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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Tomorrow, Feb. 17, I'll be holding three town hall meetings with my fellow East King County lawmakers, Rep. Jay Rodne and Sen. Mark Mullet. We'll be providing updates on the session, as well as taking your questions.
Details are as follows:
Maple Valley
Time: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: Maple Valley Community Center
Address: 22010 SE 248th St, Maple Valley, WA 98038
Issaquah
Time: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Blakely Hall
Address: 2550 NE Park Dr, Issaquah, WA 98029
North Bend
Time: 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: North Bend Library
Address: 115 E 4th St, North Bend, WA 98045
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
House passes bill that would help Maple Valley with road maintenance costs
On Tuesday, the state House passed my bill to raise the population threshold for when a city assumes responsibility for maintaining state routes. Under current law, the Washington State Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining state routes that cross through cities with fewer than 25,000 residents. House Bill 2948 would raise that threshold to 35,000 residents.
This is an important bill for every city and town that has state routes within its boundaries, including Maple Valley, where I grew up. When I was a child, Maple Valley was a town of 5,000 people. Today, its population hovers around 25,000. Without this bill, city planners may soon be tasked with figuring out what to cut from the city's annual budget in order to maintain the Maple Valley Highway. That would have serious ramifications.
House Bill 2948 was approved 86-12, and is now in the Senate Transportation Committee.
Assistive personnel bill also advances out of the House
House Bill 2446 would expand the number of assistive personnel physical therapists are allowed to supervise from two to three. Providing physical therapists with additional assistive personnel (licensed physical therapy assistants, massage therapists, athletic trainers, exercise physiologists, etc.) would help them better meet patients' needs.
This bill was approved in the House, 95-3, and is now in the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee. It's scheduled to receive a public hearing next Thursday, Feb. 22.
Foster parent pre-service training bill in state Senate committee
My bill aimed at making it easier for prospective foster parents to complete their pre-service training passed the House unanimously on Jan. 22, and is now in the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee. Under House Bill 2256, all 24 hours of pre-service training would be made available online, and some, but not all, of the online training would count toward getting a foster license.
This bill is scheduled for a public hearing on Monday, Feb. 19. If you would like to come to Olympia to testify on it, please send me an email at paul.graves@leg.wa.gov.
Contacting me
Please continue calling and emailing me with your thoughts, questions, and concerns about the 2018 legislative session. Your feedback helps me to better serve you here in the Legislature.
It is an honor to serve you.
Sincerely,
Paul Graves
