Issue Position: Jobs

Issue Position

Representative Drew Hansen has a long record of support for job creation and job training. Before he entered the House of Representatives, he served for six years as Governor Gregoire's public representative on the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB), Washington's principal economic development board, which invested over $30 million to create and retain jobs in Washington during Representative Hansen's service. He also served for six years on the board of the Olympic College Foundation, helping people from Kitsap County get access to higher education.

Representative Hansen continued fighting for job creation and job training in the Legislature. The House of Representatives passed three of Representative Hansen's jobs bills in the 2012 session--two of which have now become law. Representative Hansen's 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 and became law March 29, 2012.
Sponsoring a bill that would require colleges and universities to offer early course registration to veterans and National Guard members on the same terms as other groups, which would have helped veterans and National Guard members to enroll in the classes they need to train for new jobs and new careers. Hansen's bill passed the House unanimously, with Republicans as well as Democrats speaking in its support, but was not taken up in the Senate.
Supporting the 2012 Jobs Now Act, a joint business-labor proposal to jumpstart the construction economy by funding priority state construction projects. Kitsap County projects include:
$3.624 million for Olympic College to design the building of an instructional center at Olympic College's Bremerton campus;
$2.5 million for the Kitsap Public Utilities District to set up a network of pipes and pumps that will guard against potential future water shortages; and
$625,000 for storm water retrofits in Illahee.
Sponsoring a bill that helps people train for careers as firefighters and hazardous waste workers. The Washington State Patrol, the Washington Fire Commissioners, the Washington State Firefighters Association, and the Washington Fire Chiefs supported Hansen's bill, which passed unanimously in both the House and Senate and became law March 29, 2012.
Working with other legislators to develop the Career Pathways Act, a bill that would have educated students about the many paths to great jobs that don't require a traditional four-year college degree, such as apprenticeships, certificates, and on-the-job learning.
Co-sponsoring legislation to create Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs), joint savings accounts that employers and workers can voluntarily create to fund employee education and training. The Senate companion of this bill (SB 6141) became law March 7, 2012.
Supporting the expansion of Washington's very successful Customized Training Program, where community colleges partner with businesses to train workers with particular skills that businesses need. This college-business partnership has served over 20 businesses and trained over 700 participants over the past six years.
Supporting certainty and transparency for business on renewable energy laws by creating a procedure for seeking an advisory opinion on whether new renewable energy projects would qualify under Initiative 937, the renewable energy initiative.
Supporting legislation that made it easier for people to start their own businesses by continuing the Self-Employment Assistance Program, which helps veterans, people who have lost jobs, and others to start their own businesses.

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