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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Last week I had the opportunity to celebrate the re-opening of the recently renovated Lincoln High School (the first new comprehensive high school in our city in nearly 60 years) and attend the re-opening of Town Hall Seattle after two ...
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Controversial bills grab most of the headlines. But every year, the Legislature passes – usually with overwhelming bipartisan support – dozens of bills to modernize and improve state law in a wide range of areas. Since 2010, I have served ...
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