Report of Faith Action Network Advocacy Day
The first virtual Interfaith Advocacy was 2/11/21 thanks to the Pacific NW UMC Conference which provided IT services. We only had one representative attending this year, even though it was on line. I would like to encourage members to participate, whenever you can. I am from the 17th LD, and we were able to meet with our Representative Paul Harris on the 18th. Our Representative Vicki Kraft, and Senator Lynda Harris both failed to meet with our delegation. This is the second year in a row they have failed to meet with us, and it wouldn't hurt to encourage them to try to be more available to their constituency.
I think our visit with Rep Paul Harris went very well. Since we did not meet with him until the 18th, we had plenty of time to plan ahead. As a result we were able to present a pretty large number of bills. We had 5 people in the group. One presenter provided information on HB 1091 - The Clean Fuels Standard. This would help reduce emissions (40% of emissions come from transportation), and HB 1084 - Healthy Homes and Clean Buildings Standard, which would require all new buildings in WA to be zero-carbon by 2030, and would allow public utilities to incentivize electrifying homes and businesses. Wendee Shuell was able to attend the meeting with our representative, and presented HB 1318, which provides funding for Community and Technical Colleges. Another presenter provided information on Policing and Criminal Justice Reform bills. Rep. Harris was thanked for helping to pass HB 1342 reducing the cost of co-pay for school lunch, and voting to pass a budget that will address some of our housing issues, including Shared Housing. Other bills were also brought up including HB 1078 to restore voting rights for former prisoners, as well as others. All of the The FAN delegates were over 65, which emphasizes how difficult it is for younger people to advocate, and that we need to figure out how to get younger people involved.
