|| FROM REP. DEBRA LEKANOFF |||

Happy Lunar New Year!

Today, the House is recognizing the Lunar New Year to honor heritage, cultural unity, and new beginnings in the Year of the Ox. When we celebrate Lunar New Year, we are highlighting Asian American joy and traditions, as well as the rich diversity within Washington’s Asian community. This year’s celebration is also an opportunity to acknowledge the resilience of Asian American frontline employees, essential workers, and small businesses, many of whom have stood unwavering in the face of xenophobia and racism for generations leading up to this pandemic.

Join us to watch cultural performances and remarks from Washington state leaders at our virtual Lunar New Year celebration at 12 p.m. Join the event on Facebook.

The Washington Green Amendment

Despite state environmental laws, regulations and agencies, Washington’s water, air, soils, and ecosystems are being degraded, affecting our health and lives. That’s why I’ve introduced a resolution to ensure the rights of all Washingtonians to clean water and air, a stable climate and healthy environment.

The Washington Green Amendment amends Article I of the Washington State Constitution to recognize the rights of every Washingtonian to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, healthy ecosystems, and a stable climate, for both present and future generations.

As an amendment to the state constitution, the Washington Green Amendment requires two-thirds vote in each house of the Legislature. Once through the Legislature, the amendment would be on the ballot during the next general election. That means every Washingtonian will have the opportunity to vote on whether environmental rights should be protected by the state constitution.

I believe this amendment is a foundation that generations of lawmakers can build upon to ensure we make decisions that reflect a prosperous economy and a healthy environment. If we are going to grow Washington; let us grow it in a way that reflects the values of generations of Washingtonians and all those who built this great state. This bill is not to hinder growth, the economy or jobs, it is to respect the history of Washingtonians who made decisions to preserve and honor, and to ensure our generations to come can enjoy a clean environment and healthy natural resources.

The Washington STRONG Act Introduced

Before the session even began, I announced legislation that would authorize a 10-year series of “green” bonds, new financing tools that will stimulate the economy, create jobs, and transition Washington to a clean economy. I introduced the bill, Washington STRONG Act, this week!

Washington STRONG could unlock more than $16 billion for direct investment and has the potential to create upwards of 150,000 jobs by providing much-needed local stimulus with a focus on rural economic development and frontline communities. These recovery bonds will be financed by a per-ton price on carbon, and the proposal has been carefully constructed to minimize the impact on agricultural sectors, moderate and low-income households, and energy intensive and trade exposed businesses.

Washington STRONG will generate a sustainable funding stream needed to finance a resilient recovery and transition Washington to a clean economy. This policy is based on our state’s needs right now, one that puts environmental justice first, instead of increasing inequity and placing the burden on our most impacted communities.

Funding Child Care with a Capital Gains Tax 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of child care for working families and the business community. It’s imperative we invest in child care for immediate and long-term economic recovery. Last week, my colleague Rep. Tana Senn introduced a proposal that will help our state do just that. House Bill 1496 will bolster economic recovery and the economic well-being of working families by funding the expansion and affordability of child care through a capital gains tax. 

Moving to Phase 2

Yesterday, Gov. Inslee announced that five new regions have met the metric requirements to progress to Phase 2 of the Healthy Washington reopening plan. The North region, which includes Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island Counties, will move to Phase 2 on Sunday, February 14. For more information about what moving into Phase 2 means for our communities, check out this recent KIRO 7 article. 

Vaccine Updates

Whatcom County: The Whatcom County Health Department (WCHD) is opening a new drive through testing site in Bellingham starting Monday, February 15. The new site will be located at the Bellingham International Airport, in parking lot A, a space provided by the Port of Bellingham at no cost. The Bellingham community testing site will run 7 days a week from 12-3 p.m. and from 4-7 p.m. While testing will begin at the site on Feb. 15, individuals may begin scheduling testing appointments this week beginning Feb. 10 at 7:15 p.m. 

The testing site at the Lynden Fairgrounds will continue to operate with a slightly modified schedule starting on Feb. 17. Wednesdays will be the only day affected by the schedule change, operating from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. The Lynden site will also be closed on Monday, Feb. 15 in observance of President’s Day, but the new Bellingham site will be open that day. 

Skagit County: Vaccine is available by appointment only at the Skagit County Fairgrounds when supply is available. First-dose vaccine appointments can be scheduled online at https://prepmod.doh.wa.gov/

Skagit County Public Health asks that you please schedule appointments online. A detailed online scheduling guide is available in English and in Spanish. If after reviewing the guide you still need assistance, call the Vaccine Hotline at 360-416-1500. 

An update for the week of 2/15 will be provided on their website on Saturday, February 13^th at 9:00 AM: www.skagitcounty.net/. For a list of other vaccine providers, visit: https://www.doh.wa.gov/.

San Juan County: At this time, vaccine eligibility is limited to individuals in the Phase 1a or Phase 1b Tier 1 groups. This includes healthcare workers, first responders, those over 65, and those over 50 and caring for a grandchild or elder. Full details are available here.

Please note that demand for the vaccine is far exceeding supply. To date, on average, San Juan County is receives 200 doses per week, while there are around 5,000 islanders currently eligible. San Juan County has the capacity to deliver 1,000 doses per week, but at this time is limited by vaccine availability. 

The San Juan County Hotline, 360-370-7500, operates 8:30am-4:30pm M-F.

Constituent Corner: Ranked Choice Voting

I’ve heard from many of you in support of House Bill 1156, also known as, ranked choice voting. The goal of the bill, which was introduced by my colleague Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley, is to increase representation and voter participation in local elections. I’m proud to be cosponsoring this legislation!

