In the News

From the Bellevue Reporter The Senate and House Democratic caucuses have requested that the federal government unlock disaster unemployment assistance for thousands of independent contractors in Washington who are losing work during the coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines), who authored the letter, said: “The American workplace has changed and thousands of workers who are independent contractors—from hairdressers to high tech ...

From the Kent Reporter With final Senate votes Monday, two bills sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, to curb sharply rising prescription drug prices have now passed the Legislature with broad bipartisan support and will go to the governor for his signature. “Prescription drug costs are out of control,” Keiser said. “Our constituents can’t wait. The taxpayers can’t wait. ...

From the Washington State Wire Bills aimed at making prescriptions drugs more affordable passed in both the House and Senate today. AARP Advocacy Director Cathy MacCaul released the following statement in response to today’s Senate Passage of House Bill 2662, and House passage of Senate Bill 6087 and Senate Bill 6088.

Today’s strong bipartisan passage of House Bill 2662 by the Senate, ...

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From the Western Front The Washington state legislature passed four major bills on Wednesday, Feb. 19 that would address the high costs of insulin and other prescription drugs. The next step is to pass the bills through the House of Representatives, where it will then go to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk, Sen. Karen Keiser said. Kaiser said the bills, if passed, ...

From The Seattle Times A bill that was sparked by a Seattle woman’s allegations of pregnancy discrimination at Google passed both the Washington House and Senate with broad bipartisan support and is slated to be signed into law. Senate Bill 6034 would update the Washington Law Against Discrimination to give a pregnant woman, or new mother, one year instead of six ...

From the Wahkiakum County Eagle Bringing down the cost of insulin for people with diabetes is the goal behind two Senate bills and one House bill have been passed by the Washington state legislature. Senate bill 6087 and House bill 2662 both cap the cost of insulin for patients at $100 per month, while Senate bill 6113 appoints the Northwest Prescription ...

From KOMO News If you're faced with rising prescription prices for medication you can't go without, local patient advocates say this is the time to make your voice heard. Washington state lawmakers are getting an earful about all kinds of proposed legislation this week as time runs to keep the bills alive. One of the critical bills at stake will rein in ...

From the Spokesman-Review Eight-year-old Levi Markland told lawmakers Tuesday he’s not supposed to worry about dying, but he does. Levi has Type 1 diabetes and his family spends up to $1,000 a month on insulin. Diabetes is unpredictable, expensive and cruel, said Amber Markland, Levi’s mom, who was sitting next to him as they testified at a House Health Care and Wellness ...

From Babygaga A Washington state bill working its way through state Senate could give women an extension to file a pregnancy discrimination complaint. Late last week, Senate Bill 6034 passed with a vote of 38-9. This vote count was a bipartisan majority. With this successful vote, this bill will now move to Read More

From the Washington State Wire Several bills passed in the Senate Tuesday, covering a wide array of issues related to criminal justice, health care and families on public assistance. These bills all now head to the House  in the coming weeks as the legislative session reaches month two. Here’s a rundown of some of the bills that passed in the ...