{"id":985,"date":"2019-01-22T08:44:14","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T16:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sdc.wastateleg.org\/pedersen\/?p=946"},"modified":"2020-09-22T10:18:43","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T17:18:43","slug":"946","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/pedersen\/2019\/01\/22\/946\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Pedersen's legislative update: 2019 session begins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2019 legislative session began on January 14. This will be a \u201clong\u201d regular session, because we will pass two-year operating, capital, and transportation budgets for the state before our scheduled adjournment on Sunday, April 28.<\/p>\n\n\n

After the 2019 election, Democrats hold larger majorities in the Senate (28-21) and House (57-41). Our team of Senate Democrats is strong, diverse, and determined to create smart policy and make targeted investments that will improve life for people in our communities.<\/p>\n\n\n

Committees<\/h2>\n\n\n

I will continue to chair the Senate Law & Justice Committee<\/a>, which has jurisdiction\nover civil and criminal law issues such as gun regulations, family law, the\ndeath penalty, and police use of deadly force. I will continue to serve on the Senate\nWays & Means Committee<\/a>, which writes the state\u2019s operating and capital\nbudgets and reviews every bill with a fiscal impact. I will also sit on the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee<\/a> and on\nthe Senate Rules Committee<\/a>, which decides which bills the full\nSenate will consider.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

My bills<\/h2>\n\n\n

Senators have introduced more than 400 bills so far this year. I am the\nprime sponsor of seven of those bills. Here are two highlights:<\/p>\n\n\n

Condo liability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

The lack of affordable housing is one of the great challenges that our\nregion faces. Experts tell us that an inadequate supply of condominiums has\nexacerbated this problem. Condos provide a critical rung on the housing ladder,\nboth allowing people to purchase a first home and start building equity and\nalso allowing empty-nesters an opportunity to leave a single-family home\nwithout going directly to assisted living.<\/p>\n\n\n

Unfortunately, developers have built very few new condominiums in the Puget Sound region in the last 10 years. Part of the reason is the common perception that Washington law imposes substantial liability on developers and contractors for claimed construction defects. Over the summer and fall, I brought stakeholders together to negotiate a compromise to help revitalize this market. SB 5334<\/a> is the result of those negotiations. I am hopeful that its carefully crafted language will strike a better balance between protecting consumers who purchase defective homes and protecting developers and contractors from unfounded claims.<\/p>\n\n\n

The bill will have its first public hearing next Monday, Jan. 28 in the\nSenate Law & Justice Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n

Recomposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

It\u2019s not often that a bill introduced in the Washington State Legislature\nmakes news in New York<\/a> and London<\/a>, but SB 5001<\/a> has sparked interest from national and\ninternational media outlets in the past few weeks. The legislation would expand\noptions in our state for disposing of human remains. It would allow both\nalkaline hydrolysis (reducing remains in a bath of water and a strong base) and\nrecomposition (placing bodies in a vessel with organic material such as wood\nchips, accelerating the natural transition to nutrient-dense soil). Researchers\nfrom Washington State University<\/a> have found the process to be\nsafe and less expensive and better for the environment than burial or\ncremation.<\/p>\n\n\n

Thinking about death and the disposition of our bodies is not pleasant, but\nevery one of us will face this issue. Technology has transformed most aspects\nof our lives, but state law leaves us with the only two options \u2013 burial and\ncremation \u2013 people have used for thousands of years. It is time that Washington\nresidents have other, better options.<\/p>\n\n\n

Stay in touch<\/h2>\n\n\n

Thank you for taking the time to read this update. I feel honored to begin\nmy 13th year serving you in Olympia and welcome your comments and questions\nabout issues before the legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n

Best wishes,
\nJamie<\/p>\n\n\n

Senator Jamie Pedersen
43rd Legislative District
Jamie.Pedersen@leg.wa.gov<\/a>
(360) 786-7628 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2019 legislative session began on January 14. This will be a \u201clong\u201d regular session, because we will pass two-year operating, capital, and transportation budgets for the state before our scheduled adjournment on Sunday, April 28. After the 2019 election, Democrats hold larger majorities in the Senate (28-21) and House (57-41). Our team of Senate Democrats is strong, diverse, and determined to create smart policy and make targeted investments that will improve life for people in our communities. Committees I will continue to chair the Senate Law & Justice Committee, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal law issues such…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSen. Pedersen's legislative update: 2019 session begins - Sen. Jamie Pedersen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/pedersen\/2019\/01\/22\/946\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sen. 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