News

The governor has signed the Lucas Petty Act (House Bill 1956) to educate students about the dangers of fentanyl and opioids. Opioids represent the largest percentage of overdose deaths in Washington, a staggering 68 percent. Nationally, Washington has the second-highest percentage increase — 65 percent — in fentanyl poisoning deaths over a one-year period. 

Read More

The Washington state legislature has passed a series of bills, sponsored by Rep. Mari Leavitt, University Place, that will help veterans and military families gain access to resources, workforce training and physician assistant certification.

Read More

The Washington State House of Representatives has passed a pair of bills that will help National Guard family members get workforce or college education and help non-profits serve veterans with disabilities.

Read More

The opioid and fentanyl crisis has hit our communities hard. Sadly, a whopping 68 percent of overdose deaths in Washington are from opioids and fentanyl. Even more alarming, our state had the second-highest percentage increase—65 percent—in deaths from fentanyl poisoning over a one-year period. 

Read More

The Washington House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation designed to address aspects of the housing crisis by building more affordable workforce housing at a faster rate. House Bill 1892, sponsored by Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, would establish a workforce housing accelerator program to be administered by the Washington Housing Finance Commission. The program would create a loan program to speed up affordable housing across the state.

Read More

Last month, Rep. Mari Leavitt (D-University Place) was recognized as the 2023 Outstanding Service to Veterans Legislator of the Year by the Governor’s Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee (VAAC) and the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA).

Read More

Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, is privileged to receive five appointments: one appointment is to the Dept. of Children, Youth and Families’ (DCYF) Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice (WA-PCJJ); the second appointment is to DCYF’s Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC); the third is to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Education Standing Committee; the fourth is the Council of State Governments’ (CSG) Housing Committee; and the fifth is to the CSG Western Region Executive Committee.

Read More

Economic resiliency and shared prosperity for Washingtonians hinges on effective workforce development. It requires addressing key workforce shortages, meeting future demand for jobs, and expanding access to education in highly skilled industries.

Read More

Governor Jay Inslee was joined by democratic lawmakers and the Attorney General’s Office to celebrate the signing of House Bill 1051, the Robocall Spam Protection Act. Introduced by Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, the bill will hold accountable those who spam individuals with robocalls maliciously.

Read More

Legislation to prevent hazing has passed the Legislature and is heading to the governor’s desk for signature. House Bill 1002, the Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Act, reclassifies hazing from a simple misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor. In cases resulting in substantial bodily harm, hazing is elevated to a Class C felony. The Sam Martinez Stop Hazing act, sponsored by Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, also allows students who experienced hazing to seek restraining orders as is the case for other serious crimes.

Read More