Dear Neighbors,

It’s spring and a busy week in the Legislature. I have a town hall meeting with Sen. Tina Orwall tomorrow (details below) and am working hard toward budget and revenue solutions and advocating for bills in the House and Senate.

Town halls

I’m holding a town hall tomorrow with Sen. Tina Orwall. This is a great chance to ask us your questions and learn what’s happening this session in Olympia. I’d love to see you there!

Details:

Who: Residents in the 11th and 33rd Legislative Districts

What: Town hall with Senators Bob Hasegawa and Tina Orwall

Date: TOMORROW – Saturday, March 22

Time: Doors open at 10:00 a.m., program starts at 10:30 a.m. (with lots of time for a Q & A)!

Where: Foster High School Library

Address: 4242 S 144th St., Tukwila, WA 98168

State of my bills

I have 10 bills moving through the House.

  • SB 5102 creates an exemption in the public risk pool records and helps protect the resources of publicly funded risk pools and their members, like school districts. This bill had a public hearing on Tuesday, March 18, in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee and is ready for executive session.
  • SB 5103 creates a route for quicker pardon and clemency requests when there is an urgent matter of time, including deportation. This bill awaits a hearing in the House Community Safety Committee.
  • SB 5104 protects employees from immigration-status based coercion in the workplace and had a public hearing and executive session in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee this past week.
  • SB 5142 requires that when land taken by eminent domain is not used for it’s assigned purpose, the original owners have the opportunity to repurchase the land at its original price. The bill had a public hearing and executive session in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee this week and awaits further action.
  • SB 5414 adds social equity impact analysis to performance audits and legislative public hearings by the state auditor’s office, ensuring our agencies and programs work for everyone. This bill had a public hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee and is scheduled for executive session next week.
  • SB 5589 establishes a study on how credit history and scores impact insurance rates. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner requested the bill, and I sponsored it! The bill is waiting for a hearing in the House Consumer Protection & Business Committee.
    • Insurance Commissioner (and former senator) Patty Kuderer and I discussed this bill on the OIC Answers podcast. You can listen here.
  • SB 5616, requested by the Department of Financial Institutions, simply renames the Washington Saves Administrative Treasury Trust Account to be the Washington Saves Administrative Trust Account. The House Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on the bill on Wednesday and will hold an executive session on Monday.
  • SJM 8002 declares the Legislature’s opposition to Medicare privatization and requests that the federal government level the playing field between Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans and improve benefits in a formal letter. The bill had a public hearing today in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee and is scheduled for executive session next Wednesday.
  • SJM 8004 asks the federal government to create a universal health care plan or remove barriers preventing Washington state from implementing our own universal healthcare program. The House Health Care & Wellness Committee held a public hearing on the bill this week and will hold executive session on it next Wednesday.
  • SJM 8005 asks that Congress pass and enact legislation reinstating the separation of commercial and investment banking like it was under the Glass-Steagall Act. This bill will protect our savings from being used in risky investments. On Wednesday, the House Consumer Protection & Business Committee held a public hearing on the bill and will hold an executive session next Wednesday.

Contact

Join my Intro Sheet Club to see new bill introductions, but please note that I can’t sponsor House bills (with an ‘H’ in their bill title). However, I can support these bills and can still sign on to any Senate bills (with a ‘S’ in their bill title), as they may continue to be introduced. As always, please reach out to my office with any feedback on new bills on the daily Intro Sheets.

As we get into trickier parts of session, including budget negotiations, please know your opinion matters to me and is a crucial part of my decision-making process. Below are some great ways to contact and keep in touch with my office:

Phone: 360-786-7616 (during regular business hours; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Email me!

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram!

As always, thank you for reading and following along. I look forward to seeing you at the town hall!

Talk to you again soon,
Bob