Dear friends and neighbors,
We just started the second week of the 2025 legislative session, and I wanted to give you a brief update. Most time-sensitive: We are accepting page applications, so if you know a young person 14-16 years old interested in politics, we’d love to see if we can fit them in to spend a week with us in Olympia (I did this when I was a kid, and it was great fun). Applications close March 27, 2025.
Chief Justice Debra Stephens swore me in to my first full term as your state senator! There’s a lot of work ahead, and I’m humbled and honored to continue working on behalf of all of us.
New committee assignments
The biggest changes for me this year are my new committee assignments: I’m now on the Ways & Means (the committee that oversees the state budget) and the Early Learning & K-12 Education committees. Both Hansen kids — like me — are products of Washington state public schools, and I am deeply committed to public education in our state. I’m grateful my colleagues have trusted me with committee assignments that will put me at the center of critical decisions on school policy and funding.
This week, we’re hearing public testimony in the Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on several bills to improve funding to Washington’s schools in areas such as transportation (SB 5187), materials, supplies and operating costs (SB 5192), and special education programs (SB 5263, SB 5307).
How to get involved
Everything we do at the Legislature benefits from public input. To make a difference for our community on the issues you care about, here’s how you can get involved:
- Learn how a bill becomes a law.
- Find legislation on the issues important to you.
- Watch live committee hearings, floor debates and archived videos of your democracy in action.
- Testify before legislative committees remotely or in person.
- Reach out to my office anytime with any questions or concerns at 360-786-7644 or Drew.Hansen@leg.wa.gov. The more I hear from you, the better I can serve you. You can also follow along for more legislative updates on my official Facebook and Instagram pages.
Sincerely,
Drew Hansen