Tag Archives: Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee

2025 session underway

January 29, 2025

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Greetings from Olympia, where the Legislature is in its third week of this year’s 105-day session.

During this “long” session, the Legislature’s main responsibility will be to develop and approve new two-year state operating, capital and transportation budgets. However, those budget proposals won’t be released by the House and Senate until later in the session, which ends April 27.

The first week of the session featured many long-standing traditions. The opening day, January 13, included swearing-in ceremonies for new and reelected senators. A day later, outgoing Governor Jay Inslee gave his final State of the State Address to a joint session of the Legislature.

One day after Inslee’s last speech as governor, new Governor Bob Ferguson delivered his inaugural address before another joint gathering. Contrary to Inslee’s speech, Ferguson’s address was generally well-received on both sides of the aisle. In fact, he mentioned me during his speech, touting a bill I’ve advocated for years that would help make Washington communities safer by adding more law-enforcement officers. (More about that later.)

Once the ceremonies and speeches were behind us, my fellow legislators and I got down to business. The Senate has 12 policy committees and two fiscal committees, each focused on specific policy areas. This phase of the session has us spending much of our time in committee meetings, holding public hearings on Senate bills that have been sent to these panels.

We will be in this committee phase until late February, with Senate policy committees having a February 21 deadline to pass Senate bills, while the Senate fiscal committees (Transportation, and Ways and Means) have until February 28 to approve Senate bills.

When we’re not in committee meetings, we typically are meeting with constituents, other legislators and staff. We have yet to spend much time on the “floor” of the Senate chamber; that will happen far more often later, when we debate and vote on bills that were passed by Senate committees. 

         

Senator Holy discusses a bill during a Law and Justice Committee meeting.

My Senate committee assignments

I am serving on three Senate committees this session. I was appointed Republican leader on the Senate Law and Justice Committee, and I’m continuing to serve on the Senate’s Health and Long-Term Care, and Transportation committees.

Senate committee passes Holy bill to hire more law-enforcement officers

Washington ranks among the worst states in several categories, including murders, auto theft and retail theft. A key reason is that we also rank 51st nationally – dead last – for the number of law-enforcement officers per capita. As a retired police officer, I know we need more officers in our communities and on our roads.

That is why I have re-introduced a bipartisan bill this year to improve public safety by increasing the number of law-enforcement officers in Washington communities.

Senate Bill 5060 would have the state Criminal Justice Training Commission develop and implement a grant program to help local and tribal governments hire law-enforcement officers. A $100 million appropriation from the state general fund would support the grant program.

SB 5060 also would require the CJTC to establish policies for grant applications from local agencies, including review criteria and reporting requirements from local governments, and annually report on the grant program’s utilization, application and hiring data.

The bill was passed last week by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. It now is before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Before approving the measure, the Law and Justice Committee adopted an amendment offered by Senator Manka Dhingra, the committee chair.

I’ve introduced this bill in past sessions only to see it fall short, but I am more optimistic this time around – because during his inaugural address to legislators early this session, Governor Ferguson said he would not sign a new operating budget if it did not provide the $100 million in funding for this program. It is encouraging that he has publicly supported this bill, as his predecessor would not. The governor not only understands the need to increase the number of law-enforcement officers in our state but he also believes the best route is through this proposed grant program.

Another of my bills to increase public safety is Senate Bill 5285. It would create a revenue source to hire more law-enforcement officers.

Other 2025 bills introduced by Senator Holy

  • Senate Bill 5286 would establish a community partnership program between the Department of Social and Health Services and the city of Medical Lake to support community policing efforts at and near Eastern State Hospital. It received a public hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee on Tuesday.
  • Senate Bill 5306 would make a change to the Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighter System Plan 2 (LEOFF 2) helpful to members who go on an authorized leave of absence – an example being military duty – that could affect their service credit. The Senate Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing on the bill last week.

Senator Holy with Lainey Tillman, who served as a Senate page during the 2024 legislative session.

Looking for Senate page applicants!

If you know a teenager who would like to spend a week in Olympia working at the Capitol, let them know about the Senate Page Program. Applications are still being taken. The application form is here. As a state senator, I can sponsor several Senate pages during the legislative session, so I encourage interested teens to apply for this fun and interesting experience.

Senate pages help senators and their offices and deliver messages to members on the Senate floor. Pages attend and participate in Page School, where they learn more about how the Legislature works. Pages earn a stipend of $65 a day and can earn up to 20 hours of community service.

