LEGISLATURE 2025-26 / CLYDE SHAVERS: Fighting to Lower Your Cost of Living & Town Hall Announcement!

State Representative Clyde Shavers (D-Clinton) posted this in the news section of his legislative website on Feb. 19, 2026.

Friends and neighbors, 

If you live in the 10th Legislative District, you already know the math doesn’t always add up. Groceries cost more. Housing is tight. Gas adds up fast. And when you add rural living, long commutes, and the day-to-day unpredictability of life, the “little” expenses aren’t little at all. That’s the lens I bring with me to Olympia: cost of living needs to be a focus here – it’s a monthly reality for families on Whidbey and Camano, and across Skagit and Snohomish. 

And that’s why I want to share some encouraging news: several of the bills I’ve been working on have made it through the House floor and are moving forward in the process – because when we say we’re working as hard as possible, we mean it. These bills are connected by a simple theme: make everyday life more doable – by lowering costs where we can, protecting you from surprise hits where we can’t, and strengthening the community anchors that keep us going. The cost-of-living fight is not one big bill. It’s a hundred practical fixes. 

Here’s what that looks like in real life. 

Expanding Tax Exemption for Local Assembly Halls 

It looks like the Grange Hall that hosts breakfasts, community dinners, youth events, and fundraisers – often quietly filling gaps that government can’t always fill. When I visited local Granges, I heard the same thing again and again – that we’re holding this community together, but it’s getting harder to keep the lights on. That matters, because when those doors close, families lose a low-cost place to gather and support each other. 

That’s why I pushed House Bill 2431. It’s designed to help nonprofit public assembly halls and meeting places – like many Granges – keep their property tax exemption while doing what they do best: hosting regular, community-based fundraising that keeps the building open and the service going. Under House Bill 2431, the annual limit for fundraising activities tied to that exemption is increased from 15 days to 50 days, so these organizations have more flexibility to sustain themselves.  

Here’s the bigger picture: when a Grange can hold more recurring fundraisers – whether that’s a monthly breakfast or veteran event that keep the place active – that support ripples outward. In a time when everything feels more expensive, that kind of stability is a cost-of-living issue, too. And the House agreed. House Bill 2431 passed the House 94-0. 

Cost of living isn’t just prices – it’s also the unexpected costs when life shifts abruptly. Few families know that better than military families. 

Supporting Children of Military Families 

Our district has a strong military presence, and I hear from families who are doing everything right – working hard, serving our country, taking care of their kids – only to get orders and suddenly have to rebuild routines overnight. When a student can’t enroll smoothly, when records don’t transfer, when supports don’t follow them quickly, it doesn’t just create stress. It creates bills. 

It can mean parents missing work, paying for extra childcare, or scrambling for tutoring. It can mean delays in services and accommodations. It can mean a child falling behind through no fault of their own – and families paying the price in time, money, and emotional bandwidth. 

That’s why I sponsored House Bill 2534, focused on promoting educational stability for children of military families. This bill updates school district requirements around enrollment, records transfers, and making sure needed supports follow the student. It also includes practical changes like allowing a conditional enrollment application to be submitted electronically and giving families a clear timeline so kids can get into school quickly while records are being finalized. 

The House didn’t just pass it – the House sent it forward with a strong signal: House Bill 2534 passed 96-0. That unanimous vote matters because it says this isn’t partisan. It’s about families. It’s about continuity. And it’s about reducing the very real costs that come with disruption. 

Protecting Your Monthly Budget with Guardrails for Water Rates 

Now let’s talk about one of the most basic cost-of-living pressures there is: your utility bill. When your water bill jumps unexpectedly, it hits like a pothole you didn’t see coming. You can’t choose to not have water, and most households don’t have room in the budget for sudden spikes. 

