Another hurdle has been cleared for legislation sponsored by 12th District Sen. Brad Hawkins to implement recommendations by the Electric Utilities Wildland Fire Prevention Task Force on ways to prevent wildfires. Senate Bill 5158 was approved late today by the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The proposal now goes to...

Sen. Brad Hawkins’ bill to promote hydrogen-powered vehicles has taken a step closer to a full Senate vote this session. The Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday unanimously approved Senate Bill 5000, which would establish an eight-year statewide pilot project for the reduction of sales tax on purchases of fuel-cell electric...

Sen. Brad Hawkins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, is asking Gov. Jay Inslee to make it possible for all in-person school employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination now if they want it. In a letter sent to the governor today, Hawkins wrote: “I...

Sen. Brad Hawkins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, responded to today’s announcement of the “Get Ready Plan” partnership between the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Kaiser Permanente. “I applaud Superintendent Reykdal for working with partners to bring in expertise and...

Two years ago, the Legislature created the Electric Utilities Wildland Fire Prevention Task Force, which focused on ways to prevent wildfires. Senate Bill 5158, sponsored by 12th District Sen. Brad Hawkins to implement its recommendations, was unanimously approved today by the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources and Parks Committee. Hawkins’...

Following a challenging school year for students, parents, and schools, and anticipating significant learning loss across Washington state, the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee has taken a step forward to address “learning loss” throughout the state. The committee today approved 12th District state Sen. Brad Hawkins’ bipartisan legislation,...

Sen. Brad Hawkins’ proposal to promote hydrogen-powered vehicles, the first Senate bill of the 2021 legislative session, is now also among the first measures to be approved by a Senate committee. The Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee on Thursday approved Senate Bill 5000, which would establish an eight-year statewide...

Two years ago, the Legislature created the Electric Utilities Wildland Fire Prevention Task Force that focused on ways to prevent wildfires. This critical work included an effort to begin drafting model agreements to remove dangerous trees, developing communications protocols, and considering investigation recommendations. Now that the task force recently released...

Following his Jan. 11 letter with legislative education committee leaders to the governor and state Department of Health urging greater access to the COVID-19 vaccine for school employees, 12th District state Sen. Brad Hawkins is now calling for a statewide “School Employee Vaccination Day.” With the federal government’s recent decision...