Trivia!

As both the Senate and House of Representatives have spent the bulk of the last two weeks “on” the Floor, this has been a common sight in both chambers. Masked Rostrum staff, surrounded by plexiglass, keeping the process moving. And, I should add, working incredibly long hours, including weekends.

In the State Senate, the Lt. Governor serves as President and presides over nearly every Senate Floor activity. In the House, multiple people serve in that presiding role. Much of the House Floor activity is led by the Speaker Pro Tempore (currently Representative Tina Orwall) and the Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore (currently Representative John Lovick). Speaker Laurie Jinkins will also preside on occasion, particularly when monumental bills are under consideration.

Since this is our new Lt. Governor Denny Heck’s first year in the role of Senate President, this week’s trivia is focused on tidbits about Lt. Governor Heck. To learn more beyond the bland web articles, I reached out to the Lt. Governor’s longtime friend and my colleague, Paul Berendt.

1. What was Lt. Governor Heck’s job immediately prior to his November election as Lt. Governor?
2. Lt. Governor Heck is an avid fan of what basketball team?

Highlights of the Week

American Rescue Plan Act is Now Law. Following an all-nighter by the U.S. Senate on Friday night/Saturday morning and a confirmation vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law on Thursday, March 11th.

There is a lot of press around the many positive investments for our nation’s families, including the Child Tax Credit as well as substantial child care, Head Start, and home visiting investments. The per state funding allocations are still being finalized and we are all anxiously awaiting federal guidance on spending parameters.  In the meantime, I wanted to share this resource developed by the national First Five Years Fund that contains details on the specific investments targeted to families. As Washington state budget writers put the finishing touches on their proposals, we will be carefully watching how they approach this significant infusion of federal dollars for families and other critical public investments.

Fair Start Act Bills Advance. Both the Senate (E2SSB 5237) and the House (E2SHB 1213) versions of the Fair Start for Kids Act passed out of their respective chambers before the March 9th cutoff. Start Early Washington has updated its resource documents detailing a summary of the most recent amendments and a side-by-side chart of the current versions of both bills. E2SSB 5237 has been scheduled to be heard in the House Children, Youth and Families Committee on Thursday, March 18th. E2SHB 1213 has not been scheduled for a public hearing as of this writing.

This is an exciting time for Washington families as the state is poised to adopt a roadmap for broadly expanding its quality early learning infrastructure, backed by significant new investments. With amendments adopted on Saturday, the Senate signaled its priorities for the Fair Start Act by advancing the timeline for implementation of increased eligibility and reimbursement, leveraging a portion of child care funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Specifically, the Senate amendments increase:

• Income eligibility for families for Working Connections Child Care beginning July 1, 2021 from 200% of Federal Poverty Level to 60% of State Median Income. This represents an increase in income eligibility for a family of three from $43,920 to $51,804.
• The Working Connections Child Care reimbursement rate to 85th percentile as of July 1, 2021.
• The ECEAP reimbursement rate by 10% beginning in the 2021-22 school year.

The House version has not yet been amended to reflect how the federal child care and other funding will advance the Fair Start for Kids Act goals. With both bills still moving, we can expect the Senate and House to decide on one of the bills as the vehicle to move forward and negotiate differences between the two policy and budget approaches.

Capital Gains Tax Passes Senate. On Saturday, the State Senate passed Capital Gains for the first time on a 25-24 vote. ESSB 5096 would impose a 7 percent capital gains tax effective January 1, 2022.

The bill contains intent language that the first $350 million generated by the tax would go into the Education Legacy Trust Account with a focus on early learning and child care; the next $100 million to the state General Fund; and the balance of funds collected would go into a newly created Taxpayer Fairness Account.  This Taxpayer Fairness Account is intended to fund the Working Families Tax Exemption referenced above.  This Seattle Times article provides a summary of the debate and the bill’s details.  ESSB 5096 will receive a public hearing in the House Finance Committee on Monday, March 15^th.

