— from Governor Inslee’s Office —
The bill to create a 100 percent clean energy in Washington passed out of House Environment and Energy Committee by a majority vote and is moving on to the next step, as is the clean buildings bill. Rep. Gael Tarleton, primary sponsor of the 100 percent clean energy bill, said a clean energy grid is crucial to Washington’s economy. She also said setting milestones like a clean energy grid shows meaningful progress toward solutions.
Two broadband bills that would expand affordable and more resilient broadband service also moved further in the legislative process this week. The governor’s push for all Washingtonians to benefit from online access is one way he hopes to narrow the digital divide. The widely bipartisan bills bring together broad agreement from stakeholder groups that historically haven’t seen eye to eye. You can read more about the governor’s initiative to offer broadband access across the state on the governor’s Medium site.
A bill that would provide community facilities for behavioral health patients moved out of the House Healthcare and Wellness committee and onto the next step. The governor has pushed for smaller and state-run behavioral health facilities that are closer to a patient’s home and community.
Other key bills moved past critical milestones this week in the Legislature. The bills include increasing chinook salmon for orca and salmon health, oil transportation safety, early childhood education, career-connected learning and free college tuition for qualified students. These bills make up many of the governor’s priorities during the 2019 session.
