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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope this email finds you well! I want to start this update with a fun fact—no need to adjust your screens. You are seeing double banners. Why? On Feb. 16, 2016, seven years ago to the day, I walked onto the House of Representatives floor for the first time as your state representative. It is truly an honor to serve the great people of the 2nd District!

Legislative Update

We are in week six of our 105-day session. The pace is starting to pick up. We are beginning to see more bills come to the House floor for a full chamber vote.

In case you were not aware, there have been over 1,500 bills introduced this session. I bring this up because we will hit our first significant deadline tomorrow – house of origin policy cutoff.

Any policy bill introduced this session must have received a public hearing and moved out of its respective committee to continue in the legislative process.

Most policy bills do not have a fiscal impact on the state's budgets. Those bills with a budgetary impact will hit their committee deadline on Friday, Feb. 24, known as house of origin fiscal cutoff. I will provide a transportation budget update once we hit this cutoff.

As we reach policy cutoff, watch the latest edition of the Barkis Breakdown to learn more about the bills I have introduced this session. You can watch by clicking here or on the photo below.

Housing Update

In my previous updates, I discussed the good, bipartisan housing policy we have been working on this session. In this update, I would like to provide a brief update on two bad policies (House Bills 1388 and 1389) voted out of the House Housing Committee.

I opposed House Bill 1389 during the committee's executive session. Rent control has been proven not to work. It is the wrong approach for Washington state. This bill would only bring additional burdens to our housing providers. Plain and simple, this bill goes too far. We have already come together in a bipartisan manner to work on policy to address the lack of housing supply throughout the state. This should continue to be our focus, not rent control.

To watch my entire speech, click here or on the photo below.

I will continue to fight against these horrible policies and do all I can to not place further burdens on our housing providers across the state.

In other housing news, I had the opportunity to tour a model accessory dwelling unit (ADU) this week on the Capitol campus. I have co-sponsored bipartisan House Bill 1337 with Rep. Mia Gregerson (D-Sea-Tac), seeking to expand housing options by easing barriers to the construction and use of ADUs. This bill was voted out of the House Housing Committee. I look forward to the debate in the coming weeks on the House floor.

Stay Connected | Resources and Important Links

I hope you will bookmark and save the links below.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas regarding your state government or any of the topics and issues mentioned in this update, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

It is an honor to serve you.

In Service,


Andrew Barkis

State Representative Andrew Barkis, 2nd Legislative District
RepresentativeAndrewBarkis.com
427A Legislative Building | P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
andrew.barkis@leg.wa.gov
(360) 786-7824 | Toll-free: (800) 562-6000