2019: THE MOST PRODUCTIVE LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN DECADES!
This year, Working Together for One Washington, with the leadership of Speaker Frank Chopp we made historic progress towards improving the lives of millions, by focusing on the priorities and needs of our people across Washington, the Evergreen State…
FULL FUNDING FOR BASIC EDUCATION
- Increased state funding for Basic Education by billions of dollars for kindergarten through high school
- Provided local voters with greater school levy capacity for enhancements to Basic Education
- Increased funding for special education for students with disabilities across Washington
FREE COLLEGE TUITION FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT THE MOST
- Created the Workforce Education Investment Act and the Washington College Grant with free college tuition for all students from families with low incomes and reduced tuition for middle income families
- Increased targeted funding for high-demand degrees and certificates in health care, science, and technology
- Funded the Guided Pathways and Career Connect programs, and added counselors to support student success
GREEN POWER – BLUE COLLAR
- Mandated 100% clean electricity (no coal-generated power by 2025, and all clean sources by 2045)
- Forged a coalition of environmental advocates and electrical workers to help create tens of thousands of new jobs in the new economy of clean power
- Enacted new laws to address climate change (efficiency standards for commercial buildings and appliances, and more)
HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
- Created Cascade Care, a new option for people across our state to get affordable health insurance
- Sustained our Apple Health program, (providing health care for 1.8 million of our people)
TRANSFORMING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
- Initiated a new Behavioral Health Teaching Hospital at the UW to foster new directions in training and care
- Funded a new Behavioral Health Institute and a 24/7 “tele-psych” hotline for those in crisis across the state
- Made significant investments and reforms in treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders
EXPANDING SOCIAL SECURITY
- Enacted the Long-Term Care Trust Act, a public insurance benefit, to provide an array of support services (including residential facilities, in-home care, equipment and technology) to ease the lives of our elders with disabilities
- Began implementing our Paid Family Leave Act to provide financial support for workers who need to take a leave from work to care for newborns or family members who are ill
HOME AND HOPE
- Authorized nearly $500 million for the State Housing Trust Fund and local government efforts for affordable housing
- Allocated major funding and acquired sites for Home and Hope projects to create thousands of affordable housing units, as well as community services (early learning centers and community health clinics) near transit lines
- Approved reforms in landlord/tenant laws, to the benefit of renters facing evictions and rent increases
AND SO MUCH MORE!
Working together, we…
- Required hospitals to give nurses rest breaks
- Enacted protection and compensation for workers cleaning up nuclear waste at Hanford
- Provided funding to eliminate the backlog in testing of rape kits for sexual assault victims
- Helped to save lives by raising the age to buy tobacco to 21
- Took several actions to help save the Orcas in Puget Sound
- Banned certain toxic chemicals
- Eliminated the use of juvenile detention for non-criminal behavior
- Reformed criminal justice sentencing
- Created a new LGBTQ Commission
- Enacted policies to help prevent bullying of transgender students
- Authorized same-day voter registration
- Guaranteed pre-paid postage for election ballot returns by voters, to strengthen democracy for all
Facebook
Problem displaying Facebook posts. Backup cache in use.
Type: GraphMethodException
Twitter
Twitter
So excited to see this pass today--providing critical funding for #childcare, early learning and education and helping balance our state's tax code! Special thanks to @NoelFrame @gruberobinson Sen Rolfes @ChoppRep for your partnership! #capitalgains #taxfairness #waleg https://twitter.com/InvestWANow/status/1386438517811679236
THANK YOU #waleg, thank you @TanaSenn @NoelFrame @gruberobinson Christine Rolfes for your strong leadership! Send your thanks NOW! --> http://bit.ly/thankyouwaleg <--
Instagram