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OLYMPIA – Derek Stanford was unanimously appointed state senator for the 1^st Legislative District this morning at a joint meeting of the King and Snohomish County councils in Bothell.

“I’m excited to get to work in the Senate, and I’m grateful to the 1st District Democrats and to the Snohomish and King County councils for their support,” said Stanford (D-Bothell).

“It has been an honor to serve the people of the 1st Legislative District as state representative for the past nine years.”

Stanford was first elected to the House of Representatives in ...

Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig released the following statement Friday following the resignation of Sen. Guy Palumbo:

“Sen. Palumbo has informed me he intends to resign his seat in the state senate, effective today.

“Sen. Palumbo has done an excellent job representing the people of the 1st Legislative District and has been a particularly strong advocate on issues related to higher education, transportation, climate and energy.

“We will miss him in the senate but definitely understand his reasons for leaving as the job ...

Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig (D-Spokane) released this statement following the adjournment of the 2019 legislative session, the first 105-day session to end on time since 2009 and the second year in a row the Legislature has adjourned as scheduled:

“In the two years since Democrats retook control of the Senate, we have worked hard to pass legislation that puts people first and ensures more people have access to a quality education, health care, clean air and water and create an overall better quality of life.

“We finished our work on time. We made sure ...

OLYMPIA – The Senate passed the Transportation budget Sunday with unanimous support.

ESHB 1160 will now head to the Governor for his signature.

“This budget addresses the transportation needs of our state,” said Sen. Steve Hobbs, chair of the Senate Transportation committee. “This was a good, bipartisan effort to keep our promises and move our state forward.”

There are several highlights and new investments made as part of the $9.8 billion, two year plan including the continued delivery of projects first adopted as ...

OLYMPIA – A historic bill to commit Washington to 100-percent clean energy from renewable and zero-emission sources took another step forward today following passage by the Washington House of Representatives.

Representatives voted 56-42 in favor of Senate Bill 5116, a centerpiece of Gov. Jay Inslee's 2019 agenda to take meaningful action on climate change and reduce Washington's carbon footprint.

Sponsored by Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) and in House companion legislation by Rep. Gael Tarleton (D-Ballard), the bill requires all electric utilities in Washington to transition to a 100-percent, carbon-neutral electricity supply by 2030 and to 100-percent carbon-free electricity ...

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Senate today approved a $52.2 billion state operating budget to fund vital state services, including targeted support for the state’s behavioral health system, K-12 special education, higher education, and the environment.

Because the Senate amended ESHB 1109 before passing it, budget writers from the Senate and House must now begin a conference process to negotiate the differences in the versions that passed each chamber and pass a final operating budget before the end of the legislative session on April 28.

More than half of the state budget pays for K-12 education, honoring ...

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Senate voted today to pass a bill to provide assistance to homeless college students. The bill passed on a vote of 30-18.

Senate Bill 5800, sponsored by Sen. Emily Randall (D-Bremerton), creates pilot programs at four colleges across the state, two on each side of the Cascades, to provide assistance to homeless students and students who were in foster care.

“As a state, we’ve taken important steps to support young students experiencing homelessness while in our K-12 system, but once they get to college, they lose that network,” Randall said. “College students experiencing ...