Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It has been a great interim between sessions, meeting with constituents and being a part of events throughout our community. Recently, I had the opportunity to be part of the ribbon cutting ceremony for Patterson Hall at Eastern Washington University. I’m pleased that years of effort has paid off and now this core building on campus is re-opened.
The 2014 session began today, so I’m back in Olympia through March. Our state constitution provides the Legislature with 60 days to make adjustments to the two-year budget we set last year. Many of us serving in Olympia are hopeful we can complete our work on time this year. Tax revenues to the state are coming in slightly higher than originally projected, which should make it easier to pass the supplemental budget. This is good news for our state economy, as we haven’t seen any kind of surplus since 2008.
My priorities for the session are simple:
- Pass a supplemental budget that prioritizes funding for the state’s obligations, including education and pensions.
Help get Washington back to work by adopting legislation that helps job creators in every economic sector and rejecting legislation that threatens the potential for job opportunities in
our state.
- Complete the session on time and avoid social issues that distract us from our most important work.
As always, I want to hear from you about how I can represent you better. I’m hosting a telephone town hall meeting on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. and I hope you can join in the community conversation. This is your chance to talk directly with me about issues our community and state are facing and solutions we can move forward on. Anytime during the live event, you can call toll-free (800) 759-5308 and listen in, or press * (star/asterisk) on your phone to ask me a question. This telephone town hall early in session allows me to get a good grasp on the issues most important to you and where you stand on things like a proposed gas tax, education funding and budget priorities.
If you can’t join the telephone town hall, or anytime, please contact my office at the information below and share your questions, comments or suggestions. It’s an honor to serve as your state representative.