Pages must be 14 to 16 years old at the time they participate in the program, and they must attend a school in Washington or be homeschooled in our state. To be a page, students must receive approval and recommendation from their teacher and principal. (This requirement is waived for homeschooled students.)

The page program is a great way for Washington teens to see the Legislature in action and to meet other students from around the state.

For more information about the Senate Page Program, please go here. You can also email the page program at SenatePageProgram@leg.wa.gov if you have questions.

Let me know if I can help

If you have any questions, or have a problem with a state agency and need help resolving it, please contact me. You can email me at jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov or call my office at 360-786-7610.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your 6th District state senator.

Sincerely,

Holy becomes Republican leader on Senate Law and Justice Committee

Sen. Jeff Holy will become the Republican leader on the Senate Law and Justice Committee when the Washington Legislature’s 2025 session begins Jan. 13.

“Crime is still a problem throughout our state and Washingtonians expect the Legislature to do all it can to reduce crime and improve public safety,” said Holy, a retired Spokane police officer. “I look forward to working with other Law and Justice Committee members to develop and pass bills that will help make our state safer and cut crime.”

In becoming the top-ranking Republican on the Law and Justice Committee, Holy replaces Spokane Valley Sen. Mike Padden, who is retiring at the end of this year.

Holy will continue serving on the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee and Senate Transportation Committee. The 6th District senator will no longer serve on the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.

The 105-day legislative session is scheduled to end April 27.

Holy bill to create rare-diseases advisory council moving through Senate

A bill that would add Washington to the handful of states with advisory councils on rare diseases is once again moving through the Senate.

Senate Bill 5097, a bipartisan proposal introduced by 6th District Sen. Jeff Holy, would establish an advisory council on rare diseases within the state Department of Health to advise on research, diagnosis, treatment and education related to rare diseases. Under the measure, the advisory council must submit annual reports on the council’s work and other findings and recommendations to the governor and Legislature starting Dec. 1, 2026.

“This bill would benefit those in Washington who suffer from a rare disease, as well as those who might be afflicted with a rare disease in the future,” said Holy, R-Cheney. “Rare diseases take a substantial financial and emotional toll on patients and their families. This bill could help this vulnerable population by creating an advisory council to focus on the concerns of rare-disease patients in our state. Hopefully, that work will provide better support for all patients with rare diseases in Washington, as well as fewer deaths, through early diagnosis and intervention. The bill also would help physicians by giving them access to a database on rare diseases.”

Senate Bill 5097 was unanimously passed last week by the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee.  It now is before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

A rare disease is defined as any condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people in America. Rare diseases include genetic conditions, infections, cancers and autoimmune diseases. The National Institutes of Health estimates there may be as many as 7,000 rare diseases, and that 25 million to 30 million Americans may be living with a rare disease.

Under the proposal, the rare-diseases advisory council would consist of 12 voting members serving three-year terms, including four clinicians and researchers specializing in rare diseases, four people representing patients, the director of the program for children with special health-care needs, a representative from the state Health Care Authority, and two representatives from the life-sciences industry focusing on developing therapeutic products for rare-disease patients or related research efforts. The bill calls for the secretary of the state Department of Health to serve as an ex-officio nonvoting member and to select the council’s chair.

The bill calls for the council to establish, by 2026, a centralized, publicly accessible repository of information that catalogs rare-disease research underway in Washington. The repository also would provide best-practice standards of care for health-care providers, containing the most effective strategies for recognizing and treating rare diseases, and informational resources for rare-disease patients seeking access to clinical care.

Last year, Holy prime-sponsored a similar proposal, Senate Bill 5886, that was unanimously approved by the Senate before stalling in the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

 

Holy to resume serving on Senate higher education, law and justice committees

Sen. Jeff Holy will continue in his role as Republican leader on the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee when the Washington Legislature’s 2021 session begins Jan. 11.

Holy, a retired Spokane police officer, also will keep serving on the Senate Law and Justice Committee. The 6th District senator has added an assignment, to the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee.

“I’m very pleased with my committee assignments for the upcoming legislative session,” said Holy, R-Cheney. “Higher education and workforce development are important issues for many Washingtonians, especially those coming out of high school and looking to enter college or the workforce. My years as a police officer in Spokane give me a unique perspective on how bills in the Law and Justice Committee might affect not only law enforcement but citizens.”

Holy said he is excited to join the Health and Long-Term Care Committee, even though it meant ending his service on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

“COVID-19 and its impact on Washington’s hospitals and health care system will be an important issue for this committee, so I look forward to being involved with this issue and working on solutions that will help our state overcome this pandemic,” said Holy.

The 105-day legislative session is scheduled to end April 25.