Karen Keiser

WHEREAS, Karen Lynn Keiser was appointed to the Washington State 1
House of Representatives in 1995; ran and won her first election in 2
1996; was appointed to the Washington State Senate in 2001; and was 3
reelected six times; and 4
WHEREAS, For nearly 30 years, Senator Keiser represented the 33rd 5
legislative district, a diverse area that includes the cities of 6
SeaTac, Des Moines, Normandy Park, and parts of Burien and Kent; and7
WHEREAS, Senator Keiser was elected by the Senate to the position 8
President Pro Tempore on January 8, 2018, and presided over the 9
Senate with grace when called upon to do so; and 10
WHEREAS, While serving on the Senate Health & Long-Term Care 11
Committee, Senator Keiser was a pivotal leader in reforming 12
Washington's health care system; and 13
WHEREAS, Senator Keiser sponsored the legislation establishing 14
the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which has since provided more 15
than 1,900,000 Washingtonians with health care coverage; and16
WHEREAS, Senator Keiser was instrumental in the passage of the 17
Paid Family and Medical Leave program, which has since allowed over 18
600,000 Washington workers to bond with newborn babies, care for 19
ailing relatives, or take time off for their own medical conditions; 20
and 21
WHEREAS, Senator Keiser sponsored the legislation establishing 22
the Prescription Drug Affordability Board, with the goal of 23
SENATE RESOLUTION
8640
By Senators Pedersen, Braun, Riccelli, Dhingra, Shewmake, Conway, Salomon, Chapman,
Alvarado, Orwall, Lovick, Slatter, Valdez, Hasegawa, Wellman, Bateman, Frame,
Trudeau, Cortes, Saldaña, Robinson, Stanford, Liias, Krishnadasan, Hansen, Ramos,
Kauffman, C. Wilson, Nobles, Cleveland, Lovelett, King, Warnick, Short, Goehner,
Wagoner, Holy, Gildon, Torres, Dozier, Muzzall, MacEwen, J. Wilson, Harris,
Boehnke, Fortunato, Christian, and McCune
p. 1 8640
monitoring and mitigating unsupported price increases of 1
prescription drugs for Washingtonians; and 2
WHEREAS, Senator Keiser fought for years to lower the price 3
of insulin for Washingtonians, culminating in her successful 4
establishment of a permanent out-of-pocket price cap of $35 for 5
a 30-day supply; and 6
WHEREAS, Serving as the chair of the Senate Labor & Commerce 7
Committee, Senator Keiser championed policies that helped 8
working families, improved women's economic security, and 9
reduced workplace sexual harassment; and 10
WHEREAS, Senator Keiser worked to make Washington the first 11
state in the nation to implement full overtime protections for 12
agricultural workers, for which work she received a personal 13
letter of commendation from President Joe Biden; and14
WHEREAS, Senator Keiser continuously called for bipartisan 15
collaboration in order to maintain sustainable progress in the 16
legislature; and 17
WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature will continue to 18
look back at Senator Keiser's work and service for guidance and 19
inspiration for generations to come; 20
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State 21
of Washington commend and honor Karen Lynn Keiser for her 22
service to the citizens of the State of Washington and to the 23
Washington State Legislature; and 24
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be transmitted 25
by the Secretary of the Senate to Senator Keiser with our most 26
sincere thanks and appreciation for her years of exemplary 27
service in the Legislature. 28
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate, 29
do hereby certify that this is a true and 30
correct copy of Senate Resolution 8640, 31
adopted by the Senate 32
April 17, 2025 33
SARAH BANNISTER 34
Secretary of the Senate 35
p. 2 8640