Dear friends and neighbors,
Community engagement is vital for our democratic process. I always welcome input from people from diverse communities and with a wide range of lived experiences. That’s why I am grateful to those of you who took the legislative priorities survey that my seatmate, Rep. Lisa Callan, and I sent you last month. Here are the results:
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MLK DAY
This past Monday, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We honored Dr. King’s legacy in a special celebration and adopted a resolution on the floor. His vision for equality and justice for all inspires us to continue fighting for what’s right: a more just and inclusive society. The quotes in the image below are from a speech delivered by my friend and colleague, Rep. Chipalo Street.
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Bill’s bills
I want to give you information on some of the measures I am working on this session. To see all the bills I am sponsoring, please click here.
Removing gendered terms in our state constitution (HJR 4208)
Our constitution was written specifically for men. While that was the reality back in 1889, it’s been over a century and things have changed for the better. Our state government has become more and more balanced. Right now, adding up all four caucuses, 67 women are serving in the legislature, that’s 46 percent of all legislators! In the House Democratic Caucus, women hold the majority, 35-23.
Watch this short video on why we need to do this:
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My resolution is a constitutional amendment to remove gendered language from the Washington constitution. The amendment includes over 100 changes to the constitution changing or removing any reference to “he, him, or himself” and replacing them with either title of office or a gender-neutral term.
Learn more about my legislation in this press release.
Ensuring everyone pays the gas tax (HB 1964)
This complex legislation was requested by the Department of Licensing. While there are several pieces to this bill, it’s easiest to understand in this way:
When you go to the gas station to fill up your tank, the tax is included in the price per gallon, so you’re paying it but you’re not the one reporting it. Neither is the gas station, nor the refinery. Turns out, the entity responsible for reporting (and paying) the tax to the state is the delivery person! If this sounds strange, I was just as shocked when I learned this process. Sometimes they under-report or don’t report at all, which translates into lost revenue. This bill would fix that. It was heard in the Transportation Committee on Monday and after the long staff briefing, I tried to explain this piece of legislation how I understand it. Click here to watch my presentation, or here for the full briefing and hearing on my bill. |
Solid Waste Dumping (HB 2207)
Despite modern waste disposal infrastructure, solid waste dumping is an increasing problem on open spaces, such as forestlands. This irresponsible waste dumping often includes hazardous materials and creates immediate, and sometimes lasting, environmental and habitat damage. My legislation converts the current enforcement system, which is a criminal act, to a civil infraction. This mechanism will generate revenue from the fines, and those funds will be used for education and to provide vouchers for people who don’t have garbage collection services and can’t afford the fees at the dump. Watch my first video update of the session for more information on this bill:
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ASL on TVW
Here’s some good news: Picture-in-picture American Sign Language interpretation is now available for select committee hearings during the 2024 legislative session on TVW and TVW.org!
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The schedule of picture-in-picture ASL interpretation can be found at the Washington State Legislature website: https://app.leg.wa.gov/committeeschedules.
You can also find this information by visiting https://tvw.org/schedule, click on the three lines on the top left of the webpage to enable the menu. Then choose “media archives.” Set the start and end dates of your choice, under “categories” select “ASL”, and click on “submit.” All the hearings you will see listed will have ASL interpretation available.
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Learn more about the accessibility accommodations offered by the Washington State Legislature: https://bit.ly/AccessibilityInfo
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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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