E-Newsletters

Education funding update We are now in the third week of this eight-week legislative session and education funding and educational opportunity are the most pressing issues facing the Legislature. I was pleased to serve on the governor’s bipartisan education funding work group over the past few months. Our group formulated legislation that lays out the next steps required to address full funding ...

Opening Day Monday was opening day for the Washington State Legislature. Although this is a 60-day “short session,” there is a lot to be accomplished. Our first priority for this year is to create a plan for fully funding basic education. We will also be working to increase campaign finance transparency, improve access to voting, and strengthen mental health services, as well as ...

2015 Update from your 3rd Legislative District team Please click here to explore our 3rd LD 2015 Legislative Update. 2015 legislative highlights include:

I am pleased to report that the 2015 legislative session(s) have come to an end. The Legislature passed biennial operating and capital budgets as well as a transportation investment package on June 30th to avoid a government shutdown. The final budget-related bills passed the Senate yesterday. The House has to approve these final pieces today and then the Legislature will adjourn ...

Do You Concur? In addition to working on the operating budget, we have now focused our attention on the concurrence process. For bills that have passed both chambers of the Legislature in different forms, the House and Senate must work together doing the "concurrence dance." When a Senate bill comes back from the House with amendments, the Senate votes "to concur" with ...

Money time! I believe the Legislature does its best work when we collaborate in a bipartisan manner. I have seen the positive results for the people of Washington State when collaboration is fostered and compromise is found.  With the two main budgets we are working on right now, the capital and operating budgets, we have examples of both the fruit borne ...

Zombies Lobby for Tax Incentives Last week, a horde of zombies stormed the capitol for an important cause: the growing film industry of Washington State. Cast and crew from Spokane’s very own “Z Nation” filmed a promotional video encouraging my colleagues to support SB 6027, which promotes job creation through the movie and TV production industry. As part of the Filmworks ...

Honoring a Hero in Our Community Last Tuesday, I had the honor of sponsoring Senate Resolution 8623 which recognizes a Spokane hero, Carla Peperzak. Carla, who has lived in Spokane since 2004, served in the Dutch Resistance as a teenager during Nazi occupation. With courage and selflessness, Carla helped dozens of families escape Nazi persecution while facing grave danger herself. Click the photo to watch Carla's Resolution ...

Mid-Session Recap As we reach the halfway mark in this year’s legislative session, bills face another major step in our funneling process - the house of origin cutoff. ByWednesday, all non-budget related bills must pass out of their initial chamber (either the senate or house of representatives), and be on the way across the capitol rotunda for consideration in the ...

Transportation Investment Package Last week, we saw the introduction and committee action on the Senate's transportation investment proposal. While there is a lot to like in the underlying transportation package, there are some concerning policy bills that have been attached to the package by the Senate majority. First, a quick summary of the base package: An 11.7 cent gas tax would be ...