Dear friends and neighbors,
This is my first week in the state Senate, and I’m so excited about this new opportunity to serve you! I was sworn in by Chief Justice Debra Stephens on Monday, and we’re already at work on some of the biggest issues facing our district and state.
How to get in touch
I’m glad to have some of the most active constituents of any district in the state, with so many of you being state employees or retirees from state service. Representing the 22nd district, which is home to our state capital means it’s convenient for you to visit my office, and it’s so much more meaningful and informative for me to hear from you directly. With my new Senate role, I want to make sure you have my updated contact information if you’re trying to reach me.
Email: Jessica.Bateman@leg.wa.gov
Phone: 360-786-7642
Office: LEG 409, on the fourth floor of the legislative building on the Capitol campus
If you’re just looking for information, the Legislature has updated the leg.wa.gov website, and it’s easier than ever to find details on a bill or weigh in on legislation before us. This is a helpful page to learn how to use the website to track legislation or find out more about a bill. If you’d like to testify on a bill or just sign-in for the record on a committee hearing, we’ve got information on how to do that as well.
Bills I’m working on
One of the most important jobs I have this session is chairing the Senate Housing Committee, where I’ll help advance the Legislature’s agenda to ensure we expand housing affordability and clear red tape to help folks build more of the right housing for their communities. As you likely know, this is an issue I’ve been passionate about for years, and I’m introducing several important housing bills this year:
One major bill is the Housing Accountability Act. We’ve passed some transformative housing reforms over the past few years, but those state-level policies don’t matter much if they can’t be implemented across Washington. This bill will help put a process in place to ensure folks are actually able to build the affordable housing communities are asking for and the Legislature has voted for.
The Parking Reform Act is all about making sure builders have the flexibility to build the right amount of parking for each project. Some places need lots of parking and some need only a little — letting people build what’s right rather than forcing one-size-fits-all plans will make it easier to construct more affordable buildings for both housing and businesses.
I’ve also been working on health care issues throughout my time in the Legislature, and I’m a member of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee this session. I’m sponsoring a couple bills on the subject this year to support people who provide long-term care to an elderly or disabled family member, to help people in need access psychiatric drugs by allowing psychologists to write certain prescriptions, and to make sure insurance companies using algorithms to approve or deny behavioral health care base those decisions in best practices and modern standards of care — not on what makes them the most profits.
What are you thinking about?
I’ve shared some of the bills I’ve introduced so far, but I also need your input on what we should prioritize. What issues are on your mind? Send me an email at Jessica.Bateman@leg.wa.gov — your thoughts, feedback, and questions are always appreciated.
Thanks for reading, and please stay in touch!
Sen. Jessica Bateman