Friends:
We’re about one-third of the way through the 2021 legislative session and lawmakers are working quickly in the mostly remote environment on behalf of Washington residents.
ICYMI: The Legislature approved nearly $4 billion in economic relief for Washingtonians, and we continue to work on getting additional relief to families and small businesses.
Last week was a big week in health care as the Senate approved a bill to protect health care rights for women experiencing pregnancy complications and another bill to require regular equity training in health care.
I passed my first bill of the session off the Senate floor last week. SB 5106 would enable more partnerships between local governments and credit unions throughout Washington. The bill would give local governments more community-based options for depositing their funds. This could result in local governments paying lower fees, obtaining better interest rates, and seeing increased returns on investments for taxpayers.
I also have bills to expand blood donation opportunities to 16- and 17-year-olds, expand affordable housing supply, and ban future manufacture and sales of large-capacity magazines ready for floor votes.
Black History Month
I invite you to check out the Washington Senate Democrats Instagram page where every day we’re highlighting Black Washington state lawmakers.
I had the honor of serving with the state’s first Black female senator, Rosa Franklin, back in my early days in the House. Senator Franklin was a fierce champion for the communities she represented in Tacoma and enacted the Washington Housing Policy Act – a law aimed at boosting affordable housing supply, reducing homelessness, and improving services for low-income families in Washington state.
And last month, the Senate welcomed our second ever female Black senator, Sen. T’wina Nobles. Sen. Nobles has already had an impact having passed her first bill to help students experiencing foster care. She gave a fantastic floor speech in support of her bill that I encourage you to watch below.
Live with Liias
And speaking of Sen. Nobles, be sure to tune in to our next Live with Liias! tomorrow (Monday) night at 6:30 p.m. I’m honored to have her on as our next guest. Senator Nobles is the newest member to join the Washington State Senate Democrats and is a passionate advocate for education. I can’t wait to talk with her about what she’s working on this session.
You can watch the broadcast on my official Facebook page, my official Twitter feed, or the SDC YouTube Channel.
Click here or here to set a reminder for when the event starts.
Virtual Town Hall
Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, Rep. Strom Peterson, and I had a great time answering your questions in our first virtual town hall last week. And a special thank you to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal for stopping by to give us an update on what’s happening at the federal level.
You can click here or on the image above to watch a replay. And stay tuned for details about upcoming virtual town halls.
How to reach me?
As always, your ideas are important to me. You can stay in touch several ways:
- Send me an email here or at marko.liias@leg.wa.gov.
- Call the toll-free legislative hotline at 1.800.562.6000 or 1-800.833.6388 (TTY).
- Check out my website.
- Find me on Facebook, Instagram or follow my work on Twitter.
Marko Liias
State Senator
21st Legislative District
