since this is an ongoing issue that demands ongoing attention, I am sponsoring a measure to form a childcare workforce commission that will develop best practice standards for the childcare industry.
I address this problem in my latest Ask Lillian video. Click on the image below to watch it:
House Approves Nation’s First Office of Equity
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the House of Representatives passed legislation to create the nation’s first ‘Office of Equity’ to help reduce systemic disparities in Washington state. We’ve come a long way since Dr. King voiced his dream for a more just America, however systemic inequalities still exist. Too many people are being left behind. I am proud to say that Washington is leading the nation in bringing Dr. King’s vision of equality, opportunity and fairness for ALL people to reality.
You can find more information here, or in this Kent Reporter story.
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Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter. Please remember that if you have feedback, comments or ideas, I’ll be happy to hear from you, so don’t hesitate to contact my office anytime.
Sincerely,
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