{"id":2571,"date":"2021-01-15T19:02:39","date_gmt":"2021-01-16T02:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/?p=2571"},"modified":"2021-01-15T19:30:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-16T02:30:10","slug":"the-2021-legislative-session-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/2021\/01\/15\/the-2021-legislative-session-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2021 legislative session begins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dear neighbors,<\/p>\n<p>The 2021 legislative session started this week, and opening day was unlike any other. COVID-19 still poses a very real threat to public health, so we cannot take the risks involved in holding an entirely in-person session this year. Legislative staff worked hard over the interim to develop effective methods to hold a mostly remote legislative session, and their hard work has paid off.<\/p>\n<p>Even though it\u2019s mostly remote, the session is running smoothly, and the legislative process is actually more accessible than ever. Universal remote testimony now allows people to testify on bills who otherwise could not travel to Olympia to testify. Plus, there several ways you can engage with your legislators this session!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ways to participate in the Legislature this session<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2572 size-medium alignright\" style=\"font-size: 16px\" src=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"An empty table, atop it are a silver laptop, white coffee mug, small pad of paper and pen, and a black smartphone.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-500x335.jpg 500w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/andrew-neel-cckf4TsHAuw-unsplash-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Testify remotely <\/strong>in hearings on bills you care about.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To testify remotely in the Senate: <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/Senate\">https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li>To \u00a0testify remotely in the House: <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/House\">https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/House<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Submit written testimony<\/strong> on bills you care about.<\/p>\n<p>You can submit written testimony on any bill scheduled for a public hearing. This system was improved this year, and written testimony is now directed to committee members and staff, rather than just to your district\u2019s legislators, which was how it was directed in the past.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To submit written testimony in the Senate, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/Senate\">https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li>To submit written testimony in the House: <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/House\">https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/CSIRemote\/House<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Set up a Zoom meeting<\/strong> with your legislator: Due to Covid-19 protocols, legislators won\u2019t be meeting in person with constituents, but you\u2019re encouraged to schedule Zoom meetings with your legislators. You can reach my office at <a href=\"mailto:Claire.Wilson@leg.wa.gov\">Claire.Wilson@leg.wa.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch it all on TVW<\/strong>. As always, every committee meeting, floor session, press conference and special event will be broadcast at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvw.org\/\">TVW.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A look at solutions to the childcare crisis<\/strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2573 size-medium alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/blocks-3629359_1280-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Multicolored toy alphabet blocks.\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/blocks-3629359_1280-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/blocks-3629359_1280-1024x731.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/blocks-3629359_1280-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/blocks-3629359_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h3>\n<p>I look forward to sharing more information about my other bills in future email updates, but today I\u2019m eager to tell you about the efforts I\u2019m making this session to bring real relief and solutions to the childcare crisis our communities are facing.<\/p>\n<p>Childcare was in crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it\u2019s on the brink of collapse. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamberfoundation.org\/reports\/mounting-costs-childcare-washington-state\">report published by the Association of Washington Business<\/a>, the child care crisis already costs Washington businesses $2.08 billion a year. Working parents in Washington forgo $14 billion a year in lost wages due to the lack of childcare access. In the wake of the pandemic, the problem has worsened, with huge numbers of parents leaving the workforce or reducing hours, losing access to economic stability due to reduced access to childcare as well as due to school closures and the new remote learning environment.\u00a0 For many families school was the care setting for their children while they were at work.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, <a href=\"https:\/\/housedemocrats.wa.gov\/senn\/\">Rep. Tana Senn<\/a> and I introduced the Fair Start for Kids Act, <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary?BillNumber=5237&amp;Year=2021&amp;Initiative=false\">Senate Bill 5237<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary?BillNumber=1213&amp;Year=2021&amp;Initiative=false\">House Bill 1213<\/a>. It takes a multi-faceted approach to solving the childcare crisis, addressing racial equity and helping the economy. The bill aims to make childcare more affordable for families, stabilize and expand the diverse childcare workforce, support the expansion of childcare, and strengthen prevention and intervention services. Through measures such as increasing childcare subsidy rates, reducing families\u2019 copays, and offering business and mental health supports, the Fair Start for Kids Act will aid in getting parents back to work, our economy up and running, and more kids a fair start in life.<\/p>\n<p>My staff and I welcome your input on the issues that are important to you and your community.\u00a0 You can reach us at <a href=\"mailto:Claire.Wilson@leg.wa.gov\">Claire.Wilson@leg.wa.gov<\/a>.\u00a0 We hope to hear from you soon!<\/p>\n<p>Sincerely,<\/p>\n<p>Claire Wilson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear neighbors, The 2021 legislative session started this week, and opening day was unlike any other. COVID-19 still poses a very real threat to public health, so we cannot take the risks involved in holding an entirely in-person session this year. Legislative staff worked hard over the interim to develop effective methods to hold a mostly remote legislative session, and their hard work has paid off. Even though it\u2019s mostly remote, the session is running smoothly, and the legislative process is actually more accessible than ever. Universal remote testimony now allows people to testify on bills who otherwise could not&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":2577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The 2021 legislative session begins - Sen. Claire Wilson<\/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\/wilson\/2021\/01\/15\/the-2021-legislative-session-begins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 2021 legislative session begins - Sen. Claire Wilson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear neighbors, The 2021 legislative session started this week, and opening day was unlike any other. COVID-19 still poses a very real threat to public health, so we cannot take the risks involved in holding an entirely in-person session this year. Legislative staff worked hard over the interim to develop effective methods to hold a mostly remote legislative session, and their hard work has paid off. Even though it\u2019s mostly remote, the session is running smoothly, and the legislative process is actually more accessible than ever. Universal remote testimony now allows people to testify on bills who otherwise could not...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/wilson\/2021\/01\/15\/the-2021-legislative-session-begins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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