As your State Representative, I’ve been laser-focused on bringing home resources to our district. Here are a few of my favorite things that I’ve been proud to secure for our community: ❤️
The federal government’s mass escalation of immigration enforcement and deportations have left Washingtonians in fear. This is unacceptable. I took a stand against these unlawful actions by voting to ban ICE from wearing masks; require federal agencies to obtain warrants to access worker records; regulate data collected from automated license plate readers; and outlaw impersonating a peace officer. Additionally, Trump’s tariffs and war in Iran have driven up gas and grocery prices. We passed bills to create a statewide energy assistance program; allow consumers to repair their own electronic devices; prohibit outdated restrictions that keep grocery stores or pharmacies from reopening in vacant commercial space; protect families from paying out-of-pocket cost for preventive health care screenings; and bring more fairness to our outdated tax code by passing the Millionaires Tax. When implemented, almost every item you pay for at the grocery store will be tax free, including over-the-counter medications, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo. It also expands the Working Families Tax Credit to 460,000 additional Washingtonians and exempts 70% of all Washington businesses from the Business & Occupation tax – the largest small business tax cut in our state’s history.
My life changed forever on Jan. 8, 2011, when the nation watched in horror as a gunman shot my boss and mentor, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, our staff, and constituents. My friend and colleague Gabe Zimmerman was killed. Five other people died. Watching Gabby fight for her recovery and to prevent the escalation of gun violence taught me about resilience, hard work, and grit. I was determined to be a champion for ending gun violence in the legislature and we delivered. My bills to ban untraceable, homemade ‘ghost guns’; implement a permit to purchase a firearm with a 10-day waiting period and mandatory safety training; and require 24-hour reporting of lost or stolen firearms are law. We banned the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in Washington, and prohibited open carry at numerous sensitive locations like public demonstrations, zoos, aquariums, libraries and transit stations. I also successfully advocated for tens of millions of dollars in funding for gun violence prevention programs through the Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention for community-based organizations. I’m proud to serve as national co-chair of Legislators for Safer Communities, an independent, nonpartisan coalition of state legislators across all 50 states committed to reducing gun violence. Gun violence is preventable, and I won’t stop fighting to keep our communities safe.
As a member of the House Environment & Energy Committee, I’ve been a leader to expand recycling and reduce plastic pollution; ban toxic chemicals from everyday products; and protect our natural resources. It was an honor to champion landmark legislation to implement carbon pricing and low-carbon fuel standards, and we’ve continued our great work by targeting landfills, buildings, and expanding renewable power projects. I sponsored and passed the Recycling Reform Act, groundbreaking legislation to make our recycling systems more accessible, affordable, and equitable for all Washingtonians. I also authored legislation to reduce plastic waste and microplastics by setting minimum recycled content for packaging, expanding the Styrofoam ban, and making plastic service-ware optional when dining out. I’ve fought to keep our families safe from toxic and pervasive chemicals by expanding the Safer Products Act, a state program that identifies and restricts harmful chemicals like PFAS in everyday products.
As the proud Chair of the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee, uplifting working families has been my top priority. I’ve been a leader to expand our state’s historic Paid Family & Medical Leave program and shore up our Unemployment Insurance system. I supported more funding for food and utility assistance programs to help families hit hardest by the impacts of inflation and economic uncertainty. My bill to ban noncompete agreements puts power back into the hands of workers when it comes to choosing your destiny. If you want to take a new job with better pay or leave to start your own company, your old job shouldn’t be able to block you from pursuing your dream. I wrote first-in-the-nation legislation to protect temporary workers and to provide minimum wage, benefits, and labor protections for rideshare drivers in our state. My bill to prohibit secrecy in non-disclosure and settlement agreements for those who experience harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage theft in the workplace will allow workers to pursue justice, healing, and protect others.
The lack of both affordable housing and the number of people and families experiencing homelessness has reached a crisis point here in Seattle and across the country. I have been a strong advocate in Olympia to keep people in their homes, build affordable housing quickly, support emergency shelter providers, increase funding for behavioral health and substance use treatment, and make historic capital investments to build and acquire more affordable and transitional housing. I strongly supported legislation to increase middle housing, limit annual rent increases, promote transit-oriented development, ease barriers to ADUs, legalize co-living, convert existing commercial structures to residential housing, and expand homeownership and tenants’ rights. I believe the state must be a strong partner to local governments to address this urgent priority, and I remain committed to solving this emergency.
As the daughter of a special education teacher and elected school board member, I strongly believe that providing a world-class public education system for all our children is paramount. Today I am a proud public school parent. It’s personal to me that we provide the support, tools, and opportunities needed for all kids to thrive. That’s why I voted for the Millionaires Tax because it will generate over $3 billion a year for K-12 education, health care, and child care, and fund free school meals for all Washington students. We removed the unfair cap on enrollment funding for special education and increased funding for materials, supplies, and operating costs that keep schools running. We also established the preK promise account to support a new public-private partnership to fund 10,000 additional preschool slots over the next 10 years.
Protecting our communities is a critical responsibility of government. That’s why I’ve been a champion to pass common sense gun safety legislation to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them. While drugs like fentanyl have taken the lives of too many of our loved ones and neighbors, I’ve supported increased substance use treatment and support. I’ve backed measures to improve safety on our roads, curb catalytic converter theft, and protect survivors of trafficking. I’ve also been proud to vote for police reform bills to ban chokeholds and neck restraints, military equipment, no-knock warrants, and hog-tying; implement de-escalation and use of force restrictions; create transparency and oversight in investigations; and hold officers and departments accountable for wrongdoing. I’ve also supported legislation to establish professional qualifications and accountability measures for law enforcement leaders like sheriffs and police chiefs and to prevent individuals from impersonating a law enforcement officer or federal agent.
Washington state has one of the most up-side down tax systems in the country. We’ve created a combination of taxes that means those people making the least pay over 15% of their income toward state and local taxes, the middle class pays 10%, and the wealthiest pay about 3%. This is wrong and it’s not sustainable. I have consistently supported progressive tax reform in the legislature like expanding the Working Families Tax Credit and passing the capital gains excise tax and the Millionaires Tax, a historic bill that will provide $3.5 billion in funding annually for schools, health care, and child care, paid for by asking households making more than $1 million per year to pay a bit more. I’ve also supported broadening the senior citizen and disabled persons property tax exemption program to help an additional 50,000 Washingtonians stay in their homes. You can count on my support for ongoing tax reform now and into the future.