Ranked choice voting is a system of counting votes in which votes are tabulated based on a voter’s ranking of candidates in order of preference. In elections where there are more than two candidates for a single position, the winner is determined using the instant runoff voting method in which ballots are counted in rounds simulating a series of runoffs until two candidates remain or until one candidate has a majority of all votes counting in that round. The candidate having the greatest number of votes is declared the winner.

The bill had a hearing this week in the State Government & Tribal Relations Committee, on which I serve as Vice Chair. Over 1600 people signed in to testify on the bill. So many, in fact, that we were not able to get to everyone during our allotted time. Thank you to all those who hung in there throughout the whole hearing and ended up sending in written testimony. People like testifier Cindy Madigan, from the League of Women Voters, who personally emailed her testimony to me in my capacity as Vice Chair of the committee. It’s so inspiring to see so many deeply engaged with their democracy!

Notable Meetings

Terrific Tuesday Roundtable on Housing and Homelessness  

This week’s roundtable convened affordable housing developers, service providers, and community advocates to discuss updates and legislative priorities, COVID-19 impacts, and current policy efforts. As of this week, both the House and Senate have passed HB 1368, which distributes $2.2 billion of federal funding to direct COVID-19 relief, including $365 million in housing. This includes funding for rental and utility assistance, service providers, dispute resolution, foreclosure assistance, small landlords most impacted by unpaid rent, and eviction moratorium enforcement. As we continue to plan for our recovery, we must proactively consider policy that brings housing and income stability to our communities and ensures a housing first model. As Brien Thane, Executive Director of the Bellingham/Whatcom Housing Authorities, said, “we must focus on the emergency assistance needed right now during the pandemic, but also take direct action to expand our affordable housing inventory for the future.” A huge thank you to all of our housing providers and advocates for taking care of our communities!      

Roundtable on Environment and Climate Change  

As a part of the Environmental Lobby Days this week, my office hosted a roundtable discussion with 40^th District and statewide environmental advocates to discuss their legislative priorities. Senator Liz Lovelett gave an update on Washington STRONG (HB 1513 and SB 5373), Front and Centered updated us on the HEAL Act (SB 5141) and environmental justice priorities, and Maya van Rossum, founder of For the Generations, gave an update on the WA Green Amendment (HJR 4205), which is scheduled for a public hearing on Monday! Learn how to testify here. Other topics we discussed included my salmon GMA and net-ecological gain proposal (HB 1117), as well as my bill to honor Billy Frank Jr (HB 1372). Both bills are scheduled for a public hearing in the Appropriations Committee on February 16. Our economic recovery must go hand in hand with environmental protection and building climate resiliency – our Mother Earth cannot afford to wait. Our communities can emerge from this pandemic more economic and climate resilient and we must act now.

Constituent Coffee  

Thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday’s Constituent Coffee! This week we discussed several topics, including environmental priorities, such as WA STRONG, Salmon GMA and the Green Amendment. We also discussed vaccine distribution, including ensuring our teachers, school staff, and other frontline workers get vaccinated, as well as racial equity, adequately funding counselling services, increasing access to affordable childcare, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and supporting parents as their roles at home have evolved during thee pandemic

These events are an opportunity for you to hear from me about what’s going on in the Legislature and to ask questions or make comments on current legislation. I’ll be hosting these events each week throughout session, so pre-register today and check back in for more details on future events. If you have any questions, please contact my Legislative Assistant, Kaylee, at kaylee.galloway@leg.wa.gov.

In the News

Environmental Legislation

“Earlier this month, Lekanoff proposed a bill that would revise the state’s existing development planning framework to include funding for salmon protection….Promoting sustainable and healthy communities, she has supported and proposed significant environmental legislation. Lekanoff and two other Democrats in the legislature proposed the Washington Strong Act alongside the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act at the end of 2020. These measures would fund green infrastructure and jobs and turn governmental policy focus towards environmental health disparities.” – via a recent article in GlacierHub, the blog of the Earth Institute at Columbia University 

Banning Native American Mascots at Public Schools

“A bill introduced by a Democratic state lawmaker in Washington on Friday would prohibit the “inappropriate” use of Native American names, symbols or images for public school mascots, logos or team names.” – via a recent article on Fox News

“The bill’s intention, Lekanoff said, during a house Education Committee hearing last week, is to reclaim the regalia and other cultural items important to Native heritage that have been appropriated as mascots and team names.”  – via a recent Everett Herald Editorial 

Two New Leadership Opportunities

The Council for State Governments West

I’ve recently been chosen to serve as the Council of State Governments West (CSG West) delegate to the Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) during the 2021-22 biennium. In the role I will provide guidance to NCSL on important decisions regarding policy priorities, communication and outreach to legislators and conference operations and promote NCSL here at the Washington State Legislature.

The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators

I’ve also been selected by the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) as the  2021 Washington State Lead. NCEL is a nonprofit that organizes over 1,000 environmentally-committed state legislators from all 50 states and both major parties, and provides opportunities for lawmakers to share ideas and collaborate on their environmental priorities. As a State Lead, I will assist in advancing environmental issues here in Washington and have a leadership role in NCEL by coordinating relevant in-state events and introducing my colleagues to the caucus.

Thank you all for taking to the time to read this week’s Fantastic Friday, and for taking an interest in our progress at the House of Representatives. I will be sending out a Fantastic Friday letter each week throughout the legislative session. 

Please feel free to reach out to me using the information below, with any questions, inquiries, or concerns you may have.

I am here for you!