Friends, neighbors—

We’ve hit the halfway point, and we’re done with the part of the session called house of origin cutoff, when we had to get all the Senate bills off the floor. I’m proud of the work we’ve done together—we passed legislation that would provide comprehensive sex education, protect trans kids and their classmates from bullying in schools, make great strides for our environment, ensure that the college students with the highest need are guaranteed the financial aid they need to succeed, regulate the inhumane conditions of migrant workers in our farms and fields, and so much more.

I’m also proud of the bills that I sponsored that we passed out of the Senate. For the next few weeks, I’ll be working to make sure that they get through the House and to the Governor’s desk.

Spotlight: Bills I have passed

When I came to Olympia, I brought with me the stories that I heard from neighbors and friends all around the 26th District, the stories of finding a way to go to college while taking care of kids and family members, of hiding the fact that your family is homeless from fellow students, of getting along while family members are serving overseas, of struggling to pay for health care coverage—or doing without. Those are the stories that keep me going, and they’re the stories that led to the bills I’ve sponsored this year. Nine of those bills passed through the Senate and are still alive:

SB 5822 is the Pathway to Universal Health Care in Washington. With the chaos and the hostility to expanding health care in the current administration, we know that we are not going to get the waivers we need from the federal government right now for a universal health care system. This bill would convene a group of stakeholders to make a plan that would set us up to get that support when there’s a change of administration. We can’t afford to wait around—we need to start preparing now.

SB 5602, the Reproductive Health Access for All Act, prohibits health care discrimination on the basis of immigration status or gender identity.  Our transgender and undocumented neighbors have faced continued discrimination and barriers to care. This bill protects the most vulnerable communities and provides access to the essential health care they need and deserve.

SB 5800 creates pilot programs at six colleges across the state, three on each side of the Cascades, to provide assistance to homeless students and students who have been in foster care. It includes both four-year institutions and community and technical colleges. Once young people experiencing homelessness get to college, they lose the network of support available when they’re younger.

SB 5603 would help the children of service members who are relocating to enroll in school before they have an address in district. This will improve the transition to a new school for the kids, for their families, and for their school districts. As we welcome the families connected to the USS Carl Vinson to our community this year, we want to make sure that no matter what the makeup of your family or how soon you know that you’re coming to our community, we clear the ground for you.

SB 5755 increases the higher education tuition and fee waiver for gold star families, from 200 credits to 250, and expands access to tuition waivers to include veterans and National Guard members who received a general discharge under honorable conditions.

SB 5723, which passed unanimously, protects folks on bikes, on foot, in wheelchairs, and others using our roads, and encourages Washingtonians to get out and use alternative methods of transportation that will help keep themselves and our planet healthy and safe.

SB 5930 creates the first license plate in our state’s history to honor a women’s sports team, our WNBA champion Seattle Storm! This is a victory for gender parity, and the funds raised will go toward investing in the promise of young women and girls.

SB 5622 allows municipal and district court commissioners to officiate at a marriages. This would mean that LGBTQ, immigrant, or non-English speaking couples, or couples of other marginalized communities could approach someone a little more like themselves to perform their wedding.

SB 5764 changes the name of the Medical Quality Assurance Commission (“MQAC”) to the Washington Medical Commission, to make the name less confusing—and to take the “quack” out of “M-quack.”

Town Halls

On Saturday, March 23, I’ll be hosting town halls in Bremerton, Gig Harbor and Vaughn. I’m eager to share the work we’ve been doing to expand health care access and reduce costs, as well as to make living and learning more affordable for everyone, including veterans and gold star families.

My top priority is opening the door to Legislature to every member of our community—hearing your issues and concerns, and reporting back to you on what we’ve done so far. You are essential to our democratic process. Thank you for participating, and I hope to see you there!

Let us know if you can make it to one of the events by clicking on the links below:

You can see them all at the link here.

My week in Olympia

I believe in transparency, and I want to keep you all informed about what I’m doing on behalf of the 26th District in Olympia. That’s why I’m making a practice of posting my calendar each week on Facebook. You can always see the last week’s calendar on my Facebook page.

Keep in touch

We are all eager to hear from you about your priorities. I hope you’ll follow me on Facebook so you can see what we’re up to. And please feel free to reach out anytime at 360-786-7650 or Emily.Randall@leg.wa.gov. The more we hear from you, the better our work in Olympia can reflect our shared values and goals.

All my best,