Legislative Updates Legislative Update: Week 2 January 20, 2023 Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Email What has the Northwest Harvest Advocacy team been up to in Olympia this week? A few quick updates: Both of the free school meal bills have scheduled hearings next week. Stream the SB 5339 committee hearing on Monday, 1/23 at 1:30pm. Stream the HB 1238 committee hearing on Tuesday, 1/24 at 4:00pm. The Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition also created a helpful one-pager describing the bills and their benefits! Our team worked on securing champions in the Senate for our budget priorities, including increasing funding for the Fruit and Vegetable Incentives Program and additional funds for food banks. The Hunger Free Campuses bill has a work session scheduled for next Wednesday, (1/25) at 1:30pm. You can watch it on TV-W. MyNorthwest published a piece on the proposed free school meal bills this week. Check it out! Take Action now: You can sign in “pro” for both free school meal bills without providing testimony. Please note: you can sign in “pro” as an individual or on behalf of an organization, just make sure you are authorized by that organization to take those actions. Sign in “pro” for SB 5339 by 12:30pm on Monday, 1/23. Sign in “pro” for HB 1238 by 3:00pm on Tuesday, 1/24. Re-tweet and share our tweets encouraging people to sign in pro in support of SB 5339 and HB 1238. You can submit written testimony in support of HB 1238 and SB 5339. You can use suggested template language that we have included at the end of this blog post! Register for Hunger Action Day: an important lobbying day for food justice advocates to meet with representatives and encourage them to take meaningful policy action to address the root causes of hunger in Washington state. Here are the bills we are tracking and what their status is as of now: House Bills: 1238: Providing free school meals for all. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Education. 1045: Creating the evergreen basic income pilot program. Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning. 1124: Protecting tenants from excessive rent and related fees by providing at least six months’ notice for rent increases over a certain amount, allowing tenants the right to terminate a tenancy without penalty, and limiting late fees. Scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Housing. 1075: Expanding eligibility for the working families’ tax credit to everyone age 18 and older. First reading, referred to Finance. 1260: Accelerating stability for people with a work-limiting disability or incapacity. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning. 1388: Protecting tenants by prohibiting predatory residential rent practices and by applying the consumer protection act to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Housing. 1389: Concerning residential rent increases under the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Housing. 1447: Strengthening the ability of assistance programs to meet foundational needs of children, adults, and families. First reading, referred to Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning. 1477: Making changes to the working families’ tax credit. First reading, referred to Finance. Senate Bills: 5339: Providing free school meals for all. Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education. 5249: Expanding eligibility for the working families’ tax credit to everyone age 18 and older. Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means. 5480: Accelerating stability for people with a work-limiting disability or incapacity. First reading, referred to Human Services. 5435: Concerning residential rent increases under the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act. First reading, referred to Housing. Written testimony suggested language: Submitting written testimony in support of the Senate bill: “To Chair Wellman and Honorable Members of the Committee: for the record, my name is [YOUR NAME HERE] and I am writing to express my support of SB 5339. This bill ensures that all students in Washington can eat nutritious school meals without cost, stigma, or barriers, and would include school meals in our state’s definition of “basic education.” Despite Washington’s strong track record of removing barriers to help students access healthy school meals, there are still students that are required to pay for meals as they do not attend a school utilizing the community eligibility provision or their family earns just over the threshold to qualify for subsidized meals. To qualify for free and reduced-price meals, families must be at or below 130% and 185%, respectfully, of the federal poverty level (i.e. a family of 4 is eligible for free meals with a maximum household income of $36,075 or reduced-price meals with a maximum household income of $51,338). Approximately 30% of students (330,000) remain ineligible for meals at no-cost under the current requirements, even if their families cannot afford to pay full price for school meals. Ensuring all children have the nutrition they need to grow and thrive at school and beyond is a critical move for racial equity. Providing free school meals to all students during the pandemic demonstrated the tangible benefits of this important legislation to schools, families, and students. Some benefits of the bill include: reducing child hunger and supporting families. supporting student academic outcomes. improving the physical and mental health of young people. removing stigma. improving child nutrition. reducing administrative costs. Free school meals would mean that my family could [CUSTOMIZE YOUR MESSAGE HERE]. OR This bill is important to my family because [CUSTOMIZE YOUR MESSAGE HERE]. Please bring this bill for executive action and vote YES to providing no-cost, no-barrier school meals to every child in Washington. Submitting written testimony in support of the House bill: “To Chair Santos and Honorable Members of the Committee: for the record, my name is [YOUR NAME HERE] and I am writing to express my support of HB 1238. This bill ensures that all students in Washington can eat nutritious school meals without cost, stigma, or barriers, and would include school meals in our state’s definition of “basic education.” Despite Washington’s strong track record of removing barriers to help students access healthy school meals, there are still students that are required to pay for meals as they do not attend a school utilizing the community eligibility provision or their family earns just over the threshold to qualify for subsidized meals. To qualify for free and reduced-price meals, families must be at or below 130% and 185%, respectfully, of the federal poverty level (i.e. a family of 4 is eligible for free meals with a maximum household income of $36,075 or reduced-price meals with a maximum household income of $51,338). Approximately 30% of students (330,000) remain ineligible for meals at no-cost under the current requirements, even if their families cannot afford to pay full price for school meals. Ensuring all children have the nutrition they need to grow and thrive at school and beyond is a critical move for racial equity. Providing free school meals to all students during the pandemic demonstrated the tangible benefits of this important legislation to schools, families, and students. Some benefits of the bill include: reducing child hunger and supporting families. supporting student academic outcomes. improving the physical and mental health of young people. removing stigma. improving child nutrition. reducing administrative costs. Free school meals would mean that my family could [CUSTOMIZE YOUR MESSAGE HERE]. OR This bill is important to my family because [CUSTOMIZE YOUR MESSAGE HERE]. Please bring this bill for executive action and vote YES to providing no-cost, no-barrier school meals to every child in Washington.
