The Times/News presents a weekly summary of actions on bills by Highline-area legislators.
For complete information, go to www.WashingtonVotes.org -- a free, non-partisan website with plain-English explanations of bills and a record of each legislator’s votes -- which is the source for this report.
Highline is represented by:
District 11 -- Sen. Margarita Prentice; Rep. Zack Hudgins, Rep. Bob Hasagawa.
District 33 -- Sen. Karen Keiser; Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, Rep. Dave Upthegrove.
District 34 -- Sen. Erik Poulsen; Rep. Eileen Cody, Rep. Joe McDermott.
All are Democrats.
Senate Roll Call --
through Feb. 3
Senate Bill 5527 -- Prohibits state agencies from adopting administrative rules that automatically increase fees by a formula amount, such as the fiscal growth factor or the consumer price index. Prior legislative approval would be necessary for such a fee increase. The bill is now under consideration in the House of Representatives.
House Roll Call --
through Feb. 3
House Bill 1383 -- Adds a health savings account (HSA) coupled with a catastrophic insurance policy to the many health insurance options for state employees and their families. State employees would be free to choose the plan. The bill is now under consideration in the Senate.
Passed 88-10. Upthegrove, Cody, McDermott voted yes; Hudgins, Hasegawa, Schual-Berke voted no.
HB 1484 -- Permits a voter-approved county property tax of $0.75 per $1,000 of value to be used for collectively bargained pay raises for school employees. The bill is now under consideration in the Senate.
Passed 50-48. Hudgins, Hasegawa, Schual-Berke, Upthegrove, Cody, McDermott voted yes.
HB 2572 -- Provides premium subsidies to eligible employees who are employed by a small business that offers health coverage equivalent to the state Basic Health Plan. The small business will pay at least 40% of the monthly premium cost for the employee. The bill is now under consideration in the Senate.
Passed 57-41. Hudgins, Hasegawa, Schual-Berke, Upthegrove, Cody, McDermott voted yes.
HB 2964 -- Creates the Department of Early Learning within the executive branch of state government, making it a cabinet-level department. Its mission would be to implement early learning policy, to coordinate, consolidate, and integrate child-care and early learning programs, and to collaborate with the K-12 school system to improve transitions from pre-kindergarten environments to kindergarten. The bill is now under consideration in the Senate.
Passed 79-19. Hudgins, Hasegawa, Schual-Berke, Upthegrove, Cody, McDermott voted yes.
