I thought I would post a photo of this week’s calendar to keep you informed of my various roles in the Senate. Most meetings and committees start at 7:30 or 8 a.m. and end at 6 or 7 p.m. After my last meeting of the day, I work on amending bills, reviewing the bills I’ll be hearing in committee, or answering emails.
My Week 3 Calendar. Click on the image to find how you can request a meeting.
Click this image to watch my full testimony on SB 5238 in the Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee.
This week, I had the opportunity to testify on a bill I helped develop that went to the Senate Business, Financial Structure & Trade Committee. SB 5238 establishes a work group to develop a strategic plan to grow Washington’s hard-hit creative economy and actually build back our place in the film, music, animation and online entertainment markets.
During my time as head of worldwide creative markets for Apple, I oversaw publishing, design, film, photography, the fine arts and more. I know first-hand how important the creative economy is to our amazing local talent, local services and hospitality industry. Thank you, Chair Mullet, for giving me the opportunity to testify in your committee.
I also signed on to cosponsor SB 5327. This is a bipartisan effort to create a confidential tip line for the safety and well-being of our youth. I believe this bill is vital and a necessary addition to my bill SB 6449 that required contact information for suicide prevention organizations to be put on student and staff school ID cards. I’ve had letters from parents – I know this can make a difference.
On Wednesday the Senate had its first floor session (remotely for most members). We engaged in a robust debate regarding SB 5061 on unemployment insurance. A bill by Senator Mona Das, voted out of my education committee, encountered 14 floor amendments and ensuing debate. The bill, SB 5044, mandates equity, inclusion and anti-racism training for school board directors, district and school staff. I ran this bill early because I wanted to signal intention – I said during our challenging summer that we would do better and hold ourselves accountable. I intend to keep my word. Some of the testimony in opposition was frankly ugly, but Senator Steve Hobbs ended debate with a touching sharing of his difficult school experiences with racial discrimination as a Japanese American youth. The bill passed!
Next Tuesday, February 2nd, I’ll be presenting a resolution to the Senate, honoring Henrietta Lacks. I would love to have you tune in and I will share how to my Facebook. Hint: You may not know it, but you and all of your family have been touched by her life.
How to participate in this legislative session:
Watch – Committee meetings, debates, and more can all be seen live or in a recording at TVW.org
Research – Look up legislation by lawmaker or by topic here.
Learn – Learn about the entire legislative process from start to finish here.
Testify – Visit here for an overview of the process. Written testimony is also an option, and you can also email me your story.
