Issue Position: Jobs
Issue Position
Representative Drew Hansen has passed significant legislation to protect our jobs, support new job growth in key sectors for Kitsap County like recreation and technology, and help people train for good jobs. He brought two new bachelor's of science degrees to Olympic College (electrical engineering with WSU and cybersecurity with Western Washington University), expanded the Olympic College engineering program so we can train more engineers for the shipyards, sponsored legislation to prepare more students for jobs in the high-technology industry, and protected marine industry jobs by passing legislation to remove derelict boats from our waterways. Representative Hansen's jobs bills have won statewide, bipartisan praise from business, newspapers, and Republicans, including:
* CEOs of Washington's leading technology companies called on the Legislature to enact HB 1813, Hansen's computer science education bill, by publishing a full-page open letter in the Seattle Times. The Puget Sound Business Journal wrote: "Hey state reps: Every tech company in Washington wants you to pass this bill." (Puget Sound Business Journal, Mar. 5, 2015). And the Association of Washington Business (AWB) identified Hansen's bill as "priority legislation."
* "Rep. Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island, worked with Washington State University to bring an electrical engineering program to OC and with Western Washington University to get a cybersecurity degree. "Our local employers, like Avalara, Paladin and the Navy, are crying out for qualified graduates, and this budget funds new opportunities for Kitsap County students to get the skills they need to compete for those jobs,' said Hansen, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee. "And we closed tax loopholes to cut tuition so students can actually afford to get these degrees.'" (Kitsap Sun, July 1, 2015)
* "Because of this bill, students will be prepared for good jobs." Republican Senator Bruce Dammeier, on Hansen's technology jobs bill (HB 1472, signed into law May 14, 2013) (quoted in North Kitsap Herald, Apr. 19, 2013)
* "This is a good jobs bill that will help our small businesses train their employees and save money in the process." Republican Senator Barbara Bailey, on Hansen's small business jobs bill (HB 1247, signed into law May 1, 2013) (quoted in North Kitsap Herald, Apr. 19, 2013)
* "I actually love this bill. We talk about the achievement gap and the opportunity gap, and here is a great opportunity to narrow both." Rep. Chad Magendanz (R-Issaquah), supporting Hansen's bill to improve college opportunities for low-income students (HB 1472, signed into law May 14, 2013) (quoted in Bainbridge Island Review, Feb. 15, 2014)
* "This new law represents an important step forward for our kids and for the technology competitiveness of Washington state." Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith, on Hansen's technology jobs bill (HB 1472, signed into law May 14, 2013) (Bainbridge Island Review, May 14, 2013)
The editorial boards of the Tacoma News Tribune, Spokane Spokesman-Review, and Seattle Times called on the Legislature to enact Hansen's jobs bills, HB 1472 (helping students train for jobs in the technology industry) and HB 1245 (protecting the shellfish and recreation industries from derelict vessels). You can read the editorials here, here, here, and here. Hansen's other legislative accomplishments on jobs include:
* Securing new funding to expand the engineering program at Olympic College, doubling the number of engineering degrees produced in Kitsap County
* Sponsoring a bill that removed a tax barrier to job creation by removing a tax that would prevent the transformation of nearly 7,000 acres of forest and waterfront near Port Gamble into public open space through the Kitsap Forest and Bay Project. Hansen's bill won nearly unanimous bipartisan support in the House and Senate (HB 2502, signed into law June 7, 2012)
* Sponsoring a bill to require colleges and universities to offer early course registration to veterans and National Guard members, which will help veterans and National Guard members enroll in the classes they need to train for new jobs and new careers (HB 1109, signed into law Apr. 25, 2013)
* Sponsoring a bill to make it easier for small businesses to partner with community colleges to train their workers (HB 1247, signed into law May 1, 2013)
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