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Public utility districts, ports, and other public districts would gain a low-interest alternative financing mechanism to pay for major investments to the essential infrastructure that keeps their water clean, their buildings intact, and their economy robust, under legislation that passed today out of the Senate. Senate Bill 5624 and Senate Joint Resolution 8204, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, ...

Dozens of public districts would gain an alternative financing mechanism to pay for essential infrastructure projects to maintain and improve local roads, water and sewer systems and public buildings under bipartisan legislation that passed today out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Senate Bill 5624 and constitutional amendment SJR 8204, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, would ...

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, has been reappointed as the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Capital Budget, it was announced Monday. “Our state faces two critical challenges — to expand our K-12 facilities to accommodate smaller class sizes and to address infrastructure needs that have stagnated while we recovered from the Great Recession,” Keiser said. “We need to make up ground ...

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent and an instrumental lawmaker in implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) at the state level, issued this statement today: “Today is the deadline for signing up for coverage through the state exchange, and we’re just one week removed from the fourth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. So an obvious question begs asking: ‘Are we better off ...

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Alzheimer’s patients and their families will benefit from the adoption of best practices and other services as a result of legislation signed into law today by Gov. Jay Inslee. Senate Bill 6124, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, calls for the development of a state plan to promote cognitive health and better coordinate long-term services and support systems for ...

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent and ranking member on the state Capital Budget, issued this statement today on the Senate’s failure to pass a capital budget: “Today the Legislature failed to pass a Capital Budget for the first time since 1996. We had a strong, bipartisan Capital Budget proposal from the House that could have passed and would have built vital infrastructure ...

Sen. Karen Keiser and Rep. Tina Orwall and Rep. Mia Gregerson will host a telephone town hall for 33^rd Legislative District residents from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 19. At that time, constituents in the areas of Kent, SeaTac, Normandy Park, Des Moines, Burien and Renton will receive a phone call inviting them to stay on the line to participate ...

Coordinating best practices and services for Alzheimer’s patients and their families is the goal of legislation just approved by the 2014 Legislature. Under Senate Bill 6124, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, a working group representing all stakeholders in the services and delivery system for Alzheimer’s patients and their families will develop the coordinated state plan. The bill passed ...

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent and ranking member on the Senate’s Capital Budget, issued this statement today on the Senate’s capital budget proposal: “The budget that was proposed today provides a few modest improvements but I think it also represents a missed opportunity. “First, we’re backing away from $90 million in bonds authorized in last year’s biennial budget. Failing to tap this authorization ...

Thursday night on KIRO Radio's Jason Rantz program, Sen. Karen Keiser explained the fallacies of Senate Bill 6458, which would eliminte the popularly elected position of state insurance commissioner and replace it with a unelected board appointed by the governor and the Legislature. You can hear the full program here.