Floor Action Concluded.  After what felt like weeks of staring at screens as the House and Senate spent hours alternating between caucus meetings, debates and votes, the initial round of floor activity concluded on Tuesday, March 9^th.  For lobbyists, monitoring Floor activity in a virtual environment required constant refreshing of TVW and texting colleagues, “are they back?”

Given that I reported on the 5:00 bill last week, I thought I would share how our legislature approached it this year. The House actually adjourned at 3:46 p.m., far before the 5:00 deadline. Their final bill before cutoff was ESHB 1297, the Working Families Tax Exemption. This bill passed 94-2 and it looks like there will finally be funding for this policy that has been on the books but unfunded for more than 10 years.

The Senate took the unusual step of scheduling a House bill for its 5:00 bill.  This is unusual because a House bill is not subject to cutoff deadlines at this stage. The House bill covered was SHB 1088 relating to potential impeachment disclosures. This bill passed 46-3 and is one of the policy reform proposals under review this year. Senate leadership stated they took this unusual step to demonstrate their commitment to advancing law enforcement reform this year.

Bill Roundup

Early Learning Facilities Bill Moves to the Senate. On Monday, the House approved ESHB 1370 on a 90-7 vote, making improvements to the existing Early Learning Facilities program. Prior to the vote, the House approved an amendment to name the facilities funds after former Representative Ruth Kagi. On a day with sometimes controversial items, this provided an opportunity for members on both sides of the aisle to celebrate Representative Kagi’s legacy. Related to my blurb above about presiding officers, Speaker Jinkins presided over consideration of ESHB 1370 and took a point of personal privilege following the bill’s passage to honor her former seatmate, Representative Kagi. ESHB 1370 is now in the Senate, where it was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

DCYF Licensing Bill Receives Public Hearing.  On Thursday, the House Children, Youth and Families held a public hearing on SSB 5151, DCYF’s licensing bill.  The bill contains a number of licensing provisions within the Department.  In terms of early learning, the bill waives child care licensing fees until June 30, 2023 and makes the outdoor preschool pilot program permanent.  It is scheduled to receive a vote in the committee on March 17^th.

On Deck Next Week

Revenue Forecast. Scheduled appropriately on St. Patrick’s Day, the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council will receive an updated revenue report. This report will help inform budget writers in their efforts to finalize their budget proposals. At a media availability this week, House Majority Leader Representative Pat Sullivan noted that the budget proposals may be released a little later this year to give budget writers time to analyze the various aspects of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Trivia Answers

1. Prior to his November election, Lt. Governor Heck was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 10th District (Olympia).
2. Lt. Governor Heck is a fervent Gonzaga Bulldog basketball fan. When he used to appear on cable news shows during his time in Congress, he often had a Gonzaga hat or other Zags item displayed prominently in the background.

Lt. Governor Heck served five terms in the Washington State House of Representatives. He was first elected at the ripe age of 24 in 1976, and he eventually rose to the position of House Majority Leader. Lt. Governor Heck also served as Chief of Staff to former Governor Booth Gardner and helped found TVW. This experience with the Washington State Legislature allowed him to jump right into presiding over marathon Senate floor sessions (although he did slip more than once and refer to the body as the House – understandable!).

The son of a telephone operator and a teamster, our Lt. Governor was one of the first graduates of Evergreen State College. He has called Olympia home for forty years, so it is really not a surprise he would come back to the State Capitol where he started his career. According to Paul, the Lt. Governor is an “extraordinary” cribbage and pinochle player and is a part of an Olympia based book club that has met for a number of years.

I wonder if his book club read Heck’s own 2002 novel, “The Enemy You Know” about Jess Stevens who, according to Amazon, “retires abruptly at the peak of his career to build a ‘dream’ home on the idyllic shores of Loon Lake, 35 miles north of Spokane, Washington.”

Tomorrow, President Joe Biden is expected to sign the American Rescue Plan, a sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package to help families across the country struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation includes investments in child care, health care, housing assistance, special education, mental health services, stable access to food and other supports for families that will go a long way to alleviating many of the challenges the pandemic has brought to families across the country -particularly those who live in communities that have been historically under resourced and overburdened.

