Dear friends and neighbors,
It’s the second week of the legislative session and we’re hard at work on hearing and passing bills!
Legislative Town Hall Details
I hope you will join me and my seatmates Rep. Liz Berry and Rep. Julia Reed this Saturday for a legislative town hall event! The details are –
Saturday, January 20
1-2 p.m. (doors open at 12:45)
National Nordic Museum
2655 NW Market St
Seattle, WA 98107
We’re looking forward to taking your questions on the issues facing the legislature this year and hearing your thoughts and feedback on our shared legislative priorities.
The Importance of Your Feedback
Constituent feedback is essential to legislators doing our jobs well. Not only do you help us understand the importance of a certain vote or issue, but oftentimes we get ideas for an entire piece of legislation from a constituent! I’m sponsoring two bills this year that are direct responses to situations faced by residents of our district.
SB 5829 is a bill about screening infants for congenital cytomegalovirus, or CMV – an issue brought to my attention by the Yenney family, who lost their baby girl, Dakota, due to complications from congenital CMV. When contracted in utero, CMV is one of the most common infectious causes of birth defects in the United States — about one out of 200 babies is born with congenital CMV, and about one out of five babies with congenital CMV will have symptoms or long-term health problems. These could include hearing loss, vision loss, developmental and motor delays, seizures, and other serious conditions. We know that there are antiviral medications that can help children with congenital CMV, but the tests to diagnose it must be conducted within the first few weeks of the baby’s birth.
We already conduct infant screens for several diseases and conditions when a baby is born, but CMV hasn’t been on the list. This legislation would have these screens conducted, with the informed consent of the parents. This seems like a great bill for healthier babies and making sure that parents and medical providers have the information they need to provide the care that infants need.
Another bill I’m offering this year is SB 5900, which is a direct response to the tragic loss of Seattle Pacific University student and constituent Sarah Pantip Wong, who was killed by the collapse of a crane in South Lake Union in 2019. The crane collapsed because of negligence by the company, and Pantip’s parents, who have worked tirelessly since her death to improve crane safety, now want Washington’s crane safety laws to be as strong as any state’s in the country — and I agree with them. Our bill will help create a safer environment for everyone while still allowing our cities to build, thrive, and grow. You can read about the introduction of the bill with my seatmate, Rep. Julia Reed, in this KOMO news story.
With that, what are your ideas for what the Legislature needs to tackle this year? Send me an email at Noel.Frame@leg.wa.gov or join us at our Saturday town hall, and I look forward to hearing your ideas for making progress on the most important issues, like education, affordable housing, public safety, climate change, and more. Thank you for reading, and let’s stay in touch!
Sen. Noel Frame
