Tax credits, free lunches, land leases, immigrant help get House approval

OLYMPIA – As a single mother who survived on food stamps, an added $20 monthly cost for her four children’s lunch was more than Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Tacoma, could afford at that time. Eliminating copays on her children’s lunch would have made a dramatic difference for her and her children, she said.

“There was a reason I was on food stamps,” Morgan told the House of Representatives Feb. 12. “This may not seem like a lot to many people, but for me … $20 was a lot of money.”

House Bill 1342, which would force schools that have lunch programs to get rid of lunch copays for students eligible for...