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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Today is the 12th day of the 60-day legislative session, and things are moving quickly. The majority party is fast-tracking their agenda, which is why it's so important to closely follow the process and get involved. Our system of government relies on the active participation of citizens willing to speak up. Your voice matters.
Long-term care
This week, the House passed two bills dealing with the state's controversial long-term care insurance program and payroll tax.
The first measure, House Bill 1732 would delay implementation of the program by 18 months and move premium collections to July 1, 2023. The second, House Bill 1733, would create four new voluntary exemptions from the program.
Both bills are now in the Senate where they're scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Monday, January 24, at 4:00 p.m.
- If you would like to testify on either bill, you can sign up here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/CSI/Senate
- You can also watch the committee meeting live at TVW here: https://tvw.org/live
Republicans offered two alternative proposals to address the long-term care insurance program and payroll tax: House Bill 1594, by Rep. Peter Abbarno, would repeal the program; and House Bill 1913, by Rep. Drew Stokesbary, would repeal and replace it.
Even though a strong majority Washington voters – 63% – told us they want to repeal the payroll tax, neither bill received a public hearing.
Virtual town hall meeting
On Saturday, Feb. 19, at 10:30 a.m., I'll be joining Sen. Keith Wagoner for a virtual town hall meeting over Zoom. This is another opportunity for you to ask us questions directly and tell us what you think about the issues facing our state and community.
If you would like to participate, you can register here: https://tinyurl.com/5622dsf3
I look forward to hearing from you!
Tracking a bill?
Click here to find information on specific bills. In addition, when you visit my website, you can easily view the legislation I'm sponsoring or co-sponsoring by clicking “Sponsored Bills.”
Here is a quick set of “bill tracking” instructions
Go to leg.wa.gov
- On the left-hand panel, click “Bill Information.”
- If you know the bill number, enter it in the search field and hit enter.
- Don't have a bill number? Under the section “Standard Reports,” you'll find alternative tracking tools. You can search based on topic, legislative digests, cross-references and or within a specific biennium.
- If you click on the House Floor Calendar, this helpful tool gives you a detailed list of all bills scheduled to be heard on the House floor each day.
Here's how you can stay connected
My legislative website | Here you will find my contact information, bio, news releases, email updates, videos, opinion pieces, bills, and other information.
The Capitol Buzz | A weekday roundup of online news stories. Click on the link to subscribe.
The Current | An online legislative publication from the Washington House Republicans. Click on the link to subscribe.
TVW | The state's own version of C-SPAN, TVW broadcasts floor and committee action live online.
The Ledger | A legislative news aggregator.
Legislature's website | View bill reports, committee agendas, and information about upcoming activities in the Legislature here.
State agencies | You can find a list of all state agencies, boards, and commissions here.
Remote Testimony
Want to testify on a bill or other important public policy? Click here to learn about how you can make your voice heard throughout session
Thank you!
Please contact me if you have questions about bills being introduced, bills that are scheduled for a hearing, or other state government-related issues.
During session, especially in this virtual environment, my office receives hundreds of emails per week. I will do my best to answer the ones I receive from constituents first, so please be sure to include your home address and phone number in your correspondence.
It's an honor to serve you!
Sincerely,
Carolyn Eslick
