Category Archives: E-News

13 May
0

Legislature takes action on housing, homelessness

Dear friends and neighbors, The housing and homelessness crisis is among the most urgent challenges our region faces. In the past year, we’ve again learned valuable lessons about how essential affordable housing is, since during the pandemic your home became ...

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10 May
0

Climate action in the state legislature

In the final days of this year’s session, the legislature reached agreement on several historic pieces of legislation to decrease carbon emissions in our state and protect the environment. Combatting climate change The Climate Commitment Act (SB 5126) puts our ...

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Washington State Capitol Building
30 Apr
1

Legislative action on childcare and early learning

Dear friends and neighbors: Years from now, we will remember the Fair Start for Kids Act (SB 5237) as a landmark achievement of the 2021 legislative session. Our childcare and early learning system was in crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic.  ...

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25 Apr
0

Legislature adjourns; police accountability bills approved

Dear friends and neighbors, The 2021 Legislature has adjourned for the year. While the 105-day session was conducted mostly on Zoom, we managed to complete our work on time for the fourth year in a row and enact historic policies ...

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02 Mar
0

Progress on police accountability & town hall coming up

Dear friends and neighbors: We are nearing the halfway mark of the 105-day legislative session in Olympia. Our top priority this session has been to help the people of our state make it through the pandemic. The legislature passed and ...

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Washington State Capitol Building
15 Jan
0

2021 legislative session begins

Dear friends and neighbors, The 2021 legislative session started this week under circumstances unlike any in our state’s history.  Our legislative buildings in Olympia were surrounded by security fencing. Hundreds of personnel from the Washington National Guard and State Patrol ...

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25 Jun
0

Dismantling Racism in Policing

A colleague of mine recently quipped that in 2020, we have been living simultaneously through 1918, 1932, and 1968. It has indeed been an unsettled and unsettling year, causing me to reflect on the profound challenges we face and inspiring ...

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27 Mar
0

State government responds to the pandemic

The last few weeks have been difficult and emotional for people here in Seattle and across the world. Our response to COVID-19 has required us all to alter our lives drastically for a common goal: to reduce the rate of ...

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14 Feb
0

Sen. Pedersen's legislative update

We passed the halfway mark this week on our 60-day legislative session in Olympia. The pace has been intense as we considered more than 1,800 bills on subjects ranging from homelessness and behavioral health to education and gun violence. We ...

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19 Sep
0

2019 Session Review: For the people, by the people

Often the best ideas for new laws originate with friends and neighbors who are willing to tell their stories and put in hours of work to develop and advance legislation. One example close to my heart this week is the ...

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