Dear friends and neighbors,

This has been a busy week in the Senate, with full days of floor action on bills. In the next two weeks, we’ll also see major progress on the budget proposals made by the House and the Senate – the key step before the two chambers negotiate their differences and come to a final proposal to send to the governor’s desk. I’ll continue to share important information on these budget proposals as they advance.

A new pool for Thurston County?

For years, we’ve been talking about how Thurston County needs another public pool to serve our growing population, especially for young people taking swim classes and seniors looking for low-impact exercise.  It’s also a very big project for any single city to take on themselves. As a result, our cities have gotten together to develop studies and designs, but we will need a “public facility district” to bring it to fruition. SB 6189 gives cities extra time to do that. The bill by itself won’t change any taxes or build anything (doing so will require a vote of the people, so you’ll get a chance to weigh in before anything concrete happens). SB 6189 gives our cities time to work on this issue and put together a specific plan that we can vote on. I appreciate my colleagues who supported this bill unanimously.

Warning renters about flood risks

My bill to provide flood warnings to renters (SB 6237) passed the Senate on a 46-3 vote on Wednesday. Many of us, including me, were shocked by the extent of the flooding in our state last December. Even though our district wasn’t as heavily affected, it was clear state government needed to learn lessons and respond to protect us better for the future. One thing we can do for better housing policy is pass this bill, ensuring renters get the same notice and warning about known flood risks that someone buying a home does. Current state law already requires home sellers to disclose known material facts about the property to the buyer, including whether it’s located in a designated flood hazard zone or has experienced prior flooding. Letting renters know about flood risks so they can take whatever steps they feel are appropriate is good public policy.

Care for abortion and miscarriage

I was proud to receive bipartisan support for my bill (SB 5917) to help expand the availability of mifepristone and misoprostol, a pair of drugs important for both inducing an abortion and for managing a miscarriage. Two of my Republican colleagues joined us to pass this bill.

These are safe medications, approved by the FDA for more than 25 years, and they are still hard to access. I am proud that Washington state, after passage of this bill, will be another step closer to being a state where you can manage an abortion or miscarriage with dignity.

ICE in sensitive places

We’ve all seen the horrifying stories about ICE activity in Washington state and across the country. This week, we passed the Secure and Accountable Federal Enforcement (SAFE) Act (SB 5906) to prevent ICE from going inside schools, daycares, hospitals, and more without a judicial warrant. We already have strong protections in this state thanks to the Keep Washington Working Act, but the SAFE Act expands these protections. We want people to feel safe working at a daycare, going to a doctor, or attending a class without looking over their shoulder and wondering if ICE will come inside without a warrant.

10,000 more slots for early learning

We passed an important bill (SB 5872) this week to support early learning, approving the “Pre-K Promise”, a philanthropic partnership between the Ballmer Group and the state to provide funding for up to 10,000 additional slots for children in our Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program for the next ten years. This generous contribution and public-private partnership will expand access to key early learning opportunities for Washington’s children and provide benefits for generations to come. While I support this investment, we shouldn’t rely on private philanthropy for essential early education programs. We need progressive revenue reform to ensure that we can invest in early learning and childcare – because when we invest in kids, we invest in the future of our state.

All these bills, and many more, will go on to the House for consideration. Next Tuesday is the deadline to pass Senate bills off of the floor, and then we’ll be hearing and voting on the bills the House sent over to us. This is the legislative process at work, and I hope you’ll continue to stay in touch with us as these bills and proposals advance. You can reach me, any time at Jessica.Bateman@leg.wa.gov, your input and questions are always appreciated.

Thanks so much for reading!

In service

– Jess