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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Since the 2022 legislative session adjourned on March 10, I’ve been back home in our beautiful district reconnecting with our communities and spending time with family and friends. I want you to remember that my job as your state representative continues when the Legislature is not in session. I’m here to listen to you and represent your voice, thoughts, and concerns year-round.
2022 Legislative session review and newsletter
It’s an honor to represent your interests in Olympia, and I believe in keeping you up to date on the hard work that’s being done on your behalf.
This year’s 60-day session was jam-packed. We worked on policy surrounding public safety, emergency powers reform, the long-term care insurance program and payroll tax, transportation, and a historic $15 billion operating budget surplus.
I’m honored to have five prime sponsored bills pass the Legislature this session. You brought many of these ideas and proposals to me. When we work together, we achieve great things! I’m also grateful that nearly all of my bills received bipartisan support from my friends and colleagues across the aisle.
Missing, murdered indigenous persons and survivors of human trafficking
House Bill 1571 is an important step in respecting tribal cultures surrounding the death of an indigenous person.
My bill – known as the ‘Bring them home’ bill – requires county coroners to identify and notify the family of a deceased Indigenous person, allowing them to access the remains to conduct spiritual practices or ceremonies. It allows tribal members to pray over a deceased indigenous person without compromising the scene before an autopsy is conducted. Law enforcement would work with them to allow the ceremonies to be performed in accordance with tribal tradition.
I believe it’s essential to respect our tribal tradition, spiritual practices, and ceremonies, especially when honoring a deceased loved one and tribal member.
The measure will also require the Washington state jail booking system to be checked during an investigation seeking missing Indigenous people. Plus, it creates a pilot program with funding to provide a receiving shelter that would take in as many as 50 trafficked victims. In addition to the shelter, indigenous trafficking survivors would be able to receive mental health counseling, medical care, and legal services.
My bill was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee at the conclusion of session.
Increasing availability of sexual assault nurse examiners in rural areas
House Bill 1622 is a way to address a serious shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) across the state in rural and underserved areas, particularly in Eastern Washington.
My bill requires the Washington State University College of Nursing to establish a SANE training program. This training program will include three elements: online training to provide nurses in rural and underserved communities access to at least 40 hours of training; a clinical training site at the WSU College of Nursing with clinical training requirements established by the U.S. Department of Justice; and scholarships for nurses to complete the training.
My bill was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee at the conclusion of session.
Addressing plans to help avoid energy blackouts, brownouts, and other inadequacies in our electric grid
House Bill 1623 focused on having stable, reliable, and sufficient energy sources as the state of Washington transitions to green energy.
My bill sought to ensure the state continually addresses plans to help avoid energy blackouts, brownouts, or other inadequacies of the electric grid.
I look forward to continuing the work on this vital topic with Governor Jay Inslee in the near future.
Providing useful voter information and pamphlets to soldiers serving our country oversees
House Bill 1357 will ensure all voters, including those overseas, have equal access to voter pamphlets to make an informed choice on their ballots.
My bill requires county auditors to mail a statewide and local voters’ pamphlet to registered Washington voters overseas, including military voters. This bill was suggested to me by a soldier who receives his election ballot while serving our country overseas but doesn’t get a voters’ pamphlet to educate himself on what he’s voting for.
My bill was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee at the conclusion of session.
Working to reduce the frequency of annoying and unwanted solicitation calls
House Bill 1497 will provide additional tools to help consumers stop annoying and unwanted solicitation calls.
My bill restricts telephone solicitation calls between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Telephone solicitors will now be required to identify themselves within the first 30 seconds of a call and end the call within 10 seconds if the call recipient indicates they no longer wish for the call to continue.
My bill additionally requires the removal of the called party from the solicitor’s list upon request, and no further calls can be made within at least one year after the request to be removed from the list. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each call.
My bill was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee at the conclusion of session.
