Read on Twitter
Today, @GovInslee is starting to rollout pieces of his 2021 budget. But first, he announces he has signed a proclamation that pauses any efforts to terminate a health district, “such as what is currently taking place in Pierce County." #waleg #COVID19
Says health officials need to be focused on distributing COVID-19 vaccines right now, which is why he is pausing efforts to restructure or dissolve health districts during this moment in time. #COVID19 #waleg
Today Inslee is announcing his plans for improving equity in Washington state. We are moving on to that now, day 1 of Inslee mega week of budget rollouts. we have 4 days of proposals he is spacing out between now and Thursday. #waleg #COVID19
Inslee says one of his policy priorities for 2021 session (which starts Jan. 11) is making Juneteenth a state holiday. This is a bill state Rep. Melanie Morgan has proposed. She is speaking now. #waleg #COVID19
Rep. Morgan: "I believe that all of Washington should celebrate the end of an atrocity," which is slavery, she says as she explains her bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday. The governor is throwing his support behind the bill. Here's the text: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1016&Initiative=false&Year=2021 #waleg
Now, @GovInslee said he is putting $2.5 million toward a creating a state Office of Equity. He vetoed funding for that office earlier this year, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Here's the bill from last year: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1783&Year=2019&Initiative=false #waleg
Inslee said he is also recommending an additional $10 million for the state's undocumented immigrant relief fund, which his office set up earlier this year. Background from @LillyAFowler: https://crosscut.com/equity/2020/08/wa-create-40m-fund-undocumented-workers-hurt-pandemic #waleg
Inslee is also supporting @WA_OIC Mike Kreidler's bill that would ban the use of credit scoring in insurance rate-setting. Kreidler and other critics of the practice say it reinforces systemic discrimination. I wrote about the bill last week: https://crosscut.com/news/2020/12/bad-credit-shouldnt-mean-higher-insurance-rates-wa-official-says #waleg
Earlier, the governor also said his 2021-23 budget proposal also will put money toward an independent office to investigate police uses of force -- I missed the precise funding number. #waleg
"Inslee is proposing $26 million in the 2021–23 biennium for the creation of the Office of Independent investigations. After 2023, the office will cost approximately $17 million per year," governor's office says about independent office to investigate police uses of force. #waleg
