Dear friends and neighbors,  

We’ve got just about a week and a half left before our first deadline of the session — Jan. 31. That’s when policy bills will need to make it through their committee of origin. After Jan. 31, much of the action will happen on the Senate floor.  

Rep. Jamila Taylor’s House Bill 2184 made it through committee in the House on Friday. Why am I telling you about a House bill? Because it’s important. It would allow parental caregivers of children with developmental disabilities to get paid, and that’s why I’m sponsoring the Senate’s version of the bill. 

In the House, so many parents bravely shared their stories in committee — details of what the day-to-day caregiving looks like for them and their child with developmental disabilities or complex medical needs and the financial strain it puts on their families.  

Currently, our state offers waiver funds to cover the cost of caregiving in the home. These children go through extensive evaluations to qualify for these benefits, but in Washington state, those funds cannot go directly to the child’s parents before the child turns 18. There are simply not enough caregivers in our state to support these families. So, these personal care hours often go unused if a caregiver can’t be found. The solution is allowing these already allocated funds to be spent on the parents who are taking care of their children around the clock.  

As one mother who testified put it in committee, “Inaccessible services are not services.” 

This issue is deeply personal to me. I remember my mom constantly looking for caregivers for my sister Olivia while also trying to hold down a job and pay bills. No family should risk going bankrupt to take care of their child. 

Last week, on the Senate floor, we passed a bill that would require school districts to adopt curricula with inclusive, age-appropriate materials that tell the histories, contributions and perspectives of LGBTQ+ Washingtonians. All of our students deserve to feel seen and heard in the classroom.  

As my friend Sen. Liias, the bill’s sponsor, put it, “It’s never too early for a student to start learning the values of tolerance and kindness towards others.”  

The bill now heads to the House. 

Hearing from you 

I love when constituents visit my office! Your input is so important to the work we do in Olympia.  

Last week, I got to meet with organizers with Communities for Our Colleges who also care deeply about making college and career training programs more affordable. We’ve done a lot on this in the Legislature in recent years, but there’s still more to do. 

How you can get involved this session   

  • Learn how the legislative process works here.    
  • Find legislation here.  
  • Watch committee hearings, floor debates and more on TVW.    
  • Testify in committee hearings in person or remotely by signing up here. See what’s going on each day by checking out the Legislature’s calendar.  
  • Reach out to my office anytime at 360-786-7650 or Emily.Randall@leg.wa.gov. You can also follow along for more legislative updates on my official Facebook and Instagram pages.