It provides $39 billion in child care funding, includes immediate supports for child care providers who have been hit hard by the pandemic economically, allows states to ensure essential workers can access child care with little- to no-cost to them — regardless of income — and includes funding for the important work of rebuilding and strengthening state child care systems.

The legislation also includes significant investments for other critical parts of the prenatal-five system, including $200 million to support preschoolers with disabilities and $250 million for infants and toddlers under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), $1B for Head Start programs, and $150 million for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program.

In response, Kristin Bernhard, senior vice president of Policy and Advocacy at Start Early issued the following statement:

“Start Early applauds Congress for passing one the most significant investments in young children in decades, the American Rescue Plan. There has never been a more critical time to support children, families and the early childhood workforce.

“The last year has illuminated how the ongoing impact of historical and systemic racism continues to magnify the stressors so many of our youngest children and their families face, such as homelessness, food insecurity, and financial instability.

“While our early childhood education system was broken well before the pandemic began, the pandemic has left child care in America on the verge of collapse and in a state of crisis never seen before.

“Millions of families are struggling to provide the high-quality care needed for their children’s well-being and their ability to work. Doulas, home visitors, preschool teachers, in-home providers and other early childhood professionals have been forced to put their lives on the line or shutter their doors, all while being compensated at levels that don’t reflect their expertise or the importance and complexity of the work they do.

“Our nation has underfunded this crucial support for families for decades. This funding has the potential to improve access to quality early learning and care for all families.

“Perhaps most importantly, the American Rescue Plan creates an opportunity to build towards a bright and just future for all children. Now our efforts must focus on supporting states to effectively use the funds to repair and redesign early childhood systems and supports to be more equitable, to increase access for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), to reach more children with disabilities and their families, and to target funding to build capacity of currently under-resourced communities.”

Educational & Emotional Support

The birth of a new family member can be both an exciting and overwhelming time, even before the unique circumstances created by the global pandemic. Laura immediately found her phone conversations, text messages and virtual home visits helpful.

“With COVID limiting our resources, it was nice to have an outside connection — someone here to listen and talk, who is very knowledgeable and nonjudgmental,” she explains.

Laura laughs a little as she admits that Tommy hasn’t been her easiest baby, earning the nickname “Mr. Grunty Pants.” After Tommy was diagnosed with reflux, Marianne encouraged safe sleeping habits and offered tips on how to help him sleep and to hold him upright after feedings. She also shared information about the different periods of crying, which helped Laura and her husband reestablish what they had known with other babies but had forgotten.

“Marianne helped us remember that he’s not crying to be annoying, he’s crying to tell us something. She also reinforced that what we are experiencing is normal, although frustrating. It is a phase of Tommy’s development, and it will pass,” Laura recalls.

The program also provided Laura with an extra layer of emotional support. In a time that is usually focused on the new baby, she found a safe space to talk with Marianne about her other children, the loss of her second daughter at 23 weeks and 3 days, and the impact on her emotional health for each subsequent pregnancy.

“After being pregnant for so long and caring for others, I felt seen, loved and cared for,” she remembers. “When we didn’t have family support, the extra emotional and educational support she gave us was encouraging and helpful. Marianne fostered a caring relationship with my family and helped enhance a smoother transition with a new baby and the changing of sibling and family dynamics.”

Furthering Knowledge

In her maternal newborn clinical, Laura teaches nursing students about nurse postpartum home visits, including conducting an assessment, providing family education, breastfeeding and bottle feeding support, and fostering a caring relationship with the family. After experiencing the program and its benefits, Laura is eager to pair her nursing students with Family Connects nurses to witness the program first hand.

“The postpartum home care visit offers nurses the opportunity to reinforce self and infant care,” Laura explains. “The holistic care Marianne delivered helped me better adjust to the changes that Tommy brought to our family. She provided the support and encouragement that I needed, and for that I am grateful as it not only benefited me and Tommy, but my whole family.”

“During learning, students are often so focused on getting the answer right and what’s in the textbook, and they get such brief glimpses into the unique lives and needs of families during their clinical time at the hospital,” she concludes. “Bringing a new baby into a family is a stressful time for all families. Raising awareness of universal newborn support programs like Family Connects Illinois can help our future nurses ensure all families get connected to resources in the community once they leave the hospital.”

