The 2016 legislative session is underway

2016 legislative session • January 15, 2016 

=============
The Current
=============

Letter from Leadership 


Dear Friend:  

The 60-day legislative session began on Monday. Opening ceremonies that day included the administration of oaths to state representatives and remarks by Speaker of the House Frank Chopp. I also had an opportunity to share the vision and priorities of our caucus on the House floor. You can watch my speech here. I welcome your feedback.  

The governor gave his state of the state address on Tuesday. Sen. Jan Angel, one of our former House colleagues, provided the Republican response. We also held a media availability event with the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus. You can watch these events live each week through Periscope by following us on Twitter.  

With the election of Teri Hickel in the 30th District, the House now has 50 Democrats and 48 Republicans. We are excited to have her on our team. You can learn more about Teri below. 

As the recent AP Legislative Preview and Seattle City Club events revealed, state lawmakers have a lot of issues to consider in 60 days. From K-12 education funding, to charter schools, to addressing employment in struggling communities, to holding state agencies like the Department of Corrections accountable, there's a lot of work to do. We will be talking about these issues and others the next two months. 

If you're not following us on social media, please consider doing so. We appreciate your interest in the legislative process. Please feel free to contact us anytime.

In your service,

Rep. Dan Kristiansen
House Republican Leader
39th District

=============
Rep. Teri Hickel

Rep. Teri Hickel joins the House Republican team 

Teri Hickel was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in November. She was sworn-in on Nov. 25. Teri represents the 30th District and will serve on the House Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs, Transportation, and Rules committees. You can find her bio here.

=============
Rep. Lynda Wilson

Rep. Lynda Wilson appointed ranking Republican of House committee  

Rep. Lynda Wilson has been appointed ranking Republican on the House Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee. You can learn more in this news release.

Lynda has deep roots in her community and has worked on many of the committee's issues at the local level. We appreciate her taking on this new leadership role.  

=============

This week

=============

Learn more about what's happening in Olympia: 

Watch

=============

Video from this week:

 

In the news

=============

Online stories relating to government, public policy and politics. 

 

Stay connected 

=============

Follow us on social media: 

 

Learn more

=============

More helpful links:

=============
Washington House Republicans