Great News on Washington State’s 2022 Legislative Session

We have so much to celebrate here in Washington State. Six of AAUW-WA’s public policy priorities were passed or funded by the state legislature, meaning we’ve successfully championed things like the Affirm WA Abortion Access Act; improving our state’s Paid Family & Medical Leave Program; and taking steps to address the shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners, particularly in rural parts of Washington.

Click here for a comprehensive review of the important policies our advocacy helped send to the governor’s desk this year, written and organized by our lobbyist Nancy Sapiro (thanks Nancy!).

But our work’s not over. Some of our priorities didn’t make it across the finish line. We need to keep examining every level of government – local, state, federal – and cheer on the kind of changes we want and need to see to build a stronger, healthier future for us all. Keep reading to see what we need from you and why!

ADVOCATE

Continue to champion the importance of the “Keep Our Care Act.”
It didn’t pass this year so we’ll need to keep a spotlight on the barriers that big hospital mergers create to the full range of reproductive care, end-of-life care, and gender-affirming care that our neighbors want and need – and bring it back next legislative session.

VOLUNTEER

Help us hold candidates for office accountable. Nearly two dozen state lawmakers are not seeking re-election for their current seats, meaning we’ll be watching a lot of races between now and November. We need volunteers to help us create and maintain a candidate scorecard for Seattle-area races so we can hold candidates accountable to our values. Contact Katherine Cleland at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for info and next steps.

BUILD

Speaking of November, we need volunteers to help us organize voter registration drives between now and November. Building voter power and expanding our democracy has major downstream impacts – it’s even why the Violence Against Women Act was finally reauthorized and why Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is poised to become the first Black woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for info and next steps or – if you’re not feeling like you can commit to voter registration drives – take a look at AAUW National’s Two Minute Activist tool.

REACH OUT

We’re calling on King County Councilmembers to increase funding for domestic violence survivors. Click here for more details. Share your support for this funding by writing to your councilmember (you can find your councilmember here) and King County Executive .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).