Trivia Answers

1. I do love a trick question. Frances Axtell and Nena Jolidon Croake were both elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1912, two years after women in Washington gained the right to vote in 1910. It took 10 more years for Reba Hurn to be elected to the State Senate in 1922.
2. Washington State ranks 9th in the country for women in its Legislature. Women comprise 41.5% of the Legislature, with 19 of the 49 Senate seats held by women and 42 of the 98 House seats held by women.

More Information About Our State’s First Female Legislators

Both Representatives Axtell and Croake were born in Illinois and had advanced degrees. Representative Axtell represented Bellingham and Representative Croake represented Tacoma. Both women only served one term, with Representative Axtell focusing on public safety legislation and Representative Croake on improving working conditions for women. The press labeled Representative Axtell “the lady from Whatcom who votes as she pleases.” It does not appear that Representative Croake served long enough to get a label.

An April 24 2019 Fairmount Memorial Association post had more information on Washington state’s first female Senator, Reba Hurn of Spokane, who was elected in 1922. In addition to being the first female member of the State Senate, Senator Hurn was also the first women admitted to the Washington State Bar Association. Senator Hurn’s primary focus during her legislative career was defending Prohibition and she worked to ensure Washington stayed “bone dry.” Given that interest, it is not a surprise to hear she chaired the Public Morals Committee (I’m really curious what types of bills that committee reviewed). She also chaired the State Library committee. Senator Hurn was defeated during her run for a third term because her constituents did not agree with her goal of eliminating county government, an issue her rural constituents held dear. Looking at life nearly 100 years later, I would say both county government and access to alcohol have prevailed!

Sen. Reba Hurn, photo courtesy of Fairmount Memorial Association

The science is clear: the first three years of life are the most critical for development. However, it is in these earliest years where we shortchange our children the most. We know that we have a lack of programs and services across the country for infants, toddlers and their families – and those that we do have are extremely underfunded. In order to address these disparities and ensure a bright future for youngest children, bold and collective action is needed.

Last year, in Illinois, a broad group of 100+ diverse stakeholders convened to develop an ambitious, comprehensive, multi-year and strategic policy agenda that spells out exactly what Illinois families need to have the strongest foundation in their first years of life. Through the agenda’s execution, 100,000 more expecting families, infants and toddlers will receive services and supports they need by 2025. In developing recommended policy priorities, we examined data, applied a racial equity lens and focused on Illinois’ priority populations.

We have since kicked off our work to implement our Illinois Prenatal to Three (PN3) Policy Agenda through the Prenatal to Three Coalition, as part of a national movement of 19 states funded by Pritzker Children’s Initiative to move prenatal to age 3-focused efforts and policies forward. Start Early, together with the Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, will lead the Coalition as a public – private partnership.

While our agenda is comprehensive, its structure is clear and simple with four interconnected priorities:

1. Healthy parents and babies, so that each expecting family and family with infants and toddlers has access to the critical services they need.
2. High-quality learning, so families have access to the types of care and education they need during the earliest, most foundational years of their development.
3. Economically secure families that have access to basic income supports necessary to provide essential needs and do not have to sacrifice a job to care for children.
4. Strong infrastructure with an equitable, cohesive system of supports for families, providers and communities.

At the time of the agenda’s development, we had no idea that the last year would bring such radical changes. In this unprecedented landscape, many of us have seen, in increasingly stark terms, the growing number of families who face frightening financial hardship and have uncertain access to health services that could not be more critical.

If we truly want to end the racial inequities that persist today, we must start at the beginning and ensure that expecting families and babies have what they need for a strong foundation. Together, we are addressing the root causes of disparities and working to create an equitable and cohesive early childhood development system of supports for Illinois’ expecting families, infants and toddlers and the communities in which they live.

The support of individuals and/or organizations is critical to delivering on the Illinois Prenatal to Three Agenda. To join this collective effort, please complete our Interest Form or reach out to our team at IllinoisPN3@StartEarly.org.

