Dear neighbors,

We’re wrapping up another powerful week in the Senate only this time, it’s nearly our last! It’s the legislative session’s last full week and I’m proud to say we made great progress.

This week, we made more historic strides for Justice in Snohomish County, and for Emergency response protections in the State Guard.

Scroll below for a quick update.

 

Justice in Snohomish County

I’m excited to report that my bill to add two new judges to Snohomish County has unanimously passed both the House and the Senate! Now that it has the support of both legislative chambers, SB 5575 will be placed on the Governor’s desk for the final signature of approval. This bill when it becomes session law will add TWO new judges to the Snohomish County Superior Court bringing some welcome relief to our court system and increasing community access to timely justice.

Snohomish County is the second fastest growing county in the state. It has 15 superior court judges and more than 820,000 residents. A ratio of 1/55,000. King and Pierce County have a ratio of 1 judge for every 39,000 residents. It’s time to change that for us Snohomish County residents.

Great thanks to my colleagues in the Senate for their support of the people in Snohomish County. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his letter from the Birmingham Jail, “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

 

Emergency protections and the State Guard

This week something very rare happened, a legislator passed a House bill AND a Senate bill. When 2021 started, I was serving in the House of Representatives. Then, I was appointed into the Senate in December. I had legislation in the House that had already started—change in our communities that had already begun.

Yesterday we passed HB 1122 which extends the retirement age of our State Guard ensuring that when disaster strikes, which it has and it will, we are prepared to respond with the most seasoned veterans in our communities.

I was Snohomish County Executive when the Oso Mudslide happened. I remember greeting President Barrack Obama along with our fine service members who quickly responded to the disaster. As we dust ourselves off from these last two years of the pandemic and prepare to move forward, we must also prepare not to forget. Having strong and experienced leadership at the helm helps us do that.

 

Save the date!

Please save the date! April 1st at 3pm we’ll be doing our first in-person Coffee Chat of the year. We’ll be doing an after-action review of the session, as well as taking all the questions we can get to. More information to follow but stay up to date by following and Liking my page on Facebook.

As always, my phone is always on and my door is always open.

 

Honored to serve,

John Lovick,

State Senator