Public safety and reforming the anti-police reform bills
I want to start this section by thanking the brave men and women of the Yakima Police Department for their service in protecting their communities. I recently had the opportunity to do another ride along with an officer. It was important to understand how the policies enacted by the Legislature affect the boots-on-the-ground duties our law enforcement professionals do every day.
I look forward to continuing my work as the ranking Republican on the House Public Safety Committee and maintaining that public safety must be one of government’s top priorities.
This year, the Legislature passed bills that clarify when an officer can use physical force; when an officer can intervene and use force if necessary, when a person is experiencing a mental health crisis; and we reversed a ban on less lethal and certain calibers of ammunition.
One of my first priorities in preparing for and heading into the 2023 legislative session will be addressing the flaws in our vehicular pursuit laws. We had two bills during the 2022 session that didn’t pass the Legislature. House Bill 1788 and Senate Bill 5919 would have allowed law enforcement to pursue suspects when there is reasonable suspicion a person in the vehicle has committed or is committing a criminal offense. Our law enforcement professionals need the clarity and security to safely pursue criminals.
Empowering parents and protecting your rights to how your children are educated
I believe it’s imperative to empower parents by providing transparency and the necessary financial and educational flexibility to help children succeed in school and life.
Transparency is crucial to ensuring trust in our K-12 educational system. Parents deserve a say in their children’s education and have a right to know what is being taught in the classroom. Parents also deserve the financial and educational flexibility necessary for school choice to become a reality.
This session, House Republicans introduced real solutions to empower parents.
- House Bill 1633 would promote school choice through the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. This bill would establish an educational scholarship program of $10,000 for 100,000 homeschooled and private school students to cover costs associated with alternative education such as books, learning materials, transportation, and tuition fees.
- House Bill 1536 would establish regional apprenticeship programs through Educational Service Districts (ESDs). This bill would require each ESD to establish two apprenticeship programs for high school students in different industries based on input from local programs and industries.
- House Bill 2043 would establish an education scholarship program to promote equity. This bill would establish a homeschool and private school voucher program of $7,000 for 130,000 students to cover the costs associated with alternative education. One-quarter of these scholarships would be awarded to students within special populations, such as students experiencing homelessness.
- House Bill 1973 would require school board meetings to be recorded. This bill would require regular and special meetings of school boards to be recorded and must include the comments of the board and members of the public if testimony was taken at the meeting.
- House Bill 2056 would increase transparency in the classroom. This bill would require teachers to make syllabi and primary materials available on the school district’s website to promote transparency in our public school system.
Unfortunately, these bills didn’t make it through this session’s legislative process. I’m hopeful we can continue the discussion around empowering parents next session and revisit these important policies.
2022 Legislative session review newsletter – now in your mailbox!
I also have put together a 2022 Legislative Session Review newsletter which provides you with a comprehensive breakdown of the major highlights of the legislative session and updates you on my top priorities and sponsored legislation.
If you haven’t received your newsletter yet, it should be hitting your mailbox soon. You can also read the digital version by clicking here.
You can also read my e-newsletter titled ‘Reflecting on the just-completed 2022 legislative session’ for more information on other issues and areas of importance.
Another great resource to learn more about my work and priorities is my website RepresentativeGinaMosbrucker.com. Here you can read my news releases, find and listen to my radio interviews, catch up on the e-newsletters you might have missed, see all my sponsored bills, and find my contact information.
Election-year restrictions
I’m heading into an election-year cycle which means my legislative communications will be put under what’s known as an election-year freeze beginning Monday, May 16, until the election is certified by the Secretary of State in late November.
It’s important to note that the freeze does not restrict me from responding to your emails, phone calls, and messages. I’m also not restricted from having in-person meetings with you, so please continue to reach out to me as you usually would.
My email address is gina.mosbrucker@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 761-1194.
It’s an honor to serve you! Always wishing you a beautiful day!
Honored to serve you,
Gina Mosbrucker
