Thank you for taking my survey!
Thank you so much to those of you who took the survey that I sent in my previous e-newsletter. I value the feedback and information you shared with me. We all agree the 32nd District is a great place to live, play, and raise a family. I enjoyed reading what you love about our community, and your ideas to make our area even better.
I gathered many themes from your feedback. Here is what many of you told me are your priorities for this legislative session.
- You’re stuck in traffic.
- You’re concerned about the cost of housing, saving for retirement, and health care costs
- Lack of transparency in health care costs weighs heavily on many of you
- Our tax structure is broken and needs fixing
Your voice matters
“Mass transit/trains to more places”
“Freeway congestion through Seattle, Everett”
“Change obsolete tax structure to something more useful and fair”
“More funding for special education/schools”
“Stop giving tax loopholes to big corporations”
“ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE!!”
“Increase access to affordable daycare/early childhood education.”
I’m supporting a number of bills directly related to these priorities including Cascade Care, tax loophole transparency and accountability, and an excise tax on the sale of capital gains that will make our tax structure more fair.
Collaboration leads to consensus on deadly force initiative
When police shoot or kill someone, and the law doesn’t offer a clear path to justice for the victim, it does damage to the community, to the reputation of law enforcement, and to the notion of justice. For years, communities, especially communities of color, have been frustrated by the outcomes of interactions between police and members of the community. There have been too many instances where people in a mental health crisis end up injured or dead instead of receiving help.
Last fall voters approved Initiative 940, which updates Washington’s statute on police use of deadly force. While I-940 was a great step forward in repairing the trust between the public and law enforcement, there are provisions that need to be more defined. Last session, community groups and representatives of law enforcement worked with lawmakers on language to clarify and strengthen the initiative. I’ve long supported this policy, and have worked on it for many years in the legislature. I also wholeheartedly thank Rep. Roger Goodman and Sen. David Frockt for their leadership on this important issue.
Before the 2019 session began, that coalition of stakeholders called on the Legislature to move quickly and pass the clarifying and strengthening language agreed upon last year. That language is mirrored in House Bill 1064, which was introduced this session by my colleague, Rep. Roger Goodman. Together, I-940 and HB 1064 will improve public safety and interactions between police and the communities they serve by providing law enforcement with the tools to carry out their difficult jobs, while ensuring that victims of unnecessary violence can get justice.
I’m pleased to report that HB 1064 passed both chambers of the legislature with unanimous vote! Governor Inslee plans to sign the bill Monday.
Ending “surprise” hospital bills
Have you ever visited an emergency room, provided your insurance information and paid your co-pay, only to find a bill mailed out weeks or even months later? You may have seen a story in the news such as this one, where a LaCenter mom received a $112,000 bill after her hospital assured her visit was in-network. These surprise bills cause stress and create a serious financial burden. It’s called “balanced billing” and should be fixed so that these unfair bills don’t surprise families.
What usually happens is you visit a hospital that is in your network, but the doctor you see happens to be visiting or filling in, and not in your network. So, you get stuck with a much higher bill than you anticipated. House Health Care & Wellness Committee Chair Eileen Cody has been working with insurance providers, doctors, and hospitals to address why this care is not covered by insurance, and how to get patients and their families out of the middle of the tug of war between hospitals and insurance companies.
I’m proud to support Rep. Cody’s bill to fix balanced billing, especially for emergency room visits where the last thing on your mind is making sure the doctor treating you is covered by your insurance.W
Washington teens ask for consent
Teens from across the state, including from our own 32nd Legislative District, came to Olympia recently to support House Bill 1407, which would require public schools to provide comprehensive sexual health education that is both evidence-based and medically and scientifically accurate. HB 1407 also requires that schools emphasize the importance of affirmative consent for sexual activity; encourage healthy relationships that are free from violence; and teach students how to identify and respond to attitudes that contribute to sexual violence.
The changes of puberty, combined with the social pressures of high school, can lead teens to difficult situations. It’s important that students have the knowledge and skills to navigate these challenges. I look forward to supporting this legislation that will give our youth the resources to make educated decisions, and develop healthy relationships.
Gun violence prevention bills get public hearing
I know that owning and possessing firearms is a charged topic – and many people in our area have strong opinions on all sides of this issue.
But, I believe that now is the time to consider common-sense gun legislation. After the devastating shooting tragedies in Las Vegas, Parkland, Florida, and the gun-related tragedies that occur in homes and neighborhoods across our region, I believe that the Legislature has a responsibility to consider measures that will address gun violence.
Several bills to help reduce the risk of gun violence in our communities have already received public hearings before the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee. The committee heard testimony from family members of gun violence victims, as well as from gun rights proponents. The next step for these bills, all of which I strongly support, is a vote by committee members on whether or not to advance them out of committee, bringing them closer to a vote on the House floor. Under consideration are:
- House Bill 1010 which would bring consistency across law enforcement agencies on the issue of destruction of forfeited firearms. Currently, local law enforcement agencies already have the option to destroy forfeited firearms if they so choose; the Washington State Patrol does not have this option and has asked the Legislature to give them that same discretion.
- House Bill 1068, which would ban, with certain reasonable exemptions, the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase or ownership of high capacity magazines. The bill grandfathers in current owners of these magazines for certain activities.
- House Bill 1073, which would address undetectable and untraceable firearms, also sometimes called “ghost guns.” The bill would close a loophole that currently enables a person to receive blueprints for 3-D firearms via email even though such blueprints cannot be legally downloaded.
- House Bill 1203, which would require an owner or other person lawfully in possession of a firearm to report any loss or theft of the firearm to the local law enforcement agency within five days of discovering the loss or theft. Washington State ranks 10th highest in the nation in the number of lost and stolen guns.
- House Bill 1225, which would enable law enforcement officers – under specific standards and requirements – to remove firearms and ammunition when responding to domestic violence calls. Any firearms seized in connection with a domestic violence call could not be returned to the owner until five business days after its removal.