Action Alert: Thank Your Elected Officials for Their Work this Session on Behalf of the Jewish Federation's Policy Priorities

This legislative session was one of the most difficult in recent memory. A $3 billion deficit and the prospect that an all cuts budget would devastate services for families, children, homeless and older adults made legislators confront difficult revenue and spending choices. The hard work we did in Olympia, both through direct lobbying and with your grassroots voice, paid off for our Jewish community and those most vulnerable.

Legislators opted to raise more than $700 million in new revenue through targeted taxes on pop, candy, beer and bottled water, which limited cuts to programs for Washington's neediest to $2 billion this year (with a total of $5 billion in cuts over the last two years). Yet, legislators were able to spare critical programs like Disability Lifeline, Basic Health, Working Connections Childcare, State Food Assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Legislators also passed important new changes to the state's malicious harassment statute in SB 6398, changed how private schools can access background check information in HB 2996 and transformed Washington's General Assistance Unemployable program into Disability Lifeline through HB 2782. We were also able to prevent taxes that would have particularly hurt Jewish Family Service and Kline Galland Center.

Please take a moment to thank Governor Gregoire, your state representatives and state senator for the work they did for the Jewish community and the most vulnerable.