Legislative Accomplishments

• HB 1075 enables public housing authorities to access financing tools available to private developers.  It expands their bond and financing capacity.  Access to capital and the costs of financing are one of the major barriers to housing development for public and private entities.  HB 1046 removes barriers to development of mixed-income projects by increasing the income limits for public housing authorities, so that more “mixed middle” or working family housing can access the benefits of publicly funded housing.  

• Supported missing middle and transit-oriented development, carrying concerns from the cities I represent and ensuring that their voices and our particular geography were allowed for. 

• HB 1576 prevents the abuse of the “historic designation” process by requiring owner consent and for a building to have to be at least 40 years old to be “historic”- except for specific exemptions in historic districts such as Pioneer Square and the International District. This bill is being used right now to develop housing that would otherwise have been blocked. 

• HB 1757 and HB 1042– existing buildings. Existing buildings are embedded carbon, and rather than tearing them down and filling our landfills with waste, getting in a long and costly line for permit approval and finding financing, they can be quickly modified and turned into housing for families.  After COVID, we have seen a proliferation of unused or under-utilized buildings in our communities- think churches, office parks, strip malls – and this bill streamlines and gives tax exemptions for entities that do conversions. This bill is in the news in Seattle as it is being used to create housing. 

• My work on a multi-family tax exemption program- which rewards communities who take density in areas designated for it by allowing more homes to be built- resulted in a more expansive MFTE program in our state. 

• Religious organizations- Representative McBride gifted me with her bill to allow religious organizations who develop affordable housing to have more density for this development than the underlying zoning may allow, as long as that housing fits with the neighborhood character.  I carried this charge and made progress, and handed this bill to my seatmate, who has completed it in 2026.

• Occupancy limits are often imposed by local governments and homeowner associations – limiting the ability of multi-generational families and students, or other cooperative housing situations, to settle in a neighborhood.  HB 1054 prohibits this practice for cities and counties – we still have work to do with HOAs.  When housing is scarce, we should get out of the way of people finding ways to affordably house themselves. 

• HB 1094 is the Together Center bill.  Nonprofits have a property tax exemption for owned property – we expanded this exemption to cover nonprofit “like” operations. If the school district or a city is providing services, those should not have to pay property taxes. 

• Estate tax- HB 1867 provides that the Department of Revenue cannot require filing of a return by a widow or widower if the value of the family  home is the only asset that makes the estate over the filing threshold of 3.076m

• Anti- the Supreme Court decision that effectively wiped out the exemption from Business & Occupation tax for non-profits, my amendment to fix this dangerous outcome was accepted by the Finance committee and members, over objections from the Department of Revenue. 

• Amendments to millionaire’s tax- my amendments to require a Constitutional amendment, and to provide broad-based sales tax relief to offset this new revenue source- were rejected by the body.

• Supported the Adoption of low-carbon fuel standards and Climate Commitment Act auction processes

• HB 1033 – requires food service ware to be compostable and for Ecology to work to get more compostable service ware to high-pressure compost facilities and out of the landfill.  This is part of my work on composting – there’s a virtuous cycle in waste management, where organic material generated in our communities is recycled or reused and returned to us, to be used in our parks, stormwater and transportation projects.  Compost filters water and helps salmon habitat. We all have a responsibility to allow compost facilities to operate here – sending our waste to other communities is not stewardship. 

• HB 1889 says that professional licenses in our state shall not require US citizenship (with a few exceptions). This bill broadly expands licensing pathways for qualified applicants.  We have very strict licensing requirements in our state for all kinds of professions – from architecture to hair stylists, from medical assistants to auto dealers.  If one can pass our testing, they should be able to work and participate in our economy. We have a district with a great many families coming from overseas, and their spouse or family member may have wonderful qualifications – this is win/win for employers and those who want to go to work in our state.  

• HB 1031 strikes the right balance in the case of a stillbirth – providing that families who lose a child by stillbirth can still obtain a birth certificate in Washington state. 

• I have been the “go-to” legislator to negotiate garnishment and collection procedure updates.  HB 1447 was passed to protect more debt from garnishment during and after the COVID pandemic.

I am a part of the ad hoc group of legislators working on firearm policy. We have passed an assault rifle ban, a high-capacity magazine ban, and a permit-to-purchase policy.  I drafted the “safe storage” bill introduced in 2025 to require secure storage of firearms in vehicles, to address the persistent problem of firearms being stolen from vehicles, then used in crimes or intimate partner and family violence and suicide. 

• My HB 2118 requires more of firearms dealers – to have electronic monitoring and enhanced security around doors and windows.  There is more to come here – training of POS personnel should be required to recognize signs of a person in distress and tools to dissuade a purchase or reporting to law enforcement if signs designated by mental health professionals are present.  Guns are fast – and suicide is the most prevalent form of gun violence. 

• An ongoing body of work started in my first term with HB 1095 - restoration of firearms rights to those with criminal or domestic violence in their background.  This bill standardized processes and ensured effective notice is given to DV survivors and crime victims. 

• HB 2623 expands the crimes for which firearms can be taken – animal cruelty and brandishing. 

• By introducing HB 1941, I sought to ban “active shooter drills”.  The OSPI and many teachers agreed with me, but the bill as passed made active shooter drills “age-appropriate and trauma-informed”. This work is ongoing.

I came from a “modern family” and have life experience in divorce, child custody, conservatorship, guardianship and child support systems. I serve as the legislative designee on the Child Support Work Group.

• HB 1088 allows for more families to use arbitration in child custody proceedings- making it easier and less expensive to settle these matters. 

• Employers are required to report to the child support collecting agency in our state, DCYF as their employees are onboarded, and ongoing for their wages.  I am working on a policy that would cover contractors and gig workers.  HB 1262 requires employers to report lump sum bonuses so that they can be intercepted for back child support due. HB 1171 covers insurance settlement proceeds – insurers must report lump sum payment to DCYF.  

• The recommendations of the Child Support work group were carried in a bill I co- sponsored with my colleague on the work group, and was passed in 2026, updating the thresholds and payment levels and streamlining processes.

I founded the “Fur Fighter” caucus, which convenes a bipartisan group of legislators who meet with community and animal welfare organizations and sponsor legislation to address the needs of our wildlife and companion animals.  My budget proviso for $250,000 to the Department of Agriculture created a nationwide first, “Animal Welfare Plan” for Washington- to roadmap this work for us.  We can and should have animal welfare standards not county by county but statewide- subsidized spay/neuter, minimum number of veterinarians by community, shelter and boarding minimum standards

• HB 1097 prohibits the sale of cosmetics tested on animals in Washington state. 

• My pet insurance bill – prohibiting the cancellation of policies on elderly companion animals by insurance companies was blocked in the Senate in 2026 but will return in 2027.

• The Fur Fighter caucus really started with the passage of HB 1424, addressing the import of dogs and cats raised in puppy mill settings, by requiring that pet dealers only source from rescue operations. 

As a member of the Public Safety caucus, I review legislation moving through the process, and consult with cities and counties, police and prosecutors, firefighters and fire chiefs and ensure that every policy we pass makes our communities more safe, does not impact people of color or those historically disproportionately impacted by police misconduct, and does not create unfunded mandates on our cities and counties.  We have work to do – I supported all of our work on police accountability and also supported expansion of slots in the Law enforcement Academy.  We must address mass incarceration, and should start with the elderly incarcerated who are no longer a danger to our communities. Prison is no place to be undergoing treatment for cancer or dementia, or to be using hospice services.