Dear friends and neighbors, The legislative session in Olympia officially adjourned last night after 105 days. We made progress on many fronts, including historic investments in housing, special education, behavioral health, and climate action.
E-Newsletters
Dear friends and neighbors, We are entering the final few weeks of this year's legislative session in Olympia and the pace is picking up. In the coming days, we will release the Senate's operating budget proposal, funding everything from public health and affordable housing to environmental protection and public schools. I'll be sure to share more details about the operating budget in the coming weeks.
Community investments
Funding for several Kitsap projects are included in the Senate’s proposed capital construction budget, which was released this week. It includes funding for parks, community facilities, affordable housing and homelessness ...Read More
Dear friends and neighbors: We have hit the halfway mark of the 2023 legislative session in Olympia. Over the next week, the full Senate will debate and vote on dozens of new policies before the March 8 deadline to pass bills out of the Senate for consideration in the House. You can watch all the floor action live at TVW.org.
23rd District town halls on March 11
Reps. Drew Hansen and Tarra Simmons and I will be holding two in-person town hall meetings on March 11. The first one is from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Olympic ...Read More
Dear friends and neighbors, We are already in the fourth week of the 2023 legislative session, and I’m grateful to be back in Olympia working to find solutions to the big issues facing our state and families here in Kitsap. This year we will meet for 105 days and pass new two-year state budgets funding everything from transportation and public safety to environmental protection and public schools. This is our first in-person session since 2020, but the virtual operations allowing constituents and Washingtonians to testify remotely will continue to be available. I look forward to hearing and meeting many of you in ...
Read More
The holiday season is in full swing here in Kitsap. I hope you can enjoy some peaceful time with those you love as this year comes to a close. As a state senator, I spend a good portion of this season preparing for the upcoming legislative session in Olympia. This year we’ll meet for a long 105-day session as opposed to the shorter 60-day sessions in even years. The 2023 session begins on Jan. 9 and I’m looking forward to making real progress in critical areas like affordability, housing, public safety, and addressing the climate crisis. Earlier this ...
Read More
Dear friends and neighbors, It’s been a rocky road for our local businesses and entertainment venues over the past two and a half years. While many were able to persevere and navigate closures, health restrictions, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, others have not been as fortunate. Last spring the state Legislature approved hundreds of millions of dollars of one-time relief to make sure that small businesses and cultural organizations that were shuttered due to covid were able to revive and thrive in an uncertain economy. While distribution of these funds has been ongoing, there is one final round ...
Read More
Dear friends and neighbors, With just a few weeks left in this year's 60-day legislative session, I'm eager to provide updates and answer your questions today. I hope you will join me and Reps. Drew Hansen and Tara Simmons for a Virtual 23rd District Town Hall this morning at 11 a.m. You can sign up here to watch on zoom or you can watch on YouTube here. I hope to see you this morning and please always feel free to contact me at Christine.Rolfes@leg.wa.gov. Thanks for the opportunity to serve you, Christine
Read More
Dear friends and neighbors, There is less than a month remaining in this year’s 60-day legislative session and we’ve had some exciting developments in recent days with the introduction of a new transportation funding package called Move Ahead Washington. This proposal is possible in part due to infrastructure investments from Congress and an unexpectedly robust state revenue collection in 2021. In this newsletter, I’ll highlight the projects in our district included in the plan. It still has a long way to go to get to the governor’s desk and become law, but this is a crucial first step ...
Read More