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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Greetings from Olympia!
We are more than halfway through the 2019 legislative session. We just finished a nine day stretch of long hours and late nights voting on bills on the House floor. Of the thousands of House bills introduced this session, 353 made it past the house of origin cutoff; 89 of those bills were Republican sponsored. The rest of the bills are now considered dead, unless they are necessary to implement the budget.
Fortunately, I had four bills pass off the House floor! They are now being heard in the Senate. I look forward to these bills moving through the Senate and hopefully being signed into law.
- House Bill 1014 – Financial responsibility for motorcycle operators
- House Bill 1469 – Safer emergency or work zones and tow truck operators
- House Bill 1499 – Concerning public facilities districts, specifically for the City of Pasco
- House Bill 1563 – Winetasting for students in a winemaking school program.
For more information on my bills, good bills that didn’t make the cut and a few bad bills that did, please watch my recent legislative video update. You can do so by clicking on the photo below.
Bad bills that passed before cutoff
Low Carbon Fuel Standard
House Bill 1110 would direct the Department of Ecology to adopt, by rule, standards to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions per unit of fuel energy in transportation fuels over time. This would follow California’s model, which has raised gas and diesel prices there and will continue to in the future. We think this new program would be regressive, would raise the cost of gas and goods, and not do anything meaningful for the environment. Watch highlights of the floor debate.
Public option health care
House Bill 1523 would require the Washington Health Benefit Exchange to develop standardized health plans. It would expressly limit choice over time in favor of one-size-fits-all plans meeting specific government requirements. We believe this approach would increase health care costs, reduce options and eliminate providers. Watch highlights of the floor debate.
Anti-Janus
House Bill 1575 is another response to the U.S. Supreme Court Janus decision. The measure would make it more difficult for public employees to exercise their right to not join a union and to get out of a union. For example: it would allow employees to opt-in to a union via recorded voice, electronic or written authorization, but they could only opt-out via written authorization. We feel this approach is fundamentally unfair to public employees and goes against the spirit of the Janus decision. Watch highlights of the floor debate.
For more information, please follow the House Republican caucus website, Facebook and Twitter pages. For audio updates, please visit our SoundCloud page. These pages are great resources when you want up-to-date information.
You’re Invited | Town hall events: Saturday, March 23
My seatmate, Rep. Skyler Rude, and I would like to invite you to attend our upcoming town hall events this Saturday, March 23 in the following locations:
Prosser
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Where: Walter Clore Wine and Country Culinary Center (2140A Wine Country Road)
Walla Walla
Time: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Walla Walla Community College Performing Arts Auditorium (500 Tausick Way)
Dayton
Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Columbia County Youth Building (102 Fairgrounds Lane)
If you cannot attend these events, or would like to submit a question or comment beforehand, please contact my office.
It’s an honor to serve you.
Sincerely,
Bill Jenkin
