Dear friends and neighbors,
On May 30th, nearly 2,000 of you joined Sen. Palumbo, Rep. Stanford and me for a one-hour legislative telephone town hall. The feedback I’ve been getting about this event is overwhelmingly positive. People appreciated the opportunity to connect with their state lawmakers in this type of forum.
A telephone town hall is not a replacement for in-person events, and rest assured I will continue to hold town hall meetings like the one back in March at UW Bothell/Cascadia. But it’s another way for me to hear directly from you and answer your questions. The format enables you to participate as little or as much as you want. While the majority of callers stayed on the line for at least the first 20 minutes, about 100 of you were still listening in at the conclusion of the event. Considering how busy everyone is these days, I’m honored so many of you took the time to be part of this.
If you were not able to participate in the call or had to hang up early, the entire audio of the town hall is available here.
Finally, people who were still in the question queue at the end of the hour had an opportunity to leave a voicemail so that we could still answer their question individually. A few of those questions – and answers – are below.
If you have other questions about legislative issues or topics of importance to our district, please feel free to email me or call my office at (360) 786-7900. It’s an honor to serve as your state representative.
Sincerely,
How to safely dispose of unwanted prescription drugs
One question submitted during the telephone town hall concerns the safe disposal of unused or unwanted prescription drugs. Jean left us a voicemail saying she had successfully kicked a substance abuse habit 30 years ago, and she’s concerned about the amount of prescription drugs getting into the wrong hands due to lack of appropriate disposal options.
Jean’s question is very timely. We are facing an opioid crisis in our state where unused drugs sitting in medicine cabinets, particularly opioids, can be dangerous if they get into the wrong hands. Additionally, children, pets and our environment are at risk from improperly discarded drugs.
Fortunately, the FDA has a great web page with information about proper disposal, including a link to a database of authorized collection locations in every community. Just type in your zip code or town to find the closest one in your area.
Marijuana taxes – how much, and where do they go?
Meryl and Vicky submitted similar questions during the telephone town hall, regarding tax revenue from the sale of recreational marijuana in our state. They want to know how much revenue the state has taken in, and where that money is directed.
I serve as vice-chair of the House Commerce and Gaming committee, which considers issues relating to the state’s regulation of cannabis. In order to make sure I had the most accurate and up-to-date information to answer this question, I reached out to the non-partisan staff of the Office of Program Research in the state House of Representatives. The figures provided below come from the March 2017 forecast from the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, and are rounded to the nearest million. Please note the distribution amounts are subject to change during the legislative budgeting process, which is still underway in Olympia.
For the 2017 fiscal year, the state is expected to take in about $292 million in total marijuana excise taxes and licensing fees. Of this amount, about $9 million is set aside up front, almost all of which goes to the state Liquor and Cannabis Board to administer the licensing and regulation of marijuana. The remaining funds are distributed as follows:
- A total of $37 million to substance abuse prevention & treatment programs at the state Department of Social and Health Services and the state Department of Health, as well as dropout prevention programs at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
- A total of $154 million to fund health care services for low-income Washingtonians
- $345,000 to fund research at the UW and WSU
- $92 million to the state General Fund*
While the state projects marijuana revenues to increase steadily over the coming years, the amount of this revenue is not enough to meet the state’s outstanding need to fully fund K-12 public schools, which is about $5 billion over the next four years.
* Note: State law requires that if cannabis revenues exceed a certain level, then some of the revenue distributed into the state general fund must be appropriated by the Legislature for distribution to counties and cities. For the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, the maximum distributions to counties and cities per state law is $15 million per year.
Urgent action needed so thousands of seniors can graduate
Tens of thousands of high school seniors across our state are getting ready for the next chapter of their lives. Graduation season is upon us once again.
But for too many seniors and their families, a flawed state policy that requires passing standardized assessments in math, biology, and English/Language Arts in order to receive a diploma stands between them and graduation.
These assessments were never designed to test student proficiency. We also know there are many bright, talented students who simply do not do well in high-stakes testing environments.
Additionally, de-linking the high-stakes assessments from graduation requirements would save the state nearly $40 million over the next four years.
KOMO News shared the story of one family whose daughter will not get her diploma, despite her 3.0 GPA, because of this policy.
Another senior told KING 5 News she won’t be able to go to college this fall because she hasn’t passed the math assessment.
These kids have earned their diploma. We can do better for them. And members of the state House are trying.
I am a proud supporter of HB 1046, a bill sponsored by my Republican colleague Rep. Drew MacEwen. This bill would de-link the standardized assessments from graduation requirements. It passed the House with a near-unanimous vote on May 25th.
Unfortunately, the bill has stalled in the state Senate. If it doesn’t get to the Governor’s desk soon, thousands of seniors will be without their diplomas despite having earned the grades and credits to graduate. This is unacceptable.
There is bipartisan support to get this done. I’m confident if the Republican leadership in the Senate allows this bill to come to floor for a vote, it will pass handily. Now is the time to act. If you want to give hope to thousands of well-deserving high school seniors, you can contact Senate leadership at 360-786-7620 and ask that they bring HB 1046 up for a floor vote.