Dear friends & neighbors,
I hope you all had a great summer – I can’t believe it’s Fall already! I’ve been keeping busy, and I wanted to update you all on what I’ve been working on to protect our communities and prepare for our upcoming 2026 legislative session.
Protecting Washingtonians
This administration has put forth deeply troubling policies that are inflicting unprecedented harm across our communities in Washington state. These policies run contrary to our country’s founding principles of multiculturalism, justice, and due process. I promise you that my Democratic colleagues and I are working tirelessly to uphold these values in our state government.
Many constituents have reached out to me to ask about a Washington version of California’s No Secret Police Act . The California law prohibits law enforcement – including federal law enforcement – from covering their face while conducting official business, unless there are specific needs like gas masks or medical masks. This type of masked conduct undermines public safety and public confidence in law enforcement, and in my opinion, is just plain wrong.
I do expect legislation similar to California’s to be introduced by one of my colleagues in the next session, and I will look forward to being a co-sponsor and advocate. I will also be honest with you – it is not clear that states can regulate federal law enforcement activity within their own borders, so if we are able to pass a Washington No Secret Police bill, it will likely end up in court along with California. These are truly unprecedented times.
While the open questions are being settled, I’m doing everything I can to work with the Attorney General’s office and other legislators to protect our residents with the tools we have at hand. As Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee, I’ve been leading work to hold state agencies accountable to protecting Washingtonians’ driver’s license data from federal overreach. Secretary of State Hobbs has denied the Department of Justice’s attempted overreach to seek unnecessary private information like social security numbers from our voter rolls. Washington State also recently won a long-sought court victory that gives the state Department of Health the right to inspect the privately-run immigration detention center to ensure basic standards for health, safety, and human dignity are being met. In these cases, state laws are making a difference in protecting the privacy and well-being of Washingtonians. We’re looking forward to continuing to add more protections in the coming sessions.
I’ve also recently been following heartbreaking stories from local organizations and constituents about how the federal shutdown is affecting them. I am working with my colleagues to ensure that federal programs like SNAP for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) can continue to provide critical support for Washingtonians who rely on them. We are extremely concerned about the ongoing impact of the federal shutdown, which will increase the pressure on our already burdened state budget.
In short: These are dark and difficult times. But as long as you see fit to keep me in this office, I’ll keep fighting every single day for you, for our neighbors, for our constitutional rights, and for a better future for all of us.
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Transportation update
When news from the other Washington gets too tough, I’m bolstered by looking at some of the investments we’re making in better Washingtonians lives here at home. As Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee, I’m proud that last session we passed a landmark $15.2 billion transportation budget that will make it easier to get around Washington state. That included $274 million for new ferries, $461 million for public transportation, and $225 million for investments in electrification and alternatives to fossil fuels across our transportation network.
It also included new protections for our ferry workers, who are facing increased attacks at terminals and on board ships. These hardworking state employees go through a lot to keep our state moving, and they deserve our respect and protections.
Over the interim, I continued to engage with Transportation agencies and stakeholders. I planned a ferry tour for the Maritime Caucus that allowed us to sail the full ‘triangle route’ of Vashon, Southworth and Fauntleroy where we discussed how the upcoming rebuild of the Fauntleroy Terminal will minimize shoreline impacts, protect salmon, and allow better, faster access to these critical routes.
I’ve also met with BNSF railroads, WSDOT, and community rail advocates to work on the implementation of HB 1837, setting state targets to turn around the decline in reliability and frequency in Amtrak Cascades passenger rail service. With ongoing repairs planned by WSDOT along I-5, we need a reliable passenger service that alleviates pressure to drive the spine.
Meetings with Sound Transit, local transportation advocates like the Fix the L8 coalition , the Traffic Safety Commission, our local Carter Dealerships and other organizations and individuals working in the transportation sphere have rounded out my schedule as I work to better understand what’s on everyone’s priority list as we prepare for next session.
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Upcoming Bills
This upcoming “short” session is only 60-days long, which means the preparation we do before session begins is even more important. Since last year was the beginning of the 2-year legislative cycle (biennium), the bills that didn’t make it all the way to the finish line will automatically return. Here are some of the bills I’m excited about, both the ones returning from last year and the new policies I’ve been working on since:
Returning Favorites:
- HB 1499 would end Legal Financial Obligations imposed by courts, also known as “poverty fees.” These fees – which are separate from restitution – prevent people who have served their time from rebuilding their lives, and cost the state more money to try to collect them than they generate in revenue.
- HB 1557 would establish the Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program, which would require that any public high school graduate who meets the GPA qualifications knows they have a guaranteed place at Washington’s regional universities. We want every hardworking Washington student to know, their state is holding a spot for them.
- HB 1687 would allow local social housing authorities to benefit from the Housing Cooperation Law, which can assist public housing projects in planning, construction, and more. This bill had bipartisan support last year!
New Bills on the Block:
- “Scrap the Cap” is a bill that reflects the bold vision for higher education access that I think our state needs if we want to one day meet our goal of 70% of high school graduates going on to some form of postsecondary education or training. This bill will remove a tax break for big tech companies that gross more than $25 billion annually in order to fund the College Grant for students and families making up to 100% of their area-median income – that’s our hardworking teachers, firefighters, and nurses – and would also lower tuition at 4-year anniversaries by 10% over the next several years. While big ideas like this often take a few sessions to pass, I think it’s beyond time to get this conversation going.
- Liability reform for vehicle operators who collide with cyclists, pedestrians and other “vulnerable road user groups” was previously HB 1518. After working with many stakeholder groups, I am focusing the bill to apply on collisions that happen in protected areas, such as bike lanes, crosswalks and intersections – where most collisions occur.
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Join of us for a townhall this evening!
Hope to see you all later tonight!
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It is an honor to represent you in Olympia. Please don’t hesitate to reach out anytime. For more frequent updates, I invite you to follow my legislative Facebook page.
Best wishes,
State Representative Julia Reed
36th Legislative District