The 2019 legislative session was intense and to the surprise of everyone, we finished ON TIME! We were very far from agreement on many key issues, even up to the final day. But deadlines have a tendency to move folks, and we managed to pass a balanced budget that invests in early childhood to post-secondary education, the environment, behavioral health, and job creation. Plus, we settled on a windfall profits tax on the largest Wall Street banks. This bill was derived from my past bills regarding a windfall profits tax on big oil and pharmaceutical companies. I’m proud that we finally moved forward on reforming our regressive tax system by requiring some of the wealthiest institutions to pay their fair share of taxes.
However, there is still so much more to be done. In the coming months, I’ll be sharing stories with you on this year’s legislative successes and issues to work on in 2020 that will make a difference in our lives.

Washington’s Public Bank Update
 This year saw a considerable leap in progress. In 2018, Washington state contracted UW’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance to develop a business plan for a publicly-owned depository bank. A public bank will keep our tax dollars from going straight into the hands of Wall Street bankers. They’ll present their proposed plan to the state Legislature and the governor this fall. We hope to have the business plan vetted and drafted into a bill for the 2020 legislative session. We are also making inroads for grassroots-led movement building for this issue. If you’d like to know more, check out my website.

I appreciate all your ongoing feedback. I’m launching a new communications strategy that will include regular video updates. Please keep the input coming!
As always, I will continue to fight for working families, comprehensive progressive tax reform, equity of opportunity, and economic and social justice for our communities and our state. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
If you’d like to meet, I’d like that too. Reach out to my legislative assistant Jenny Chang at Jenny.Chang@leg.wa.gov.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

In Solidarity,

Bob