— from Governor Inslee’s Office —
As the legislative session nears the halfway point, the critical March 13 deadline for bills to pass their “house of origin” is nearing. The state House and Senate are both spending long days and late nights on the floor debating and passing bills. Among the many important policies making headway in the Legislature are several of the governor’s priority bills.
The Senate passed the governor’s 100 percent clean energy bill Friday to phase out coal power and create the strongest clean energy standard in the nation. The bill, part of Inslee’s clean energy proposal, now moves to the House for consideration. The Senate also passed a bill to make Washington a Zero Emission Vehicle state, and the House passed a bill that would phase down the super-pollutant known as hydrofluorocarbons.
It was also a milestone week for the governor’s behavioral health proposal with three key bills moving forward with strong bipartisan support. This story outlines how the bills would transform the state’s behavioral health system and ensure better mental health care services for more people.
The House and Senate also took bipartisan action on several bills to support orca and chinook salmon recovery. The bills would reduce vessel noise that interferes with the orcas’ ability to hunt for food, improve oil transportation safety and boost habitat restoration. You can read more about the bills on the governor’s website.
The governor’s proposal to expand statewide broadband passed the Senate unanimously earlier this week and passed the House with only one no vote, his early learning expansion bill passed with only one no vote, and his prepaid postage ballot bill passed 42-3 in the Senate
Finally, the governor’s public option health care bill passed the House on Friday. The public option bill, unveiledby the governor and legislative and state health care leaders in January, ensures everyone in the state has access to a public option health plan in the state’s Health Benefit Exchange.
