{"id":3687,"date":"2023-04-14T12:21:02","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T19:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/orwall\/?p=3687"},"modified":"2026-04-30T13:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T20:39:54","slug":"newsletter-update-on-bills-nursing-shortage-capital-budget-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/orwall\/2023\/04\/14\/newsletter-update-on-bills-nursing-shortage-capital-budget-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsletter: Update on bills, nursing shortage, capital budget & more!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear friends and neighbors,<\/p>\n

With just nine days left of session, this is the final stretch and, as you can imagine, we\u2019re all in overdrive to get the work of the people done on time. This week, we passed Senate bills off the House floor, and the Senate did the same with our bills. Now we\u2019re working on reconciling differences between both budget proposals. You can feel the intensity in every marble wall of this historic building! \u00a0In the midst of all this activity, though, we pause and make time to take in the beauty of the cherry blossoms in full bloom at the Capitol campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Bills\u2019 Status Report: SUCCESS!
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I am so excited that all of my bills (or their companions) passed and are either coming back to the House for concurrence or on their way to the governor\u2019s desk!<\/strong><\/p>\n

HB 1028<\/strong><\/a>, my measure to\u00a0support crime victims and witnesses<\/strong>\u00a0by promoting victim-centered, trauma-informed responses in the legal system and providing counseling resources, was passed unanimously by the Legislature yesterday and has been sent to the governor.\u00a0KOMO TV had a story<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on my bill last weekend.<\/p>\n

My legislation to continue the\u00a0implementation of the 988<\/strong>\u00a0behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention system,\u00a0HB 1134<\/strong><\/a>, passed the Senate unanimously on April 8. I was on\u00a0TVW\u2019s Inside Olympia<\/strong>\u00a0last night<\/a>\u00a0discussing this bill, as well as behavioral health in general, including the\u00a0Blake legislation<\/a><\/strong>, which passed the House on April 11 with a 54-41\u00a0 vote.<\/p>\n

While we are on this topic, you may remember In my previous newsletter I told you about\u00a0SB 5022<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0legalizing strips to test for fentanyl.<\/strong>\u00a0It is very similar to my\u00a0HB 1006<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that did not move. The Senate bill was amended to rename it the\u00a0Patrick Janicki and Allisone McClanahan Act,\u00a0<\/em>two young people who lost their lives due to having consumed pills that, unbeknownst to them, contained fentanyl. Their stories are heartbreaking, click on their names (Patrick<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Allisone<\/a><\/strong>) to read about them. While SB 5022 did not make it out of the House before Wednesday\u2019s 5 pm deadline, I am grateful that the policy was integrated into the Blake bill mentioned in the previous paragraph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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HB 1165<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0was passed unanimously on March 31 and was signed into law by Governor Inslee yesterday! This measure establishes the Uniform Civil Remedies for the\u00a0Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act<\/strong>, providing a right of action for the actual disclosure of intimate images, as well as for damages caused by the threatened disclosure of these images.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the Legislature approved\u00a0HB 1222<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0with an 88-8 vote and it\u2019s on its way to the governor. This legislation requires\u00a0large group health plans to cover\u00a0hearing devices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

My bill on unscrupulous contractors,\u00a0HB 1534<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0was also passed by the Legislature yesterday on a unanimous vote. This measure strengthens\u00a0protections for consumers in the construction industry<\/strong>\u00a0by establishing penalties for bad actors and creating the Homeowner Recovery Program for consumers who are wronged by dishonorable contractors.<\/p>\n

My two foreclosure-related bills,\u00a0HB 1349<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0HB 1636<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0passed the Senate with a unanimous vote on April 6 and 7, respectively. And there\u2019s more good news: HB 1636 was amended in the Senate to include the policy in\u00a0HB 1637<\/strong><\/a>, which did not make it out of the House. Read all about these\u00a0foreclosure protections<\/strong>\u00a0bills in\u00a0this press release<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I teamed-up with Rep. Gina Mosbrucker on\u00a0HB 1564<\/a><\/strong>, which bans the sale of\u00a0over-the-counter sexual assault kits<\/strong>. The problem with these kits is that they are deceiving; OTC kits are ineligible for testing at the Washington crime lab, cannot be entered in CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), and are out of the chain of custody, so they are\u00a0not admissible in court<\/strong>. The only thing they do is give victims false hope. I am happy to report that the Legislature approved it unanimously yesterday.\u00a0
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Another victory was passage of\u00a0SB 5087<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on April 7 with a 58-39 vote. It was contentious and\u00a0the debate was long and, at times, heated<\/a><\/strong>, but I truly believe we did the right thing by abolishing several\u00a0unconstitutional statutes<\/strong>, including the death penalty. I sponsored the\u00a0House version<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0of this bill. Read\u00a0yesterday\u2019s Everett Herald editorial<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on this issue.<\/p>\n

We passed\u00a0SB 5114<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0with solid bipartisan support (94-1) on April 12. This is the companion to\u00a0my bill<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0supporting adults with lived experience of sex trafficking<\/strong>. This legislation has been a long time in the making and came to fruition thanks to the collaboration with survivors, advocates and colleagues. It is the first of its kind to create a network of services to support survivors of sex trafficking. As we crafted the bill, bringing so many elements together, we realized that what this measure is actually offering are healing centers. The different levels of support included in this bill will enable people to exit their trafficking situation and begin their journey toward freedom. This week finally, after two years, this legislation is on its way to the governor\u2019s desk.\u00a0Sen. Claire Wilson<\/a><\/strong>, who sponsored the bill, and I commemorated the moment right after this great bill passed:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Addressing Washington\u2019s Nursing Crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Serving on the Health Care and Wellness Committee has helped me better understand the complexities of hospital staffing, particularly since we are experiencing a serious nursing shortage in our state. According to the Washington Center for Nursing, an average of 2,600 people graduated as registered nurses from 2014-2019, but close to the same number are expected to retire through 2029. In other words, we are\u00a0replacing<\/em>\u00a0the nurses in the workforce,\u00a0not growing<\/em>\u00a0the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Last year we added 220 nursing education slots, a good start, but it\u2019s not enough to meet current needs. This session we passed a package of bills to retain the existing workforce, attract new nurses to the state, and graduate new nurses:<\/p>\n

SB 5236<\/a><\/strong>, strengthens accountability to\u00a0hospital staffing plans<\/strong>. If hospitals fall below 80 percent compliance with their staffing plans, they will be assigned corrective action plans. The bill also expands meal and rest break laws to include all frontline staff, closes loopholes to make mandatory overtime laws fully enforceable, and ensures hospitals follow the law.<\/p>\n

SB 5499<\/a><\/strong>, enters Washington into the\u00a0Nurse Licensure Compact<\/strong>, an agreement between 37 states that allows for a multistate nursing license. This means a nurse licensed in one of the participating states can work as a nurse in any of the other 36.<\/p>\n

SB 5582<\/a><\/strong>, reduces barriers and expands educational opportunities to\u00a0increase the supply of nurses<\/strong>\u00a0in Washington by, among other things, requiring the development of an online Licensed Practical Nurse program; creating a marketing plan to advertise available nurse training opportunities and jobs in Washington; and creating pilot programs for high school students and working caregivers.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Capital Budget Highlights<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I also serve on the Capital Budget Committee and am excited with the historic investments we are making this biennium.<\/p>\n

\"cap<\/p>\n

Our $8.3 billion budget proposal sets a new state record for construction funding. These are just a few of the highlights:<\/p>\n