Dear friends and neighbors,
This week marked the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, and it is an honor to return once again to Olympia as your 21st Legislative District representative!
Each new biennium, the structure of policy committees goes through adjustments, and that committee planning took place before the holidays. I am pleased to announce that I will continue to serve as the Vice Chair of the House Capital Budget Committee. I will also continue as a member of the newly renamed Environment & Energy Committee, and am excited to be serving in a new capacity as Vice Chair of the Local Government Committee.
The 2019 session brings not only new committees, but also new state representatives and new legislative dynamics. House Democrats have welcomed twelve new members, nine women and three men, including the first Native American woman elected to the House and the first Vietnamese refugee elected to the state legislature! I look forward to the fresh ideas and energy that our new members will bring to our work addressing the critical issues facing Washington state.
Friends and neighbors in our district and across the state are relying on us to take steps to address the affordable housing crisis, mitigate the damaging effects of climate change, improve access and affordability of health care and behavioral health services, ensure high-quality early learning, public schools, and higher education opportunities for all students, and more.
I look forward to addressing these important issues and many others in the upcoming session!
My legislative priorities
Throughout the session, I will provide updates on policies I am working on. As a preview, here is some brief information about my top bills.
Protecting our environment
I am dedicated to finding common sense ways to protect the natural beauty of our state and the health of our communities. This session, along with my work on climate change solutions as a member of the House Environment Committee, I will be introducing a range of legislation to help protect our environment:
- House Bill 1205: Plastic bags are among the most common items polluting our coasts, and cause mechanical and contamination issues at both recycling facilities and commercial compost facilities. This legislation will reduce the use of single use plastic bags, and encourage the use of reusable bags statewide.
- House Bill 1261: Regulating what goes into our water is essential for maintaining water quality and protecting fish. This bill will ensure Washington state is compliant with the federal clean water act by regulating the impact on water quality from motorized or gravity siphon aquatic mining.
- House Bill 1290: Cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated properties is essential to the health and economic prosperity of our communities. This bill will provide the Department of Ecology with the resources necessary to fast track the review process for property owners who voluntary cleanup their contaminated property.
- I will also be introducing a bill to establish a paint stewardship program, which will responsibly handle the collection of leftover paints.
Streamlining fire regulations for food trucks
In addition to my work on environmental issues, I have also introduced legislation (House Bill 1134) to aid entrepreneurs operating food trucks. Despite the mobility of food trucks, the rules around fire safety are different from community to community, and inspections do not travel with the truck. Instead of requiring food trucks to get inspections in every location they serve, this bill will require them to obtain only one statewide fire permit per year.
How to stay involved
Now that we are back in Olympia, feel free to schedule a visit! Tours are available and I will do my best to step out or schedule time to connect with you while you are on campus. Even if you can’t make it down during the session, reach out to my office by calling 360-786-7950 or send me an email at strom.peterson@leg.wa.gov.
Want to track what’s happening in Olympia? I can’t recommend enough TVW’s “Legislative Review” – a 15-minute overview (30-minute on Fridays) of what happened each day here in Olympia. It’s a quick and easy way to learn how the legislature works and you can stream or download it on your mobile device!
Our democracy is strongest when everyone has the ability to participate, so please feel free share your comments, questions, and ideas. I hope to hear from you soon!
Sincerely,
Rep. Strom Peterson