That’s why I’m proud to co-sponsor House Bill 1906, which is about increasing transparency and consumer protection in water system rates. The bill lays out a clear concern: water system ratepayers often aren’t provided sufficient notice of planned investments and the impacts on rates, and that can lead to sudden and significant rate increases. Also, House Bill 1906 adds stronger guardrails for water rates by limiting how much profit investor-owned water companies can earn, and by requiring a clear, public explanation when they ask for higher returns. 

Watch my comments on House Bill 1906 here.

House Bill 1906 passed 91-1. This matters because this bill is directly tied to a cost-of-living promise: protect people’s monthly budgets by building transparency into the system before the bill shows up. 

Ensuring You Know What’s Real and What’s Not in Artificial Intelligence 

One of the biggest changes hitting our daily lives right now is happening on our phones and computers. More and more of what we read, watch, and share is being created or altered by artificial intelligence, and it’s getting harder to tell the difference between what’s authentic and what’s synthetic. That confusion doesn’t just stay online. It spills into communities, family group chats, and even public debate.  

That’s why I introduced House Bill1170. At its core, this bill is about transparency: giving Washingtonians clearer signals when content has been developed or modified using generative AI. The goal isn’t to scare people about new technology or to slow innovation. It’s to set commonsense expectations so people can better understand what they’re looking at, hearing, or sharing – especially as AI tools become more powerful and more widespread. House Bill 1170 is one step toward restoring clarity, so we’re not leaving families and communities to navigate this new world alone. 

House Bill 1170 passed the House floor on February 13 with a recorded vote of 56-37, and it’s now moving forward in the process. This is one of those bills that’s about more than technology. It’s about protecting real people – your parents, your neighbors, your coworkers – from harm that’s evolving faster than most of us can keep up with. 

Convenient Health Care Access for Remote Hearing Care (Telehealth) 

Living where we live, access to healthcare is often shaped by geography. Getting care can mean long drives, time off work, ferry schedules, and a whole lot of logistics – especially for older adults and working families. 

That’s why I introduced House Bill 2618, and why I’m also working its Senate companion, Senate Bill 6226, which focuses on protecting the clinical autonomy of audiologists. The Senate bill report summarizes a core idea: licensed practitioners should use their clinical judgment to decide whether telehealth or in-person care is appropriate for a patient. That’s a practical cost-of-living issue in our district. When telehealth is appropriate, it can mean less travel cost, less time away from work, and faster access to care. 

Senate Bill 6226 has already passed the Senate 48-0, and I will work to get this to the finish line. 

Serving as Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore 

You may have seen that I’m serving this session as an Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore. 

Here’s what that means: I help preside over House floor debate and voting when needed, supporting the Speaker Pro Tempore team and helping keep the process running efficiently, smoothly, and respectfully – especially during the long days when major legislation is being debated and voted on. If you’ve never watched floor debate, it’s fast, procedural, and sometimes intense. The person with the gavel has to keep things moving, apply the rules consistently, and make sure every member – no matter their district or party – has a fair process. 

Town Hall Announcement 

I want to invite you to join me for a pair of town halls next Thursday, February 26. The first one starts at 4:00 p.m. at the Whidbey Island Nordic Hall, 63 Jacobs Rd in Coupeville. Then, I will be at Maple Hall 104 Commercial St in La Conner at 6:00 p.m. I hope to see you there! 

We are not taking a wait-and-see approach. Our office is working at full speed – listening, drafting, negotiating, building coalitions, and putting in the long hours it takes to move real policy through a very real, very complicated process. And the proof isn’t in slogans. It’s in outcomes. 

If you’ve got a story about a surprise utility rate increase, a school transition mid-year, a Grange that’s holding the community together, or anything else, I want to hear it. Those stories don’t just inspire me – they sharpen the work and make policy better. 

Thank you for the honor of serving you and thank you for the grit and generosity I see across the 10th District every single week. We’ve got more work ahead – and we’re going to keep showing up, pushing forward, and fighting for a Washington that’s more affordable, more workable, and more connected. 

Always at Your Service, 

Clyde