As your state representative in Olympia, I serve on three standing committees:
Consumer Protection & Business (Vice Chair)
In this committee, my focus is on protecting consumers. I recently questioned a credit company industry lobbyist about how the industry is providing accountability to consumers. I strongly believe we need to hold companies accountable when their poor security standards result in your private financial information being exposed to criminals and hackers who steal identities.
Housing, Community Development & Veterans
HCDV handles issues involving community development projects, housing projects and policies related to military service members and veterans. Several of my bills started in HCDV, including a new law that creates a new shared leave pool for military service members, veterans, and their spouses who enter state government service but can’t accrue leave during the standard six-month probation period. I also passed a new law originating in HCDV that clarified the way military leave is deducted from first responders, like firefighters, so that they aren’t double-charged when working a late shift. I’m very proud of the good work we do to serve our veterans and military families in this committee.
Housing and homelessness are two major areas we addressed in HCDV in 2017-2018. The committee moved forward a law to expand a vital source of funding for counties and cities to combat homelessness and required updated plans to address homelessness every five years. Recognizing religious communities have played a strong role in working to address the homelessness crisis across our communities, I was proud to join my colleagues on the committee in supporting legislation that would allow religious organizations better opportunities to build affordable housing on their property. In order to address the homelessness and cost of housing problems in our region, we need to work every possible angle to make sure there’s enough homes for everyone.
Commerce & Gaming (Vice Chair)
As a working mom of young children, and now Vice Chair of the Commerce & Gaming committee, I am committed to ensuring we are keeping our children, our families and our communities at the center of the conversation as we work to regulate and mitigate the impacts of alcohol, tobacco, gambling and marijuana in our state.
I also serve on two other bodies separate from my standing committee assignments:
The Joint Committee for Veterans’ and Military Affairs (co-chair)
and the Child Care Collaborative Task Force, a group created by passage of my bill, HB 2367.