Legislative Update: Key bills gain bipartisan support Yesterday’s ‘house of origin” voting deadline means that several bills have died for the session, but this is a good thing. The deadlines we put in place help to prioritize bills that have statewide significance and broad appeal. They also help identify bills...

Wednesday, March 11 is the deadline for both the Senate and House to pass their own bills – or they are off the table for the session. Budget-related bills may be considered until the end of the session. At this point in the session, several of the measures I introduced...

No man is an island, and no Senator can fully serve the people of his district without a great staff. We are fortunate to have a tremendous team serving the Fourth District in the state Senate. Pictured above, my Legislative Assistant Mike McCliment, Intern Tyler Sherwin and Session Aide Esther...

With legislative deadlines looming, this week the pace of work picked up significantly. But there is always time to meet with friends from the district who stop by to discuss their views on legislation or even to just say hello…. On Wednesday, Tim Knue with the Washington Association for Career...

On Monday, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on my bill to help keep the cost of residential construction low and housing more affordable. Senate Bill 5759 requires that distinct “prevailing wage” rates be calculated and paid to workers employed in residential construction. SB 5759 emerged...

It’s hard to believe we’re already into February, and that four weeks of the 2015 legislative session are almost behind us. This week the Legislature began delving into some big issues like responding to the governor’s cap-and-tax plan and helping our veterans find jobs. …Also this week, the Washington Council...

The third week of the 2015 session is almost over and things are beginning to move quickly in Olympia. We have been busy this week, hearing bills in various committees, meeting with visitors to the Legislature and promoting good legislation to improve the lives and safety of Washingtonians. We’ve also...

Today marks the end of week two for the 2015 legislative session. This has been a busy week for our office; we have had a number of visitors from the district and several of my key bills received hearings before their assigned policy committees. Click here to read the full...

The 2015 session began with a bang of the gavel as members were sworn in. The Legislature will have a Republican majority in the Senate and a Democrat majority in the House of Representatives this session. Given this reality, lawmakers will undoubtedly need to work together to achieve solutions on...