At Start Early, we know that reading is fundamental to a child’s development. As we celebrate Read Across America Day, we recognize the importance of making reading with your little ones a priority every day! By reading with your young child, you are not only bonding and inspiring a love of reading, but also developing strong early language and literacy skills that are key to future learning and success.

No matter how old your child is — from babies and toddlers to preschoolers — these six tips from our experts will help you make the most of storytime:

1. Start early. Reading to babies is important for healthy brain development and lays the foundation for language and writing skills.
2. Make reading a part of your daily routine. Establishing a routine helps ensure that reading is part of your daily schedule, such as before naptime and bedtime. It also creates times during the day that both of you can look forward to.
3. Try board and cloth books for babies. By age 1, most babies can grab books. Board and cloth books are great options for babies who like to touch things and put everything in their mouths.
4. Take turns with your toddler. By age 2, most toddlers can hold a book and point at the pictures. Let your toddler turn the pages of a board book, and respond when they point or react to the story.
5. Ask your child questions. As you read to your child, make the experience interactive by asking questions, such as “What do you think will happen next?” or “What was your favorite part of the story? Why?”
6. Just keep reading. Reading to your child helps them develop a habit of listening to stories and loving books. This is one of the most important pieces of advice – make sure you are reading early and often.

Trivia!

Sunday, February 28th, marks the 20th anniversary of the 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake.

The earthquake hit while legislative session was underway. After the rumbling subsided, lawmakers, staff and lobbyists gathered safely outside of the buildings, as they were taught in grade school. While they were awaiting further instruction, a deep crack was noted on one of the pillars holding up the huge dome:

1. How long was the Legislative Building closed for repairs and seismic upgrades?
2. During the time the Legislative Building was closed, where did the Legislature first meet to conduct its business?

Highlights of the Week

Virtual Floor Session. Following Monday’s fiscal cutoff deadline, the Senate and House pivoted to nearly two weeks focused exclusively on floor activity. Frequently unstable broadband and other logistical challenges reinforced the importance that both bodies built in extra time for floor debate. This is just going to take longer.

When there is a pause in activity, it is sometimes unclear whether it is due to the need for additional time to resolve issues (often referred to as “things have blown up”) or if there is a logistical issue. This confusion (at least for this author) occurred on Tuesday evening when the House of Representatives was debating SHB 1356 which would bar public schools from using Native American names, mascots and other references. In the midst of the discussion, there was an abrupt pause. After some time, House Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore Representative John Lovick came back on to remind legislators of the steps to take if they encounter technical challenges. Problem solved – issue was not with the bill itself; the break had to do with ensuring legislators wishing to speak could be heard. The bill passed and now moves to the Senate for consideration there.

The debate on SHB 1356 is worth watching, starting with the bill’s sponsor Representative Debra Lekanoff’s opening remarks at one hour, seventeen minutes.   I know a number of newspapers ran articles on this bill and the debate, but it is valuable to watch and hear the full discussion.

Status of Early Learning Bills. We expect to see a number of early learning bills receive floor debate over the next ten days. We will provide a fuller status report in next week’s March 5th Notes from Olympia.

On Thursday, the Senate passed SSB 5151 after extensive discussion. This is the Department of Children, Youth and Families’ bill that relates to a number of licensing items. With regard to early learning, the bill waives child care licensing fees and makes outdoor preschool permanent, rather than a pilot, allowing outdoor preschool programs to participate in Working Connections Child Care. The extensive debate on this bill was not focused on these early learning items, but on child-specific licenses for children in foster care.

Other bills expected to be addressed include both the Senate and House versions of the Fair Start for Kids Act (2SHB 1213/2SSB 5237) and SHB 1370 which makes improvements to the Early Learning Facilities program.  Bills that are “Necessary to Implement the Budget,” such as SHB 1451 which moves out the ECEAP entitlement date, are not subject to cutoff deadlines.

The Senate Capital Gains bill, SSB 5096, is in the Senate Rules committee and could be pulled to the Floor to receive a debate and vote prior to the March 9^th cutoff date.  The House Capital Gains bill, HB 1496, is still in the House Finance committee, but it is not subject to cutoff deadlines because it would be “Necessary to Implement the Budget”.

