LEGISLATURE 2023-24: Key issues we’re tackling… (REP. DAVE PAUL)
State Representative Dave Paul (D-Oak Harbor) sent this email to constituents from his legislative account on Tue., Jan. 9, 2024.
Dear neighbors,
Thank you so much to everyone who shared their thoughts with me in our recent 10th district survey. Finding common ground and bipartisan solutions that work for our community starts with listening to each other.
I asked about the issues you cared about—and what you’d fix, if you had the power to do anything.
Your comments and ideas will help guide me during this short, 60-day session of the Legislature.
Out of the hundreds of responses, a few issues stood out. These three comments were representative of the survey.
- The ferry system is unreliable for residents who depend on ferries for medical appointments, classes, and jobs.
- Housing is far too expensive. My son is in his late twenties and works full-time at a local business but cannot afford to live anywhere nearby. I’m growing increasingly worried about his ability to afford buying a home. For many in our community, apartment rents consume more than 50% of their income. This is not acceptable…. Housing prices are impossibly out of reach for an entire generation of hard-working and educated people.
- Education, rural broadband, and economic development go hand-in-hand. It’s vital for our state to expand access to quality broadband services.
Other key concerns included tackling homelessness, improving public safety, protecting the environment, and improving apprenticeship and career training opportunities for young people.
Here are three ideas people shared as possible solutions:
- Since I live on Whidbey Island, I wish you could restart the program to bring new ferries online. The current fleet is very old and unreliable.
- Legislation that limits short-term rentals such as AirBnB. We need more affordable housing.
- Homelessness is the problem that I would focus on which is also a drug problem in many communities.
I believe these are common issues for all families here in the 10th District and throughout the state of Washington.
This session, I’ll keep working on ferries, rural broadband, housing, and other major issues that are critical to people in the 10th District. We can—and must—make progress on our common problems.
I’m also working on legislation to help people in specific ways:
- Capping the cost of inhalers and epi-pens at $35 each, matching the cap on insulin costs we passed last year (House Bill 1979).
- Increasing access to portable orders for life-sustaining treatment, which would let paramedics and EMT’s recognize medical jewelry linked to Do Not Resuscitate orders, along with a database of people who established such orders (House Bill 2166).
- Tackling the law enforcement workforce shortage by allowing retired officers to work part-time (House Bill 2167).
I’ll keep you updated about what’s happening this session on major issues like these. And I hope to continue hearing your stories, comments, and ideas.
You can make a difference
Please stand up, speak out, and get involved this session.
Your stories and comments help me advocate for change, and our democracy is strongest when everyone has the opportunity to take part.
That’s why we’ve made it easier than ever to participate in the legislative process:
- Watch committee hearings, floor debates, and other events live at tvw.org
- Read any legislation or amendment at app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/
- Testify on a bill in committee in person or remotely by visiting leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx
- Call or email my office, or come visit me in Olympia!
As always, it’s an honor to serve as your representative.
Dave Paul
