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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It's hard to believe we're at day 47 of the 2016 session. So much has happened thus far, but we still have a lot of work left to do. Tomorrow is the last day for most Senate-approved bills to be heard in House committees, and House-approved bills to be heard in Senate committees. If bills are not passed out of their respective committees, they will be considered “dead” for the year. March 4 is the cutoff for the House to pass Senate bills off the House floor and vice-versa.
Out of the 285 bills that have passed the House thus far, 97 have been sponsored by Republicans, including two of my own:
House Bill 2681 would increase options for women to obtain birth control directly from a pharmacist. The bill was recently passed out of the Senate Health Care Committee.
House Bill 2906 would add rehabilitation and reintegration as a goal of our state Juvenile Justice Act. The bill is currently in the Senate Human Services, Mental Health and Housing Committee.
If passed into law, these bills would offer significant reform for juvenile criminal justice and increase access to women's health care.
Upcoming town hall meeting
Rep. Zeiger and I have already held a coffee town hall and a telephone town hall, and are excited to host another in-district town hall this weekend! We will be at the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce in downtown Puyallup on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 9-11 a.m.
The address is: 323 N Meridian, Puyallup, WA 98371
If you would like to hear an update on session and have the opportunity to ask Hans and I questions that you have, please join us!
Sponsoring House pages
It's always a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to sponsor House pages. Over the past couple of weeks, I've sponsored three pages — Maggie Davis of Bellevue, and Maddie Ashcraft and Aidan McKee of Puyallup. As part of their page duties, all three learned to navigate the many buildings on the Capitol campus and delivered messages and documents to legislators and staff. Additionally, they attended page school to understand the operations of the Legislature. It's really exciting to see our young people getting engaged in the process and learning about their state government. It was a privilege to sponsor Maggie, Maddie and Aidan.
If you know of a student who would be interested in serving in the House Page Program next session, please click here to learn more. To become a page, applicants must have a legislative sponsor, be between the ages of 14 and 16, and obtain written permission from their parents and school. Pages earn $35 per day.
Girl Scouts come to Olympia
Last week, several girl scouts came down to Olympia for a tour of the Capitol campus. The girls I met with are currently learning about women's history in school, so it was great to share with them my passion for education, experience as a business owner, and personal journey to the Legislature. As the second-youngest woman elected to serve in the state House, I hope to inspire many young girls out there to follow their dreams and make a difference for their community and the state.
Contacting me
Please continue to share your thoughts and ideas for how we can work together to solve the challenges facing our district and state. I always enjoy hearing from you. My contact information is below.
It is an honor to serve the 25th District in the state House.
Sincerely,
Melanie Stambaugh