I’ll keep this brief, knowing what a busy time of year it can be.
The next legislative session begins two weeks from Christmas Day. If you have any ideas for legislation, please get them to me using the contact information in this message.
I’ve “prefiled” two bills for the 2024 session. One is SB 5813, my “agricultural literacy” bill, which stems from the Cultivate Washington agenda I and other Republican senators unveiled in November (a link to the news conference is here, and more information is on our Cultivate Washington webpage).
The idea of this bill is to instill in our junior/senior high students a basic knowledge of growing things and of the importance of agriculture as well as the opportunities available for young people in the field of agriculture. In my view, it will help perpetuate our agricultural sector if more people understand that most of the food they see in the grocery store comes from farms, and how those crops and livestock wouldn’t exist without people to tend and raise them.
As the lead Republican on the Senate committee that addresses banking issues, I’m also prime sponsor of SB 5801, which has to do with “special deposit accounts” at banks. If you work for a financial institution or have another reason to be curious about what the bill would do, let me know and I’ll be happy to get you an explanation. Otherwise, this is one of those policy changes that has a very specific purpose and simply isn’t going to affect most folks.
These bills will be considered as formally filed on the opening day of the session, at which time other lawmakers may sign on as co-sponsors.
If you didn’t receive this in your mailbox recently (or just want to see it on your screen instead) click here – it’s my preview of the 2024 legislative session.
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I am working to make living in our state more affordable, make our communities safer, uphold our paramount duty to provide for schools, and hold state government accountable. I’ll work with anyone who shares those goals and wants to find solutions.
Please reach out to my office with your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. If you don’t already, also consider following me on Facebook. I am here to serve and look forward to hearing from you.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
