Investing in Transportation

Both the House and Senate have passed a transportation budget with bipartisan support that will allocate approximately $8.7 billion in much needed funding to Washington State’s transportation network.

I was proud to successfully advocate to include a pilot program to provide bus passes to high school students at Lake Washington and Highline school districts. Currently, both school districts contract with King County Metro to provide ORCA passes, but these passes end at the end of the school year. My funding will allow, on a first come first serve basis, for income-qualified students to have a year round pass.

The construction portion of the budget helps maintain our transportation infrastructure, supports jobs, and addresses key traffic and transportation problems that affect working families all over the state.

The capital budget portion of the proposal includes over $3.0 billion for highway projects including maintenance and preservation of the system, additional funds to continue removing fish culverts to improve fish passage, funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects across the state and completing a fourth 144-car ferry.

Addressing our transportation needs is important as Washington’s population grows. The budget passed by the House Democrats this week takes strong action on addressing our state’s transportation needs.

An interactive map of transportation projects is available if you are interested in finding out more about the projects that may affect you.

Resolving to stand up for the scientific community

I am proud to say that yesterday, 58 members of the Washington State House of Representatives signed a resolution recognizing the importance of supporting the scientific community.

As someone who has worked in science almost all my life, I understand the need to support scientific inquiry and technological development. That is why I spearheaded this bipartisan resolution.

To learn more about the history and impact of science in Washington state, you can read the Member Resolution in Support of Science.

House bill would enhance internet privacy protections for consumers

The internet has become ubiquitous and it is increasingly difficult to conduct our lives without entering personal information on the internet. There needs to be a balance between protecting the personal information of a consumer and the drive for innovation by ISPs. It is also vital for ISPs to foster transparency with their customers.

That is why I am supporting HB 2200.

The bill would create new internet privacy protections enforceable under the Washington Consumer Protection Act, including:

• Compelling transparency by making ISP privacy policies available to customers so they know what to expect.
• Protecting privacy by prohibiting ISPs from selling or using private information (such as a person’s browsing history) without consent.

Consumers should have the option to keep their personal browser history private.

Honoring the Washington National Guard

On April 7, the House of Representatives passed a resolution thanking the brave men and women of the Washington National Guard for their service to the nation and to our state. I was honored to speak in support of the House resolution, which had special significance to me as the mother of a National Guardsman.

My speech on the House floor can be viewed on TVW.

Update on My Bills

I’m proud to say, two of my bills have passed the Legislature!

HB 1431, which improves resources for the Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, helping ensure public safety and oversight to strengthen health care, was signed by the governor today!

HB 1741 provides better information collection to improve teacher preparation programs in Washington state, because all kids deserve a great teacher.

This session, I also sponsored HB 1630, which would allow homeless minors to consent to provide their information, helping to get the right resources where they are truly needed. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass the Senate. However, I still feel strongly about this issue and will continue to work to support the intent of this bill.

The other bills I’ve been working on can be found on the legislative website

We are coming up to the last day of session on Sunday, April 23, also called Sine Die. Please stay tuned for further updates on the transition to special session in order to fully fund education and complete the budget negotiation process.

Thank you for continuing to share your questions, comments and concerns.

Many thanks for all you do,

Rep. Vandana Slatter