What matters most to YOU?

As your state representative, I strongly believe that I can’t represent you without finding out what matters most to YOU and your family!

Over the summer, when we weren’t in Olympia, I hosted two town halls, a dozen “Coffee with Kristine” meetings, and hundreds of meetings with neighbors from all across our South Sound. While I have introduced some important bills in direct response to feedback, I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the following bills I have introduced this session:

• HB 1344 making childcare more accessible and affordable for working families,
• HB 1629 making veterans access to property tax benefits better, or
• HB 1518 ensuring that companies in our state are paying their fair share for employee healthcare,

I am most interested in continuing to check in with you on what matters most to you and your family.

Tell me what you think by filling out this short three minute survey.

Fair Share Health Care introduced

I believe that health care is a human right, and corporations that just received massive federal tax cuts should not be putting the cost of their employees’ health care on the taxpayer’s dime, which is why last week I introduced Fair Share Health Care.

The legislation addresses employers with over 1,000 employees who do not currently supply health insurance coverage for workers, leaving them to utilize taxpayer subsidized healthcare through Medicaid.

In our health care system, large, profitable businesses should be supplying everyone with equitable coverage – whether they work in an office or warehouse. Families who work one or more full-time jobs should not have to worry about keeping their kids or themselves healthy.

Problem-solving over partisanship leads to consensus on deadly force initiative

It is easy to feel disillusioned by politicians who don’t seem to be able to work together to get things done for real people. It’s why it’s important to me to share an example of how government can work to solve problems for real people when we work together and focus on solutions rather than soundbites. Thanks to your support, we were able to respond to a complex challenge for communities and law enforcement alike.

When police shoot or kill someone, and the law doesn’t offer a clear path to justice for the victim, it does damage to the community, to the reputation of law enforcement, and to the notion of justice. For years, communities, especially communities of color, have been frustrated by the outcomes of interactions between police and members of the community. There have been too many instances where people in a mental health crisis end up injured or dead instead of receiving help.

Last fall voters approved Initiative 940 (I-940), which updates Washington’s statute on police use of deadly force. While I-940 was a great step forward in repairing the trust between the public and law enforcement, there are provisions that need to be more defined. Last session, community groups and representatives of law enforcement worked with lawmakers on language to clarify and strengthen the initiative.

Before the 2019 session began, that coalition of stakeholders called on the Legislature to move quickly and pass the clarifying and strengthening language agreed upon last year. That language is mirrored in House Bill 1064, which was introduced this session by my colleague, Rep. Roger Goodman. Together, I-940 and HB 1064 will improve public safety and interactions between police and the communities they serve by providing law enforcement with the tools to carry out their difficult jobs, while ensuring that victims of unnecessary violence can get justice.

I’m pleased to report that HB 1064 passed the House this week on a unanimous vote!