The 12^th Legislative District Delegation met with Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce members to discuss their top priorities going into the 2022 Legislative Session. Senator Hawkins and Representatives Steele and Goehner all agreed that police reform was one of the top concerns they wanted to focus on. More specifically, revising or repealing the legislation adopted in 2021. “Police reform should be a priority. A lot of the constituents in our area reached out to me wanting the collection of police reform bills to be repealed,” said Senator Hawkins. Along with police reform, housing, capital budgets and the redistricting debate will be priorities this session.
    When asked how the legislature should allocate the State’s increased revenue, from both increased sales and use taxes collected and the federal relief funds, increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates was a focal point. The delegation agreed that focusing on funding existing state programs before creating new ones is a key issue. Senator Hawkins is thankful our economy remains strong despite the pandemic but understands that when revenues go up, they come back down and to find sustainability, the extra revenue could be utilized in the state’s budget stabilization account.
    Regarding WA Cares, long-term care payroll tax, the delegation is in support of a pause and ideally repeal of this tax. The Republican Caucus has called for an immediate pause in the program and other legislators across the state, including the original author of the legislation, have requested a pause in the program to amend or fix the details. The 12th District delegation sees a need to significantly overhaul and reform the program, if not repeal it all together. Legislative debate will be around repealing or fixing the program and to what extent the fixes will take is yet to be known. Without a change in the law or its implementing regulations, it certainly appears that employers are responsible for collecting the new payroll tax. Employers should consult with their financial and/or legal advisors if considering other options. 
    New redistricting maps have been approved and will create change in how our legislators operate. The new 12^th district includes all of Chelan County, East Wenatchee city limits, portion of King County and Snohomish County. The rest of Douglas County will fall in the 7^th Legislative District. These changes will go into effect in 2022 and will impact elections and voting going forward. Representative Steele said, “For the three of us, we are all born and raised here. There’s an affinity for the district as we know it. Part of the reason we all got into this is because we wanted to do good things for the communities we know and love. The three of us are going to get together, reflect on this and see what we can do, if there is any opportunity to move some of these lines, particularly for Douglas County.”
    The 2022 Legislative session is projected to be improved from last session which was offered virtual access only. This session will be hybrid allowing for committees and constituents to meet via Zoom and allowing for in-person meeting on the senate floor if vaccinated or negative testing can be verified. Anyone wanting to engage in the session can contact our legislators on their website to schedule appointments.