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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This past Friday was policy cutoff. This is the deadline for policy committees to pass bills. In other words, this is the day many bills stop moving. Some people refer to these bills as dead, but I prefer to think of them as hibernating because, since we re on a two-year cycle, all the bills that didn’t make it out of their policy committees this year will be automatically reintroduced next year and will go through the process all over again, which means they still have a chance.
Next Friday is fiscal committee cutoff, so all the bills that don’t make it out of the budget committees will also be put aside… until next year.
In my latest video update below, I talk a bit more about these deadlines, as well as about a new bill I introduced this past week to help with staffing in our ferries.
First Latino Democratic Caucus
I am proud to announce the creation of the first ever Latino Democratic Caucus (LDC) in the Washington State Legislature. I am deeply honored that its members, eight House and three Senate legislators, elected me as their vice chair. Our LDC will work toward ensuring that the experiences, needs, and solutions of Latino people throughout Washington state are represented, prioritized, and realized in the legislative process.
Our values are centered on integrity, equity, and justice, and our vision is of a Washington where Latino individuals, families and communities no longer face discrimination and know they have the access, opportunity, and resources they need to truly thrive.
Learn more about the goals of the LDC and who we are in this press release.
Lunar New Year State Holiday?
One of the bills we passed out of my committee was HB 1516, authored by my colleague and friend from the 41st district, Rep. My-Linh Thai. This bill would make Lunar New Year an official state holiday, but this legislation represents a lot more than you’d think on the surface. Among other things, it’s about inclusion and respect. This Seattle Times story does a good job explaining why it’s a good idea.
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Checking-in With Our Cities
Being back in Olympia in person has been great. I think we were all experiencing monitor fatigue and it’s been refreshing to sit around a table and hold meetings to touch base with representatives from several cities in our district to discuss their legislative priorities.
Rep. Lisa Callan and I had the chance to visit with Zach Hall and Lindsey Walsh, from the Issaquah City Council, and I met with Pamela Stuart, Karen Howe, and Amy Lam from the Sammamish City Council.
Recruiting & Training Police Officers
I’ve written before about my legislation to get good officers into our law enforcement agencies and I am happy to report some good news: House Bill 1387 was amended and passed out of the House Committee on Community Safety, Justice & Reentry on a unanimous vote this past Thursday.
I discuss this legislation in the Ask Bill video below, while I recorded the video before the bill had been modified, you can still get the gist of it.
The new version of the bill will create a study to establish the best practices for creating a statewide program to help city and county agencies to recruit offices. The study will consist of a diverse array of stakeholders, from police organizations to cities, the Office of Equity to human resources experts, and more. This will be a comprehensive group that will provide recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by the end of 2024.
Ask Bill Video
In this edition of Ask Bill, I respond to two constituent emails, the first from Derek, who is concerned about public safety and asks what lawmakers are doing to recruit more law enforcement officers, and the other one from Maria, who wrote in support of a measure that solves an issue regarding trade-ins at auto dealerships.
More Trees = Better Air & Water Quality
A couple of years ago I sponsored a bill to help cities manage their forests and encourage robust tree canopy within urban communities. House Bill 1216 was signed into law in May of 2021 and went into effect that summer. My legislation enabled the state’s Department of Natural Resources to deliver guidance and other resources to cities interested in improving urban forests. Crosscut wrote a story about the issue and my bill back then.
Fast-forward a couple of years and we are beginning to see the fruits of that legislation!
Crosscut again came through with an article about a tree-planting event in Tacoma earlier this month where volunteers took on the task of improving their environment. I encourage you to read it.
When people get together like this for the betterment of the entire community, it gives me hope that we are on the right track, and we must keep passing environmental and conservation laws that empower communities.
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,
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