Washington State Rep. Paul Harris joined Sen. Lynda Wilson to speak on the issues facing the 17th District. Both are focused on healthcare and police reforms.
Washington State Sen. Lynda Wilson speaks on the issues facing her district, focusing on healthcare and police reforms.
Jacob Bertram photos
Washington State Rep. Paul Harris joined Sen. Lynda Wilson to speak on the issues facing the 17th District. Both are focused on healthcare and police reforms.
At the annual luncheon of the Skamania County Economic Development Council, held last Thursday at Skamania Lodge , two of the legislators now representing Skamania County as part of the new 17th Legislative District introduced themselves and presented a glimpse of their plans for the upcoming legislative session.
Sen. Lynda Wilson R-Vancouver, and Rep. Paul Harris R-Vancouver, spoke at the annual event. Skamania County, previously part of the 14th legislative district, is now represented entirely by the 17th legislative district due to this year’s redistricting process. Still, 14 district representative Gina Mosbrucker R-Goldendale noted that her doors were still open as she introduced Wilson and Harris to the audience.
“As you’ve heard, we redistricted. So they took their lines, and they cut out Skamania County, and they moved my district farther towards Yakima. So that does not mean, however, that I can’t run a Capital Budget Project … my door’s always open,” Mosbrucker said.
Mosbrucker, who sits as the House Republicans Caucus Deputy Chair, said she spent a lot of time in discussing stategizing with Harris, who sits as chair, over the previous legislative session.
“We wrestled the caucus throughout all the discussions in the House of Representatives on our side, trying to figure out strategies trying to support our members, and make sure that we can get your policy passed,” she said.
Sen. Wilson told the audience that her priority this next session is affordability. She said she and the Republican caucus are concerned with inflation levels being at a 40-year high, and noted that last year, the state had $50 billion in excess revenue, which was spent up all last year.
This year, there are multiple collective bargaining agreements ongoing, she said, so she is of the understanding that the surplus may be lower this time around.
Last year, Wilson sponsored legislation that would exempt the first $200,000 of property value from state taxes, and she said she was interested in trying again this time for support from her colleagues in the legislature.
She added that police reform will continue to be on the agenda for the Republican caucus during the legislative session. Priorities for reform include reestablishing the ability for law enforcement to pursue a suspect under reasonable suspicion. Currently, law enforcement can only pursue a suspect once they have established probable cause. Lastly she added that she suspects the Democratic caucus will seek to codify Washington v. Blake, the ruling of which established that felony drug possession laws were unconstitutional, meaning simple possession is a misdemeanor throughout the state.
Paid Family Medical Leave is becoming insolvent, she said, adding that she sits on the task force responsible for creating solutions. The Associated Press reported that the program, which provides eligible workers with 12 weeks paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or if a family member has a serious medical condition, or 16 weeks if both are applicable, will reach an $8.7 million deficit by the end of the year.
“So, too many people using it, too many benefits for the money that was going in,” Wilson said. “Ironically, we paid into that a year before benefits were even allowed for it to be dispersed. Right now it looks like what’s going to happen is rates are going to go up,” Wilson said, adding that “we had in our bills to actually just completely get rid of that whole program. In many of our opinions it’s at a place where it’s not going to work.”
Sen. Wilson is the ranking member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, She has been a resident of Clark County for 50 years. She and her husband Tracy are business owners with DeWils Industries, a cabinet-maker and orchard.
Harris said his priorities for the upcoming legislative session include health care. Specifically he spoke on finding solutions to a problem in the healthcare industry in the state, which occurs when patients who are deemed eligible to be discharged to post-acute care facilities, such as skilled nursing homes, are waiting for a bed for a long period of time — “anywhere between three months to a year and a half,” he said. He also said he believes the Hood River bridge will find more funding this next session.
Harris has served as representative for the 17th district since 2010, and has served on the Health Care and Wellness Committee throughout the length of his tenure. He has also been on the education and appropriations committees at various times. Harris currently serves on the labor committee. He and his wife Lori have been married 44 years, have five children, and nine grandchildren,
Rep. Vicki Kraft, who serves as 17th Legislative Representative alongside Harris, was not present at last week’s meeting.
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