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Hi John,

Two of our priority bills are on the brink of death.

The house of origin cutoff (an important legislative deadline) is tomorrow, 2/19. All bills must be voted on and passed out of either the House or Senate, whichever chamber they originated from. But lawmakers are stalling on voting on two of our priorities: dental therapy ( HB 1317 [[link removed]] ) and ITIN expansion ( HB 2521 [[link removed]] / SB 6557 [[link removed]] ). Lawmakers need to act on these bills within the next 24 hours, and they need to hear it from YOU, their constituent! Raise your voice with ours and send an email to help revive these bills and move them forward!

Dental Therapy: a proven solution to a crisis of care

Washington State's low-income communities have disproportionately low rates of dental care access, due to the prohibitively expensive cost of care and also because almost every single county in the state [[link removed]] lacks dental care providers.

Dental therapy is the solution to the state's lack of dental care access. Dental therapists, who work under the supervision of licensed dentists, provide care and treatment for the most common oral health needs: cleanings, fillings, sealants, etc. And they do this at an affordable price.

However, the state's dental lobby has blocked the statewide passage of dental therapy for years, expending time and money to misinform lawmakers and the public about dental therapy. The simple truth is that dental therapy is the answer to our state's crisis of inaccessible dental care. It has the backing [[link removed]] of oral health professionals and our communities. Lawmakers MUST vote House Bill 1317 out of the House by tomorrow, or our communities will go another year without access to dental care.

V [[link removed]] OTE YES ON DENTAL THERAPY! [[link removed]]

Our communities deserve inclusive tax policies

Basically every chance we get, we talk about how awful WA's state tax [[link removed]] code is for low-income communities and communities of color. (Trust us, it makes us suuuuper fun at parties.) If lawmakers are serious about eliminating poverty in Washington State, they need to get serious about fixing our state tax code.

One critical way to fix our state tax code is through the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) which would allow eligible households to receive a tax refund of about $350. We've been working on legislation that will actually the WFTC and make this tax credit a reality. But first, we must ensure that the WFTC includes all members of our community.

As it stands on the books right now, people who file their taxes with an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) aren't eligible for the WFTC. ITIN filers are often immigrants, some visa holders, and survivors of domestic violence. All ITIN filers pay taxes on the wages they earn, and are all members of our communities. ITIN filers who are income-eligible to receive the WFTC should also be allowed [[link removed]] to receive this important anti-poverty benefit.

Lawmakers have until tomorrow evening to pass House Bill 2521/Senate Bill 6557 out of their respective chambers! Send your lawmakers an email letting them know that we can't wait another year for inclusive tax policy!

VOTE YES ON ITIN EXPANSION! [[link removed]]

Connect With Us:Facebook [#] Contact Info:Statewide Poverty Action Network
1501 N 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
United States
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