Town Hall this Saturday

Please join Senator Marko Liias, Representative Strom Peterson, and me at our Legislative town hall his Saturday from 10 to noon at Mariner High School Commons.

Environmental and sustainability education for Washington students

Our planet faces serious environmental challenges through unsustainable practices and climate change. Children and students are particularly worried, feeling lost and unsure about what they can do to secure their future. We often see in the news about striking students and young leaders imploring politicians to do more.

It’s important that we help make those voices heard and listen to our children.

I voted for House Bill 2811 which brings climate science, global and local environmental impacts, and localized, project-based learning into the classrooms of Washington state. The bill will help set up a new curriculum for students to learn about how the environment impacts them, their health, and what opportunities there are after high school to pursue a job in sustainability, renewable energy, climate justice, conservation, and engineering.

By expanding the educated workforce, we’ll be able to fill the jobs of tomorrow as Washington state transitions to 100 percent clean energy. I’m excited for this new opportunity for students to learn and engage on how they can be part of the solution that improves our environment.

Five Bills Still Moving

This past Wednesday at 5:00 we hit our House of Origin Cutoff. We had until that hour to move all our bills out of our committees, vote them off our House floor, and send them over to the Senate. I am happy to report that five of my bills made it out:

HB 1265 to create critical mental health supports for our educators. HB 1645 to give parents who have made a mistake a second chance to engage with their kids by volunteering in their school. HB 1952 to expand grants access for local community organizations for small projects or repairs. HB 2576 to give us the information and data needed to move forward on private detention legislation. HB 2725 to help our foster parents and biological parents work closer together on a path to reunification of youth in foster care. I am also working to include money in the supplemental budgets for dual language education, a work group to create a family engagement task force, Highway 99 improvements through our district, a new community center, and more. The budgets will be released next week, and I hope to see these included.

Washington Census Bill of Rights

On February 12, we passed House Bill 2527, the Washington Census Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, aimed at ensuring every Washingtonian has access to accurate census information so we can all can get counted freely.

The bill affirms Washingtonians’ rights to: Participate in the Census free of threat or intimidation Confidentiality of information provided in the Census form Respond to the Census by phone, mail, or online Request language assistance Verify the identity of a Census worker In addition to upholding these rights, the bill makes it a gross misdemeanor to impersonate a Census taker with the intent of interfering with the operation of the Census, obtaining information, or getting consent to enter a person’s home. The bill also requires the Census Bill of Rights and Responsibilities be translated into several languages and be made available on Census websites.  Census results determine how many seats in Congress each state gets, so if we want fair representation at the federal level, we need to make sure our count is accurate. Census results also help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states for multiple projects. From highway planning and construction, to support for schools, as well as programs to prevent child abuse, restore wildlife, prepare for wildfires, and provide housing assistance for older adults, among many others.

Thank you for reading my newsletter.  If you need more information on any of the issues discussed here, or on any other legislative matter, please don’t hesitate to contact my office.

Sincerely,