DAVE PAUL: 2021 Legislative Session
Rep. Dave Paul’s campaign email account (dave@votedavepaul.com) sent the following email on Thu., Jan. 28, 2021:
Dear Friends,
The 2021 Legislative Session adjourned on April 25, and the Legislature made progress on many issues that are important to our community.
First and foremost, the Legislature passed several landmark bills that will help families and businesses recover from the Covid pandemic and recession. We made substantial investments in childcare, public health, and housing affordability. The final budget prioritized helping small businesses by reducing unemployment insurance tax rate increases and providing small business grants. And, for the first time, the Legislature funded the working-families tax credit, which is an important step to fixing our regressive tax structure.
Access to broadband is a major infrastructure priority for our community, and it’s critical for economic development, healthcare, and education. The 2021-2023 budget makes historic investments in improving access to broadband in rural communities.
I worked closely with my colleagues to develop local programs aimed at reducing learning loss and improving access to mental health services for young people. I’m proud to have secured a budget proviso to ensure that Island County will receive $750,000 over the next two years to improve mental health outcomes for young people in our community. The state budget also makes significant investments in mental health training and services across our region and state.
Finally, the Legislature has passed bold legislation to protect our quality of life, address climate change, improve forest health, and protect natural resources. I’m excited that to see the Clean Fuels Standard enacted, which will reduce carbon in our transportation system. We also made significant investments in electric vehicle infrastructure and hybrid ferries.
I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to meet with me over the past four months to provide feedback on policies and bills. I’d also like to thank my Legislative Assistant, Mayzie Shaver, for her outstanding and hard work navigating the remote session.
It is an honor to serve as your representative, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Dave
