FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLYMPIA — When lawmakers return to Olympia today, January 11th, for the 2021 session of the Washington State Legislature, they will face an unprecedented set of constraints due to Governor Inslee’s pandemic-related restrictions on gatherings. In-person activity by legislators and staff will be severely limited, and public participation will be restricted to remote testimony only.

This makes access to comprehensive legislative tracking tools more important than ever, according to Franz W. Gregory, Director of WashingtonVotes.org, which has provided timely, detailed information on legislative measures and votes since the 2001 legislative session.

The website is a free public service of Washington Policy Center, a non-partisan, non-profit research and educational organization with four offices across Washington. Gregory is a former Chief Clerk and Director of the professional, non-partisan, committee staff services in the Washington State House of Representatives. He can be contacted at franz@wavotes.org.

WashingtonVotes.org will continue to provide coverage of every bill, amendment, and recorded vote during the upcoming session. The site offers essential legislative tracking and search tools, including:

• A searchable database of all current bills, resolutions, and amendments, and the votes taken by legislators, along with searchable archives going back to the 2001 Session.
• Timely status updates of legislation on the move, including plain language descriptions.
•  Free daily customizable e-mail updates to subscribers.
•  Free, weekly Roll Call service to news outlets on key legislation, matched to the legislative districts they cover.
• The “Missed Votes Report,” a popular feature that tabulates the total number of votes taken and missed by individual legislators. The report is distributed to news outlets after session ends, along with any comments by legislators on their voting record so that context is provided.
•  The “My Legislators’ Key Votes,” feature that enables users to simply enter their zip code to follow important votes by the lawmakers representing their area.

WashingtonVotes.org  also posts updates on key legislation on Facebook and Twitter and distributes the “WashingtonVotes News” twice a week. This feature provides subscribers with additional in-depth information and insights on evolving legislative issues and actions. Visit WashingtonVotes.org  to become a subscriber.