Telephone Town Hall Coming Up Next Week

Your 49th Legislative District delegation will hold a telephone town hall on Thursday, March 21, at 6 pm.

I hope you will join Sen. Annette Cleveland, Rep. Monica Stonier and me for a one-hour live question and answer session over the phone.

At 6 pm on March 21, calls will go out to thousands of landlines throughout our district. If you do not receive the call, you can still participate by dialing 877-229-8493 and entering ID Code 116294.

You can go to our Vekeo channel now and sign up to be called when the event begins. (You can also use that link to sign up for future telephone town halls, and to listen to past events.)

We want to update you on what we’re working on in Olympia, and give you the opportunity to ask us questions on issues that matter to you, such as education funding, healthcare, public safety, transportation, the economy, and the state budgets.

As you know, we hold town hall meetings in district both before and after session. But we make it a point to do a telephone town hall during session as well because it is easier for folks who can’t get to our other ones, and it also keeps people informed while we do our work in Olympia.

Campaign Contributions bill now in the Senate

You know I’ve been working on this issue since that port election in our district, the one where so much money was spent, it was obscene. Well, I’m happy to report it passed the House unanimously and already had a hearing in the Senate, so I’m hoping this is the year we get it to the governor’s desk. Read my press release here.

A Quick Message on Cascade Care

Access to health care could be a reality for many people who currently go without if Cascade Care gets enacted. I think it is possible. Click here for the press release on passage of this legislation and click on the image below for a short video.

A Bridge of Statewide Significance

The Columbia River I-5 Bridge is not going to last forever and we know it. We also know building a bridge doesn’t happen overnight, so we really need to get the process going and, to do so, we need to make our new bridge a state priority. My bill to designate our bridge as a project of statewide significance passed the House last week and is scheduled for a Hearing in the Senate on March 20.  To read the release and watch video of the Floor debate, which was quite interesting, click here.

Ask Sharon Video

I’ve received numerous emails from you asking about the Clean Fuels Program bill, so I included it in my latest video. I am very glad we passed it out of the House last week because I really think it’s in our state’s best interest to address greenhouse emissions sooner than later. Get more information on passage of this bill here.

In the video, I also respond to questions about the sex education in public schools legislation, a tough but very important issue.

The Speaker’s First Bill

As you probably know, Speaker Frank Chopp announced back in November that he will step down from his leadership position after this session, but he assured us he will continue representing the 43^rd Legislative District.

He’s been serving as speaker since 1999, making him the second longest-serving House speaker in the nation, after Speaker Michael Madigan in Illinois. During his tenure, Washington has evolved with great accomplishments like Apple Health for Kids, Paid Family Leave and Marriage Equality, to name a few. Last Wednesday we passed the very first piece of legislation he has prime-sponsored as Speaker of the House, HB 1593, establishing a behavioral health innovation and integration campus within the University of Washington School of Medicine. If you have a moment, I encourage you to watch this segment of that day’s Floor action. It was a special moment.

Medical Marijuana Bills Heading to Senate

Have you heard about Ducky, the little girl in Aberdeen? A few years ago, she was diagnosed with a rare and very debilitating disorder that causes her to experience seizures, sometimes very severe.

After going through a series of treatments without much success, her parents decided to try with CBD, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis, and found that a few drops of CBD oil with a cookie or some juice made a noticeable difference in Ducky’s symptoms. When she needs repeated doses in a day she has to miss classes because medical marijuana cannot be administered at the school.

Soon, however, that could change if these two medical marijuana bills get to the governor’s desk.

Update on Orca Bills You’ve probably heard our Southern Resident Orcas are on the verge of extinction. It’s true, there are only 75 left. I find this alarming. The three main reasons they are vanishing, according the governor’s Orca Recovery Task Force, are lack of food, pollution and noise.  Several bills addressing these issues were introduced this session and we passed them out of the House on March 7. Read this press release to learn what we are doing to save our whales.

I know there’s a lot of information in this newsletter and I really appreciate your taking the time to read it. As always, if you need more information or you want to let me know what’s on your mind, please contact my office.

Sincerely,