Legislative Priorities & Accomplishments

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

My priorities in Olympia reflect my values at home. I believe strong, healthy communities are the key to a better future for our families. That’s why my priorities are clear:

1. Excellent educational opportunities from pre-school through college
2. Excellent health care that is affordable and accessible to all
3. Economic security for our hard working families and small business owners

The “great recession” has made it especially important to focus on economic security this year., Too many people who are ready to work cannot find jobs, and too many business owners who are ready to expand cannot get the banks to provide financing. I intend to go back to Olympia next year with a clear agenda promoting jobs and our economic recovery.

My priorities of jobs, education and health care are all interrelated. A good education, or updating of work skills is vital to be successful in a job search. Our economy is still creating job openings for many health care occupations. That’s why I support training programs in our community colleges and local hospitals to help current workers improve their skills and move up the job ladder to open new entry level jobs for the unemployed. I think of this approach as a “win-win” for everyone involved.

It’s also why I supported the JOBS Act of 2010, which if passed by the voters this fall, will create 38,000 jobs by undertaking energy retrofitting of our public school buildings. We will have healthier, more energy efficient schools saving more than $120 million in annual operating costs for our public school districts. That’s another “win-win” in my opinion.

I will continue to be innovative and creative in finding solutions to the tough challenges we face. I look forward to the opportunity to make progress on these vital priorities for the residents of the 33rd District.

LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

But despite recent tough budget cycles, I was proud to sponsor key legislation to make our state a better place to live and work:

I sponsored the Vaccines for Children bill to ensure that all kids get the childhood vaccines that they need to protect their health, and the public health. Vaccines for measles, whooping cough, mumps and polio are part of our safety net programs. But we had to cut the budget, so we worked to get a public-private agreement with insurance companies and pediatricians to provide the needed vaccines to all kids with a state purchasing arrangement. We were able to save about $60 million in tax dollars by persuading the insurance companies to participate and cover their own kids. (SB 6263)

I also was thrilled to win passage of our safe Baby Bottle bill in 2010 after several years of trying to draw attention to the growing danger of potential chemical exposures for infants and young children. The bill bans the use of a chemical used in the making of plastics known as BPA or bisphenol A, in certain products including baby bottles, sippy cups and water bottles. We are among a handful of states leading the way in this preventative approach. (SB 6248)

I worked with my House colleagues to ensure that our local Green River Valley businesses and residents were protected from financial ruin. With the Howard Hanson Dam under serious threat, flood insurance policies were being cancelled and unavailable for purchase at a reasonable price. Although the federal government provides subsidized flood insurance for homeowners and renters, businesses must get additional coverage to cover expensive equipment and buildings. We passed a critical bill giving our state Insurance Commissioner the right to intervene and ensure accessible flood insurance for all businesses and residents in the threatened area. (HB 2560/SB 6240)

Making health insurance more affordable for the smallest of small businesses took a step forward this year with passage into law of my bill to make sole owners and single propriators eligible for the lower cost small group health insurance policies. These small businesses had been restricted to the more expensive individual health care policies before my legislation was passed. It takes effect next January. (SB 6538)

I have also worked very hard over the past few years to make health care reform a reality. My goal with health care reform is to make health care available to all at lower costs and with better outcomes. That’s a tall order but we are on the right road in our state to achieve real savings by using evidenced-based health choices and by avoiding the financial death spiral that begins when too many people are not able to prevent or manage chronic health problems because they have no health insurance coverage. That’s why one of my bottom line requirements before leaving Olympia this year was to ensure that our state’s Basic Health Plan would remain funded. I succeeded in safeguarding that vital program!