RacIAL & Social Equity
Institutional racism continues to create barriers for people of color at nearly every turn while gender non-binary people, members of the LGBTQ+ community and individuals with disabilities face inequities and dangers to their safety and dignity. We must continue to work to move our society forward towards a world that values all people. We must look at our policies with an intersectional lens and come to solutions that lift people up because this builds a stronger, more inclusive community for all of us.
Communities of Color
We know that people of color experience harmful discrimination every day that directly threatens their ability to thrive and live safe and healthy lives. People of color are more likely to experience incarceration, be exposed to air pollution, face gun violence, and still experience a significant wage gap compared to their white counterparts. Our immigrant and refugee neighbors have experienced heartless attacks from the federal government, including the separation of families seeking asylum. Native American women face disproportionate rates of being murdered and going missing. Progressive policies must focus on addressing these inequities in partnership with these communities.
As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:
SB 5693 (2022) – Refugee assistance funds ($74M) (PASSED)
HB 1725 (2022) – Missing Indigenous persons advisory system alerts (PASSED)
SB 5044 (2021) – Anti-racism training for K-12 staff (PASSED)
HB 1783 (2020) – Nation’s first statewide Office of Equity (PASSED)
I-1000 (2019) – Allowing the state to remedy discrimination for certain groups (PASSED, but repealed by Referendum 88)
HB 2514 (2018) – Removing racial covenants found in property deeds (PASSED)
HB 1488 (2017) – Expanding access to the College Bound Scholarship for students who are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) eligible (PASSED)
LGBTQ+
The fight for equal rights for our LGBTQ+ population is far from over. Our LGBTQ+ communities deserve the same rights as all other people, including legal rights and access to health care.
As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:
SB 5313 (2021) – Gender Affirming Treatment Act (PASSED)
HB 1687 (2020) – The Nikki Kuhnhausen Act (PASSED)
SB 5722 (2017) – Banning conversion therapy (PASSED)
SB 6037 (2018) – Uniform Parentage Act (PASSED)
Disabilities
Those who are differently abled deserve every opportunity to succeed. Whether providing additional educational support or ensuring that people with developmental challenges earn fair wages, we must ensure that our friends in the disability community are supported. Noel was honored with the 2017 Arc of King County Award for promoting the rights of people with developmental disabilities and will continue to be a champion for this inspiring community.
As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:
HB 2008 (2022) – Eliminating use of IQ scores for services for individuals with developmental disabilities (PASSED)
SB 5790 (2022) – Strengthening community support services for individuals with developmental disabilities (PASSED)
SB 5819 (2022) – Caseworkers for Developmental Disabilities Administration's no-paid services caseload (PASSED)
SB 5268 (2021) – Transforming services for individuals with developmental disabilities (PASSED)
SB 5763 (2022) – Eliminating sub-prevailing wage for individuals with disabilities (PASSED)
SB 5284 (2021) – Ending sub-minimum wage for workers with disabilities (PASSED)
HB 1706 (2019) – Ending use of sub-minimum wage for workers with disabilities by the State of Washington (PRIME SPONSOR, PASSED)
HB 1199 (2019) – Eliminating the age and income cap for the Healthcare for Workers with Disabilities program (PASSED)
HB 2037 – Removing obstacles for higher education students with disabilities (PRIME SPONSOR, PASSED)