Dear friends and neighbors,
As February gets underway, here is a quick update on what’s happening in Olympia and how it affects our communities in northwest Washington. In this issue, I’ll provide an update on some of my bills and the meaningful work my colleagues are doing. I hope you will find it useful!
Legislative Update
I don’t have to tell you how urgently we need to act to address both the housing and climate crisis. The good news is solutions to each problem are complimentary. We can turn the tide on climate change and address the housing crisis while creating great opportunities for workers and businesses in Washington. This year, we’ve built a strong coalition to reduce the cost of housing, make new and existing construction more efficient, and find solutions to other housing problems our communities face. To see a synopsis on tackling the housing crisis from me, please click here or on the image below.
Rep. Ramel: Tackling our housing crisis.
House Bill 1389 – I am excited to announce that my bill to stabilize rents has passed committee! When rents skyrocket, tenants are often forced into difficult circumstances. I’ve talked to many people forced leave our community because of rent increases. For some, this added financial instability tips the balance into homelessness.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that when the median rent increases $100 a month, it correlates to a 9% increase in homelessness. This legislation is an opportunity to protect vulnerable renters, Along with adding increased housing supply–especially affordable housing–rent stabilization is a critical part of the strategy to address the housing crisis.
House Bill 1390 – I’ve spent the past few years working with Western Washington University to develop a plan to decarbonize Western’s central campus heating system, and to address pending capital improvements the system needs. This bill would expand what we’ve learned to find ways to improve other campus systems all over the state. This bill is a great opportunity to make sure that there’s an important role for many skilled construction industry workers in the clean energy future. I am glad to see that the committee was in support of this bill with bipartisan support on Thursday.
House Bill 1391 – The technological solutions to make our buildings more efficient and more affordable to operate are all at the ready. We know how to meet out climate goals for our buildings. Heat pumps, distributed renewable energy, smart grid appliances and good old insulation are all ready to be deployed at scale. And with the passage last year of the Inflation Reduction Act, federal assistance and funding is on the way.
But there are a lot of different programs and types of support – some geographically limited, some income based, etc. It’s hard for an individual homeowner or small business to understand what they qualify for and what they need for their building. We need an easy button. HB 1391 will create a statewide building energy upgrade navigator, a service to help people navigate the opportunities and determine what works for their specific situation. As of Thursday, this bill has been voted out of committee.
I look forward to working to bring all three of these bills to the floor for a vote!
Legislation To Keep an Eye On
House Bill 1416 – Brought forward by Rep. Doglio, this bill will make sure that clean electricity is used even when large industrial customers look to out-of-state suppliers for their electricity. By closing loopholes on energy procurement, we ensure that all customers are prioritizing the usage of clean energy and not continuing our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels. Looking to the future, I am honored to be a cosponsor of this legislation and look forward to passing it out of the House.
House Bill 1155 – Over the last year, unprecedented attacks on the right to reproductive health care have exposed numerous vulnerabilities in individual healthcare data privacy. Private health data is currently being tracked relatively unregulated by websites, apps, and search engines, disproportionately impacting women. In response, my colleague, Rep. Vandana Slatter, introduced the My Health, My Data Act, to address the collection, sharing, and selling of sensitive health-related data. As this bill heads to the floor, I am eager to see stricter privacy standards for consumer health data become a reality.
Share Your Thoughts with Me
Last week, I met with college students from Bellingham Technical College, Skagit Valley College, and Whatcom Community College to discuss food and housing insecurities, and a lack of access to mental health and childcare services on campus. In addition, the Port of Anacortes, Skagit and Bellingham updated me on their continued focus on economic development for the region. The Washington State Labor Council also met with my office to discuss worker and business safety priorities. We greeted students from Laventure Middle School and touched on what the legislative process is like, and how students can get engaged. Finally, I am glad to have met with friends who are focused on fighting for food security within the district.
Below is a picture from my meeting with firefighters from Anacortes, Mt Vernon, Bellingham. We discussed their priority bills, all of which I am in support of as they will make our community safer and more resilient in the face of crisis. Hearing from the great members of our community about the work they are doing is both energizing and grounding. A core part of this job is making sure that people in our community can connect with the state government and help us understand how we can solve real problems.
Rep. Ramel meeting with firefighters from the 40th LD
If you come down to Olympia, please schedule a time for us to meet by emailing our office, so, you can share your priorities with me. My staff and I are also happy to meet remotely.
In service,
Rep. Alex Ramel
State Representative