Dear friends and neighbors,
After 14 years of service, my time in the Legislature will come to a close on January 13. Since I announced my retirement from the Senate in March, I have had an opportunity to reflect on the time I have spent serving our community and fighting to create opportunity and increase prosperity in Spokane and throughout Washington state. I am grateful to have had the privilege to serve Spokane, proud of the progress we have made, and optimistic about the future of our community.
Fourteen Years of Progress
Since I arrived in the Legislature in 2011, we have made progress in many areas. Here are a just of a few of the legislative achievements that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to support:
- Passing bills to expand access to affordable high-quality early learning and childcare
- Championing legislation to improve access to democracy in Washington by enshrining voter pre-registration, same day voter registration and campaign finance transparency in statute
- Making Washington a state that encourages the use and production of sustainable aviation fuels
- Supporting the East Central neighborhood to mitigate the historic damage done when it was bisected by I-90
- Keeping the Spokane River and other Washington waterways clean
- Helping Spokane’s Marshallese community gain access to healthcare
- Supporting the creation of the Elson S. Floyd WSU Medical School
- Creating transparency around college athletic finances at our public universities
- Helping foster care children by providing additional benefits as they age out of care
- Eliminating the death penalty
- Championing the legislative recognition for Holocaust survivor and Spokane resident, Carla Peperzak
- Expanding remote testimony to ensure that participation in government is accessible for all
- Passing numerous bills that contribute to preventing gun violence
- Securing funding for community infrastructure projects like the U-District Bridge, WSU-Spokane health education buildings, community health and dental buildings, and many more community construction grants.
I shared some additional reflections during my final speech on the Senate floor last March. If you missed it, click here.
Stay in Touch
I always welcome your feedback. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at Andy.Billig@leg.wa.gov. And, after January 13, you are welcome to contact me at my personal e-mail address at andy@andybillig.com.
Onward!
Andy