|
Dear Cultural Sector,
On Tuesday night, we made history. HB 1575 (establishing councilmanic authority for the cultural access program) was approved by the WA Senate! The final vote count was 27 yeas and 22 nays. This was the last step in the long legislative process. Since there were no amendments, the bill goes right to the Governor's desk for his signature. At that point, our bill is law!
What does this mean? Cities or counties may implement a cultural access program by public vote of the people OR a majority vote of their city or county council. Local elected leaders decide the option that is appropriate for their community. We believe that expanded authorizing options will spur the creation of cultural access programs in Washington, so that more communities are inspired by science, heritage, and the arts.
We share this victory with you! From the beginning, we knew this was a challenging bill. The passionate advocacy from individuals like you that met with or emailed their lawmakers, signed in PRO on the state website, or testified for public hearings - YOU made all the difference!
We want to thank our bill's prime sponsor, Representative Julia Reed, and the many members of the Legislature that championed the effort and ushered it through the long committee process. They inspired us all with their incredible vision and steadfast support. Of course, none of this would've been possible without the hard work of our lobbying team, Becky Bogard and David Foster.
| 
