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Margarita Prentice

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WA State Senator Margarita Prentice

Margarita Prentice is a Washington State Senator (Democrat) for the 11th District, which includes Seattle's Beacon Hill, South Park and portions of Renton, Kent, Tukwila, Burien, and SeaTac.

Political career

Senator Prentice was a member of the Washington House of Representatives from May 1988–1992. She was elected to the Washington State Senate in 1993. Her current term ends January 2009. Senator Prentice is the current Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. She is also the former chair and current member of the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee and serves on the Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee.[1]. Senator Prentice is known as a skilled politician with a reputation "for both loyalty and vindictiveness". The Senator has been praised for her work to improve the quality of education and healthcare in Washington and has championed increased funding for both.

Farm Worker Rights

While in the House, she sponsored the first bills on farm worker housing.[citation needed]

Anti-Discrimination

In addition, the Senator has worked to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment and insurance based on sexual orientation. In 2007, she prime sponsored a bill extending retirement benefits to domestic partners.[2]

Veteran's Rights

In 2007, Senator Prentice prime sponsored bills asking that the federal government provide veterans' benefits owed to Filipino veterans. She was also the prime sponsor of a bill providing for the exclusion of veterans benefits from the income calculation for the retired person property tax relief program.[3]

Sports Arena in 11th District

Prentice has supported funding a new sports complex that would accommodate, among others, the Seattle Sonics. [4] Prentice explained her support of a proposal to locate a new arena in her district in a February 9, 2007 op-ed in the Seattle Times for "the economic activity the new center will bring to the region . . . [and as a] valuable community asset that will create jobs and promote the development of new hotels and great restaurants." [5] The Senator went on to contend that funding the new center would "have almost no impact on King County taxpayers, and no new general taxes [were] are even being considered to pay for the arena."

Finanial Institutions Committee

While the chair of the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, Prentice sponsored the first bills in Interstate Bank Branching and legislation transitioning credit unions to federal share insurance.[citation needed]

Payday lending

Prentice was also the first to sponsor legislation allowing the payday lending industry to operate in Washington State.[6] She has opposed legislation that would cap payday loan interest rates at 36% APR and reduce the current allowable fee by 90%.[7] Washington law (RCW 31.45.073) currently limits payday loan fees to $15 per $100 on the first $500 borrowed.[8] Then the fee drops to $10 per $100 up to the maximum loan limit of $700. [9] When that fee is converted into an APR (annualized percentage rate) a $15 fee on $100 loan over two weeks is approximately 390%.[10]

Prentice has received contributions from payday lenders,[11] [12] a practice for which the Seattle Stranger dubbed her "Senator MoneyTree."

Recognitions

Throughout her legislative career, the Senator has received recognition for her political and civic work. In 2006, she received the following honors:[13]

  • Outstanding Legislator by the Children's Alliance
  • Legislator of the Year, Retail Association and Mortgage Brokers Association
  • Legislator of the Year, Washington Health Care Association
  • Legislator of the Year, Washington State Labor Council
  • Legislator of the Year, Washington State Nurses Association
  • Legislator of the Year, Home Health Care Association
  • King County Nurse of the Year
  • Champion of Health Care, Valley Medical Center
  • Distinguished Service Award, Washington Association of Homes for the Aging
  • Legislator of the Year, Washington State Dental Hygienists' Association

Civic Membership and Activities

The Senator is a member of various civic and political organizations including:[14]

  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • Amnesty International
  • Democratic National Committee
  • First Vice President, Washington State Nurses Association, 1968-1972
  • Labor Officer, Washington State Nurses Association, 1974-1978
  • Sierra Club
  • Renton Historical Society
  • Audubon Society
  • Humane Society of United States

Personal

Prentice attended Phoenix College; Youngstown State University, St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Phoenix and the University of Washington. A nurse for more than 20 years, she worked in various capacities, including hospital administrator and various assignments as a registered nurse. She also served as a member of the Renton school board.

She has three children and five grandchildren.

References

  1. ^ Senator Margarita Prentice
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ Sonics arena bid ramped up
  5. ^ [3]
  6. ^ "Senator Moneytree." The Stranger 24 Jan. 2007. retrieved 20 Nov 07
  7. ^ http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/davidpostman/
  8. ^ [4]
  9. ^ [5]
  10. ^ State lawmakers aim to cut payday lenders' interest rates
  11. ^ Washington Public Disclosure Commission
  12. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2005/02/21/story4.html
  13. ^ Senator Margarita Prentice
  14. ^ Senator Margarita Prentice

See also

External links

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