Since the Majority Coalition Caucus took control of the Senate in December, I’ve been able to get several of my bills passed by the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives for consideration. Two of those bills are of particular interest to me and I wanted to share their details with you.

Senate Bill 5620 would change the frequency and type of school emergency drills in Washington. Right now, schools are required to conduct six fire drills and one lockdown drill during the school year. However, there hasn’t been a student killed in a school fire since 1956…and there have been significant increases in school lockdowns.

My bill would reduce the number of annual fire drills from six to three, and increase the number of lockdown drills from one to three. The focus would be shifted to accommodate the more current threats. SB 5620 passed the Senate unanimously on March 5, and was approved by the House Committee on Education March 26.

Senate Bill 5692 deals with guardianships in Washington. Often a child or adult who meets certain criteria will have a legal guardian as well as a substitute guardian, and my bill would allow the primary guardian to keep the substitute informed in all matters so he or she may take a long-deserved break when necessary. Additionally, if a primary guardian were to pass away then the substitute guardian would be prepared to take that person’s place as primary. SB 5692 passed the Senate unanimously on February 28, and is now in the House Committee on Judiciary.

Click here to read my full Olympia Report for March 29, 2013.