Freshman legislators from Clark County are finding their footing in Olympia. They have introduced bills aimed at health, education and the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement project.
The bills mostly align with the priorities the new legislators — three Republicans and one Democrat — campaigned on in 2024.
Despite their freshman status, the two senators introduced around the median number of bills for legislators in the Senate, which is 15. The two new House members introduced few bills, falling below the median of nine bills per House member.
Sen. Adrian Cortes
Battle Ground City Council member and former mayor Adrian Cortes, a Democrat, is navigating his first year in the Senate, representing the 18th Legislative District.
As a special education teacher in the Camas School District, many of the 15 bills he has introduced focus on education.
His bills propose remote testing options, school staff pay increases, enhanced services and extending special education services to students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22.
The bill that’s most important to him, however, is one that would amend the state constitution to allow school districts to exceed the constitutional debt limit with 55 percent voter approval. Cortes said he plans to propose an amendment to lower that threshold to just over a simple majority and amend the constitution to remove school impact fees.
He’s seen firsthand the consequences of school bonds failing to reach the current 60 percent threshold despite receiving over a majority of the vote, Cortes said.
“This prevents school districts from funding basic improvements. Our students deserve safe, well-equipped schools, and I’m committed to ensuring our communities have the tools they need to invest in their future,” Cortes said in an email.
Some of his other bills focus on residents with disabilities. One bill would offer employment and community inclusion services to developmental disabilities administration clients beginning at 19 years old, instead of 21. Another would make disability income insurers more transparent.
Sen. Paul Harris
Republican Paul Harris from the 17th Legislative District previously served in the House for 14 years, but he’s new in the Senate. He has introduced 14 bills, mostly concerning health.
Those bills include adding blood type to IDs, increasing coverage for prosthetic limbs and custom orthotic braces, and restricting lead in cookware.
Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, tacked her name onto Harris’ bill requiring pharmacists to provide the cheapest version of a drug unless the patient or provider requests the branded drug.
Some of Harris’ other bills include lengthening port commissioner terms from four years to six, increasing penalties for assaults against outreach workers and improving community inclusion services for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Harris did not respond to The Columbian’s requests for comment.
Rep. John Ley
Rep. John Ley, a Republican from the 18th Legislative District, introduced three bills, two of which are aimed at plans for the I-5 Bridge replacement.
Those bills would repeal language making the I-5 Bridge replacement eligible for tolls and prohibit state funding for projects such as a light rail extension from Portland to Vancouver.
Ley’s remaining bill would create a regulatory exception for commercial aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials containing asbestos.
Ley did not respond to The Columbian’s requests for comment.
Rep. David Stuebe
Rep. David Stuebe, a Republican from the 17th Legislative District and Washougal mayor, introduced two bills.
One would create a website that every city and county could use to create a dashboard of information related to the jurisdiction’s efforts to address homelessness. If passed, the bill would allow communities to examine homelessness issues more closely on a local level, he said.
“State and local governments spend billions of dollars every year on programs to provide housing and services to people in need,” Stuebe said in an email. “However, no actual tracking mechanism exists to determine if those efforts are effective.”
His other bill would create a grant program to support backcountry search and rescue organizations and volunteers. It would allow local governments to recover backcountry search and rescue costs that are not reimbursed through other sources, he said.
“Natural disasters and other emergencies are going to happen, especially when people head out to explore wilderness areas in Washington,” Stuebe said.
March 1 is the deadline for bills not related to the budget to pass out of both houses.
A full list of bills by sponsor can be found on the Legislature’s website.
