Dear friends and neighbors,
We’re now in week five of this year’s legislative session; and this week, my fellow lawmakers and I are debating bills on the House floor. Floor action wraps up on February 13, so the status of my bills listed below is as of this writing and things could change quickly. I’ll do my best to keep you updated, and you can also stay tuned to updates on my website and legislative Facebook page.
Today, I’d like to focus this newsletter on giving you an update on my bills and invite you to join me and my seatmates in the 42nd LD—Representative Alicia Rule and Senator Sharon Shewmake—at a town hall event in Ferndale on Saturday, February 17.
An Update on My Bills
House Bill 1985: The last several years with high inflation have been difficult for many people, but especially for seniors living on fixed incomes. I’m concerned about how rising costs impact our retirees. HB 1985 provides a 3 percent cost-of-living increase, up to $110 per month, to those who dedicated their careers to public service and are on the state’s public employees’ retirement system (PERS1) or teachers’ retirement system (TRS1). Everyone deserves to age with dignity, especially our retired public servants and educators that have given our state so much. This legislation passed off the House floor in a bipartisan unanimous vote on February 7 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 1992: I introduced this bill before the start of this year’s legislative session, and it is currently in the Rules Committee, hopefully with its next stop being the House floor. This bill would add another judge to the Whatcom County Superior Court. We currently have four judges in this court, and our county is experiencing a backlog in cases pertaining to a variety of issues, including felony and criminal matters, as well as civil, guardianship and juvenile matters. This additional judge will help Whatcom County address its backlog in court cases, and also help in processing the Department of Ecology’s water rights adjudication in the Nooksack watershed.
House Bill 2020: The damage to infrastructure, as well as the uprooting of families and businesses and the loss of life left a lasting impression on me. It also has impacted the kinds of bills I’ve introduced in my first term as your state representative. This year, that includes House Bill 2020, which would create a public infrastructure assistance program within the state’s emergency management division. The bipartisan bill is one measure the legislature is taking to ensure the state is better equipped to support local communities when natural disasters occur. This bill builds upon the work I accomplished last year in passing House Bill 1452 to stablish a state emergency medical reserve corps within the Department of Health. House Bill 2020 is also in the Rules Committee and hopefully will be approved by representatives on the House floor.
House Bill 2191: Public Transportation Benefit Areas (PTBA’s) are the most common form of transit agency in Washington the state, including the WTA in Whatcom County. These agencies provide tremendous value in helping Washingtonians get around – to work, to school, to the grocery store, to the doctor’s office. For people dependent on a reliable and efficient transportation system, these transit agencies are a lifeline. This bill authorizes the option for PTBA’s to appoint two transit-using members to their governing board. I believe that transit riders offer a unique perspective, expertise and life experience that can be an asset in the decision-making process for transit agencies to best serve their customers. I am thrilled that this bill passed off the House floor on February 8 with a vote of 57-40. The bill will now be considered in the Senate.
House Bill 2239: So many of you have talked with me about your views on the importance of supporting mental and behavioral health, particularly for our youth. I share your concerns regarding the state of youth mental health, and that’s why I introduced House Bill 2239, supporting student well-being. This bill would encourage schools to provide instruction that help students develop social and emotional skills and create a grant program through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to assist schools in implementing this instruction around the state. Social-emotional skills are shown to improve student well-being by reducing depression and anxiety, increasing academic engagement, and reducing bullying and substance abuse. These skills have always been important for our youth but are increasingly essential following the pandemic and with the concerning rise of fentanyl use. This is another bill currently in the Rules Committee and will hopefully be considered on the House floor in the near future.
Join Us at a Town Hall on Feb. 17
Please come join us! I will be joining my fellow lawmakers from the 42nd Legislative District for a town hall meeting from 1-2:30 PM on Saturday, February 17 at Horizon Middle School in Ferndale. This is our chance to hear from you as well as provide updates on our work in Olympia during the 2024 Legislative Session.
I encourage you to submit your questions in advance of the town hall event here or by clicking on the QR code in the above graphic. I look forward to seeing you there!
Best wishes,
