Dear Neighbors of the 26th,

We’re a quarter of the way through the legislative session and on a roll! Here’s what has been happening in my office the past two weeks:

  • Inspiring future leaders — answering questions from visiting Peninsula School District NJROTC students and hosting Senate pages. Students can apply here to be a page.
  • Supporting school funding by voting Yes for three bills to provide funding for special education, materials and operating costs, and transportation.
  • Helping school districts secure local capital funding to build modern and safe schools.
  • Testifying on six of my own bills and resolutions.
  • Building relationships with my fellow legislators, staff, and stakeholders.
  • 55 stakeholder meetings to learn about their services and priorities.

Student visits

I enjoyed meeting and answering questions from Peninsula School District NJROTC students!

  

Student Pages

I hosted two pages from the Peninsula School District. Elise, a junior from Gig Harbor High School, enjoys speech and debate. Sara, a Peninsula High School student, likes cooking and baking and wants to study either medicine or law. I look forward to hosting pages from South Kitsap and Bremerton school districts in the coming weeks.

 

The page program is still accepting applicants! Come join us for a week and get an inside look at the legislative process. Apply here.

Supporting our schools

The Senate is hard at work to secure funding for the big three asks from our schools — special education, materials and supplies, and transportation. I sit on the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee, and we’ve moved forward three bills — SBs 5187, 5192, and 5263 — to secure that key funding and hope to hear them soon on the floor518751925263. I also introduced SB 5186, which would lower the threshold for school bonds to pass from 60% to 55%. This bill is paired with SJM 8200 — a vote on both is expected in executive session soon.

Testifying on my bills

  • SJM 8008 rescinds all previous Washington state requests to Congress for a Constitutional Convention.
  • SB 5508 expands housing support for families once the Department of Children, Youth, and Families is no longer providing other services to the family.
  • SB 5557 codifies emergency rules that protect a pregnant person’s right to get treatment for emergency medical conditions.
  • SB 5245 allows commissioners and council members to administer oaths of office for state legislators.
  • SB 5522 expands the State Capitol Committee and reorganizes responsibilities regarding the Capitol campus.
  • SR 8606 celebrates the Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen.

Building relationships

My office met with 55 groups over the last two weeks including Teamsters 117, Peninsula Community Health Services, Washington State Tree Fruit Association, Tacoma Firefighters Local 31, WSPA, SEIU 1199, Family Connects, and many more. Thank you to everyone who has come down!

My priorities

As your senator, I want to support our schools and students, lower the cost of living, increase access to childcare, create workforce development opportunities, protect rights and freedoms in our state, and focus on solutions to address some of our district’s transportation issues.

Looking ahead

There are so many more things to share with you all in the coming weeks! I look forward to discussing the relationships I’m building and actions I’m taking to improve our ferry service. Just recently, I submitted a bill (SB 5716) to help protect our Washington State Ferry workers. I am joining the Maritime Caucus to dig into the challenges and to be a part of the solutions moving forward.

For those interested, Washington State Ferries is hosting their third annual career day at the Eagle Harbor Maintenance Faculty on Bainbridge Island on Thursday, March 27. Register here!

Contact

Please never hesitate to contact my office! We’re here to serve you and all our neighbors in the 26th Legislative District. I’m interested to hear what you think!

Phone: 360.786.7650
Email: Deborah.Krishnadasan@leg.wa.gov
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram

The past four weeks have been the adventure of a lifetime, and I’m gearing up for the next 11. Thanks for reading!

All the best,
Deb