 Dear Friends,
Greetings from Olympia! Today is the deadline for any bill with a fiscal impact to pass at the fiscal-committee level in order to keep moving during this 2019 legislative session. The exceptions to this rule are bills necessary to implement state government’s capital, transportation or operating budgets.
In this legislative update, I’ll focus on the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and my work as co-chair of the Legislature’s SciTech caucus.
STEM education helps prepare our students, starting in middle school, to have a leg-up on others as they enter a 21st-century workforce. I am so proud of our district for many reasons. When it comes to STEM education, we are leading the state! We are home to an array of growing industries: information and technology, education, healthcare, engineering and construction. Preparing our students now for careers in these fields is not only good for them but also ensures the skilled workforce needed to keep these businesses in our backyard. Continuing to support our local STEM education is one of my top priorities and I continue to look for ways to promote it and see it grow. You can learn more about this in my video below.
This session I am co-chairing the SciTech caucus with Representative Vandana Slatter, D-Bellevue. Members of this bipartisan group come together to hear guest speakers talk about the latest innovations in the science and technology fields. As lawmakers, it is vital we stay informed about the latest trends to ensure our state is a leader in these growing arenas. This year we’ve already welcomed two experts: Dr. Theodore Myhre, a professor at the University of Washington School of Law, who spoke about the Washington Privacy Act bill (SB 5376), and Dr. Ramulu Mamidala, Boeing-Pennell Professor of Engineering at the University of Washington, who talked about the transformative potential of additive manufacturing of advanced materials – meaning 3-D printing and beyond.
As always, please let me know if I can be of assistance to you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your state senator.
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
 From the district: Mid-Columbia Stem
Check out my legislative update where I’m joined by Deb Bowen, Executive Director of Mid-Columbia STEM. She was in Olympia to talk more about the benefits of STEM education in our region.
Will you be coming to Olympia during the 2019 session? If so, contact my office and schedule an appointment – I would love the opportunity to visit with you, and, if the time is right, you could join me in my next video update!
 Click to watch this week's video update!
As always, I value hearing directly from you. I am here to be your voice, and your feedback on bills before the Senate is very important to me. If you would like to contact me please write, phone, e-mail, or stop by if you’re in the Olympia area.
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