Dear neighbors,
Happy New Year! This week, we began the 2023 legislative session, our first in-person session since 2020. We are back at the Capitol in Olympia, but we have retained some of the popular ways that people can participate in legislative deliberations from home, like remote testimony. Read more here about how you can get involved.
Meet the 33rd District Team
When you reach out to my office, we have a terrific team to help respond to your concerns, incorporate your feedback into legislation, and connect you with resources that can help you, your family, and your community.
Jennifer Minich brings deep experience in state government as my legislative assistant, starting her seventh legislative session serving the constituents of the 33rd District. If you call the office, the voice you will likely hear is Trevon Cooper’s, who joins us this year as a session aide, coming from a career in customer service. And Jackson Enstrom, a junior from Kenmore studying political economy at UW, is our intern.
Legislation to watch
I have filed ten bills about some of the most important issues facing our state – from worker’s rights to reproductive freedom – and I’ll be updating you about them as they move through the Legislature. To kick off, here are a few highlights:
SB 5123 would address the lingering effects of the war on drugs by prohibiting employers from discriminating against a person in hiring based on the use of cannabis outside work. Current cannabis tests cannot detect impairment, only exposure within the last couple weeks, which is an undue burden on people using a legal substance, especially if they are doing so for medical reasons. Federal employees and some other sensitive positions would be exempt.
SB 5286, sponsored by Sen. June Robinson, would strengthen our state’s nation-leading Paid Family and Medical Leave Program. Last session, we had dire warnings of fiscal instability in the program, so this legislation would assure sound fiscal footing and prevent big increases in the premiums that both employers and workers pay to fund the program.
SB 5327 is a simple but important bill. It would require governments or nonprofits that receive public funds and hire interns to pay those interns fairly for their work. The contributions of every worker deserve respect and recognition. At the Legislature, we pay our interns! And my intern, Jackson Enstrom, was the person who dropped SB 5327 into the hopper to be filed as a bill.
Highlight of the week: Dementia Road Map
Each week this session, I’ll highlight a resource that may be of use to you, your family, or your neighbors. I hope you’ll pass the information along to anyone who may be able to take advantage of it.
This week, I’d like to let you know about the great work of the Dementia Action Collaborative. Several years ago, I sponsored the legislation that led to the creation of this body in 2016. They provide resources for people and families living with memory loss and dementia. The Dementia Road Map for Caregivers is a great place to start, and further information can be found here.
Stay in Touch
If you’d like to follow what I’m working on, you can like my official legislative Facebook page here.
Please don’t hesitate to stay in touch. Stay safe and take care.
Always,
Sen. Karen Keiser
Senate President Pro Tempore
Chair, Senate Labor & Commerce Committee