How to Follow Legislative Activity. As noted above, both the Senate and House will be spending until March 9th in caucus or floor session. We are expecting Saturday work sessions both tomorrow and next weekend (and even on Sunday, maybe). And while a general outline of schedules is provided, the legislative process is fluid, to say the least.

As we shared in previous updates, all activity is captured on TVW.org. For live coverage, you can click “Schedule” in the upper right corner to catch live action. If you want to catch up on debate you missed, you can go to “Archives” on the upper left and go to the date of the floor session (or committee hearing). Note the Archives are organized by date and with marathon sessions, sometime the morning, afternoon and evening floor sessions are categorized as separate events.

Additionally, there is a wealth of information on the official legislative website at leg.wa.gov.   You can click on the “bills” section on the right and enter a bill number to learn the status and read the latest version.  The main landing page also has a “What’s Happening on the Floor” heading that provides links to the House and Senate Floor Calendars.  The House and Senate Display Calendars will let you know what bill is being heard and, if the Legislature is not in session, when they will return (note those return times are just a guidance).

Trivia Answers

1. The Legislative Building was closed for two years to allow for the completion of $21 million in repairs and seismic upgrades. It has been said that the building had long been in need of repairs and the earthquake effectively “called the question.”
2. Legislative business initially continued with lawmakers making committee rooms in the John A. Cherberg and John L. O’Brien Buildings, the respective Senate and House Chambers.

Nisqually Earthquake: Reflections from Representative Ruth Kagi (Ret.)

To get a first-hand account of that infamous day and for what life was like afterwards when the Legislative and other campus buildings were closed for repair, I reached out to former Representative and lifelong early learning champion Ruth Kagi.

At the time of the quake, Representative Kagi was in her 3rd floor office in the John L. O’Brien Building that looked out onto the Legislative Building. She described the sound of the earthquake as a freight train. She was meeting with a lobbyist when the shaking began, and the lobbyist promptly dove under a table. Remembering the admonition learned in her childhood to stand in a doorway during an earthquake, Representative Kagi quickly moved to her doorway, waiting it out (this will be important later).

Representative Kagi recalled that a number of pipes broke on the 3rd floor and water was everywhere. When the rumbling subsided, everyone ran for the stairs and assembled in the parking lot. Hours later when it was determined to be relatively safe, people were allowed to return to their offices to retrieve their personal belongings. Back in her office to grab her purse, Representative Kagi realized that directly above her door was a glass transom window that thankfully did not shatter on her during the quake!

Miraculously, no one was hurt on the Capitol campus. Representative Kagi recalled that when they were able to return to their chambers before the Legislative Building was shut down for repairs, she saw tipping walls and cracks and holes. In the O’Brien building, a chunk of plaster had fallen in one of the stairwells. Former Representative Kathy Haigh and her legislative assistant created artwork depicting a mountain scene out of the broken plaster area that remains in the stairwell to this day. I was not on the Capitol campus that day, but if I were there, I would have gone and taken a picture and included it here. My search to find a photo online came up empty.

Representative Kagi went on to share memories of House floor activity being held in a modular building in a parking lot while the O’Brien building was being renovated and upgraded (the renovation of the O’Brien and Cherberg buildings was undertaken to ensure seismic safety in those buildings as well). Representative Kagi recalled that long tables filled the modular building; legislators were squished together, the modular had low ceilings and it was very loud. She remembered one night when they were voting on the budget, the heat went out, and they were there until 3:00 a.m. with no heat in a modular in a parking lot. Who says being a state legislator isn’t glamorous??

Other memories from Representative Kagi’s tenure in modular buildings were of walls so thin you could hear conversations happening in other offices. Having her office near a very boisterous legislator, Capitol staff had to come in and install sounding boards so she could have functional meetings!

Thank you for sharing this account, Representative Kagi.

As the 2021 National Home Visiting Virtual Summit comes to a close, this year’s presenters share final thoughts on equity, systems, diversity, flexibility, families, innovation, home visiting, parent voice and hope.