Dear neighbors,
It’s been a very busy week in Olympia. Our operating budget is the biggest bill we pass, and usually the one you hear about the most. It pays for all our ongoing investments – schools, health care, higher education, corrections, state parks and forests and the operations of state government.
This year’s Senate budget proposal makes the biggest new investment in school funding in years, with $2.9 billion in new money for our schools with an emphasis on additional funding for special education services. It also includes about a half a billion dollars in new investments for behavioral and mental health care and for drug treatment to address the addiction crisis. Significant new investments are appropriated for housing and homelessness prevention, carbon sequestration, other environmental programs, and much more – all without raising taxes. You can read many of the details in the budget summary here.
I would like to highlight for you an important amendment to the budget I added in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. We heard heart wrenching testimony in committee about the need for state funding for domestic violence and sexual assault victim services in our state because of significant reductions in federal funding. My amendment ensured that our Senate budget added $60 million to provide services to crime victims, including victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. That appropriation will backfill the big reduction in federal funds.
The House budget has about $40 million appropriated for crime victim services. Before we adjourn, the two budgets will have to be negotiated and reconciled and it is my hope we can keep the higher level of funding that is now in the Senate budget.
Also this week, the House passed my bill to ban pre-employment cannabis tests. SB 5123 will make Washington the third state in the country to prohibit these tests, joining California and Nevada in standing against this form of discrimination against people using a legal substance outside of the job. Employers’ on-the-job drug policies are not affected by this bill. And exemptions were allowed for jobs subject to federal transportation rules, including aerospace and aviation, and uniformed personnel.
And finally, the governor signed SB 5729, my bill to make our state’s $35 per month cap on insulin prices permanent! The photo below of the bill signing ceremony includes individuals with diabetes, advocates for community health clinics and seniors and the father of a 10 year-old daughter with Type 1 diabetes who nearly died before being diagnosed. (And also Trevon Cooper, my wonderful session aide this year!)
From left: Kate White Tudor, Councilmember Matthew Hepner, Walt Bowen, Gov. Jay Inslee, Trevon Cooper, Bernal Baca, Sen. Karen Keiser, Deborah Schuknecht
Highlight of the week: Child Care Check
Each week this session, I have been highlighting a state-funded 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 want to let you know about the state’s Child Care Check program.
Do you know someone looking for childcare? It has been getting harder and harder to find high-quality childcare and early learning programs. Child Care Check can help. It is a tool parents and family members can use to find information about programs licensed by the state, including childcare centers, home childcare providers, and even outdoor nature-based preschool programs. It also contains information about whether those programs offer free tuition to low-income families through state and federal programs like ECEAP and Head Start.
Previous highlights of the week: Dementia Road Map for Caregivers, Paid Family and Medical Leave, Healthy Starts Act pregnancy accommodations, Working Families Tax Credit, Washington State Quitline, my resource guide, WorkSource WA, ArrayRx Discount Card, Building for the Arts.
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
