||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. DEBRA LEKANOFF |||
Let State Redistricting Commission know what you think of their proposed legislative district maps
On Tuesday, the Washington State Redistricting Commission released the four proposed legislative district maps from each of the voting commissioners. Those maps are now live on their website, so be sure to check them out and provide your feedback!
House Democrats believe that uniting and strengthening communities starts with listening to those most impacted. Commissioner April Sims, appointed by the House Democratic Caucus, drew a proposed map by reaching out to communities that had been excluded in the past and respecting the wishes of tribal partners as much as possible.
The result? A map with the goal of keeping communities of interest together, providing opportunities for fair representation, and reflecting feedback from the public. The final maps should put the people of Washington state first by uniting and strengthening communities all across the state.
What do you think? Your participation in the redistricting process is vital, so whether online or at the upcoming outreach meeting on October 5, help ensure every Washingtonian has the opportunity for fair representation and our districts reflect the ever-changing diversity of our state by weighing in!
Register for the October 5 Meeting
If you wish to provide public comment on the state legislative map proposals, sign up to testify at the meeting to be held on October 5 at 7 p.m. by visiting the Public Outreach Meetings page on the commission website and clicking the “Register for Public Comment” button. There is no need to register for the meeting if you simply want to watch the meeting. You can watch the Commission’s meeting live on TVW or on their YouTube page.
The meeting will be broadcast in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. If interpretation in another language is needed, you can request it upon registration.
Statewide Eviction Moratorium extended to Oct. 31
Yesterday, Governor Inslee extended the statewide eviction bridge to October 31. This extension will give counties additional time to get rental relief money out the door.
State law ensures legal representation for low income renters in eviction court. If you believe you qualify and would like an attorney appointed to represent you, contact the Eviction Defense Screening Line at 855-657-8387 or apply online here: https://nwjustice.org/apply-
More information on assistance programs is available here: www.atg.wa.gov/landlord-tenant
An Update on Ferries
Over the last few weeks, we have heard from many concerned San Juan County residents about the ferry system. Washington State Ferries (WSF), our state’s marine highway system and only transportation option available for San Juan County residents, has been experiencing challenges only exacerbated by the pandemic. The unprecedented frequency of service disruptions that passengers have endured, either through severely delayed sailings or cancellations, has been and continues to be unacceptable. This is not a matter of inconvenience—this is a matter of livelihood and whether people can get to doctor’s appointments, commute to work, get food for their families, and other essential reasons for travel.
With ferries being a top priority, legislators established a formal Ferry Caucus within the Legislature to better organize and advocate for desperately needed funding to replace our aging fleet, minimize service disruptions, and improve overall service. We are also working towards supporting recruitment and retention of our essential ferry workers who have continued to show up every day during this pandemic and work overtime to ensure our ferry system functions to the best of its ability. We recognize workforce shortages has remained a significant challenge for WSF and has strained the entire system and put workers in difficult situations.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our office.
ICYMI: Green Amendment Webinar
Last week, I joined Maya van Rossum, national expert and Founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, for a webinar, including a question and answer session, on the potential of a Washington State Green Amendment (HJR 4205), which I introduced this past session, to transform how we think about and pursue environmental protection and environmental justice from both a policy and legal perspective. In case you missed it, you can watch the webinar on YouTube.
San Juan County Economic Development Council Meeting
This week, I met with members of the San Juan County EDC to provide legislative updates on critical economic development issues such as childcare, ferries, natural resources, and tourism. We also heard from Dr. Laurie Trautman, Director of the WWU Border Policy Research Institute, on the impacts of the border closures on our local economy.
Lastly, we learned about the EDC’s Home Care Aide training program, in response to the critical shortage of long term care workers and other healthcare workers by providing free, locally accessible Home Care Aide (HCA) training, including reimbursement for certification fees and travel for testing, and guidance through the certification process. For more information, please visit https://sanjuansedc.org/
An Update on Insurance Rates
Washington state’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) recently issued an emergency rule to prevent credit scores from being used to determine insurance premiums.
This might mean a change in your insurance rates, and many of you have reached out with questions and concerns about your rates increasing. Below is some information to clarify the changes and help you get assistance, including help in other languages.
Why the rule change?
Because of the pandemic, the federal CARES Act placed a temporary hold on credit scoring, resulting in bureaus collecting inaccurate credit histories. Because insurers use these credit histories to set rates, the models they use are now unreliable.
The OIC issued an emergency rule to ban the use of credit scores in setting insurance premiums for the next three years, which will help ensure that insurance rates are not excessive or unfairly discriminatory. With the pandemic causing devastating financial struggles across the state, this rule change helps protect low income and other vulnerable people who would otherwise have experienced unfair treatment due to their credit score.
The new rule is designed to protect those most greatly impacted by the pandemic from having to pay even higher premiums. It will also help people who will see their credit scores drop after federal CARES Act protections end.
97 percent of the auto and homeowner insurance market has already filed plans to comply with the new rule. Learn more about the OIC’s emergency rule and credit scoring.
What you can do if your premiums increase
The OIC estimated that similar numbers of Washingtonians will see rate increases as those who see rate decreases. Early estimates showed that some people could see up to 60 percent reductions in their rates.
If you have received a rate increase, you can contact your company and let them know you’ll be shopping around for better rates. For many of us, looking for new coverage is a great opportunity to save more money.
You can also leave a comment for the OIC on their website. They want to hear from you and how you might have been impacted by credit scoring.
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. While we are in the interim, I will be sending out an official Fantastic Friday twice a month, with two weeks on and two off.
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!
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