Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As we reach the midpoint of this legislative session, I want to update you on the progress we’ve made together in Olympia. Your trust in me to champion pocketbook priorities has driven our efforts to enhance community safety, ensure food security, and promote housing stability.

Here’s where we stand:

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Enhancing Community Safety

Every family deserves to feel safe in their community. Our communities have called for robust, accountable public safety measures, and we’ve responded decisively. I co-sponsored House Bill 2015, which the House recently passed, to provide local governments with the resources necessary to support law enforcement and public safety services that reflect our community’s needs.

This bill gives cities and counties the funding they need to hire and train officers, support crisis intervention, and ensure public safety services are working for the communities they serve. This is about real investments—not just rhetoric—to keep our neighborhoods safe while building trust and accountability. By balancing the need for well-funded law enforcement with accountability measures like crisis intervention and de-escalation training, we’re working towards safer communities for all.

Securing Our Food Supply

Access to an affordable, stable food supply is vital for our families. To strengthen our agricultural sector and protect food security, I supported House Bill 1912, which extends the Climate Commitment Act exemption for agricultural fuel. This measure helps stabilize food prices and keeps essential products moving, especially critical as federal rollbacks threaten food assistance programs. Farmers rely on affordable fuel to transport food from farms to tables; without this exemption, increased fuel costs could raise prices for families and limit access to fresh, local produce. By ensuring that agricultural fuel remains affordable, we’re supporting both our farmers and the communities they nourish.

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Promoting Housing Stability

Affordable housing is foundational to economic security. We’ve advanced several initiatives to address housing affordability and stability:

Expanding Housing Financing (HB 1075): This bill helps public housing authorities partner with private developers to build more affordable housing without strict rent limits.

Rent Stabilization (HB 1217): This law caps rent increases for returning tenants at 7%, helping renters avoid sudden price hikes.

Converting Commercial Buildings to Housing (HB 1757): This bill makes it easier to turn empty commercial spaces into affordable housing.

Streamlining ADU Construction (HB 1353): This bill cuts through unnecessary paperwork to speed up the building of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), adding more housing options.

These efforts aim to create a more affordable and stable housing market, ensuring that everyone has a place to call home.

As these bills move to the Senate for consideration, I remain committed to advocating for policies that bring real economic benefits you can see in your grocery prices and rent. Together, we’re making progress toward a safer, more secure, and prosperous future for all.