Letter from Leadership

Day 19 of the 60-day legislative session is coming to a close. As many of us drive home, our thoughts are transitioning from policy to the Super Bowl.

It was an interesting week on the Capitol Campus. On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on Initiative 591 (Protect Our Gun Rights Act) and Initiative 594 (Background Check for Gun Sales and Transfers). You can watch the full public hearing here. 

On Wednesday, the Senate passed the bipartisan Worker Recovery Act and other legislation to help create jobs. You can learn more here and in the story to the right. This stands in contrast to a bill that passed off the House floor the same day, with bipartisan opposition, which would actually hurt small businesses. Learn about both measures in this article.

These certainly weren't the only issues this week. It's hard to capture everything that happens at the Capitol in a short letter. I encourage you to look at this Week Ahead schedule, or visit this legislative website, to learn about what's happening next week. 

GO HAWKS!

In your service,
Rep. Dan Kristiansen
39th District
House Republican Leader

In the news

• Seattle Children’s treats 125 patients in January who lost contracted access through Washington’s Health Benefit Exchange (On the Pulse)
• State’s first charter school to open next fall in Seattle (The Seattle Times)
• Corrosion found inside the 520 Bridge pontoons (KOMO)
• Tunnel machine creeps ahead two feet (The Seattle Times)
• Governor leads a new $200 million ‘War on Loopholes,’ but will anyone follow? (Washington State Wire)
• Braun, Hatfield bill targets growth management burden on small counties (The Chronicle)
• Column: Rep. Kevin Parker puts concerns of homeless into action (Shawn Vestal/The Spokesman-Review)
• Gabrielle Giffords testifies on Washington gun initiative (AP/Oregonian)

"This is an area where we can unleash tens of millions of dollars in the private sector without spending a dime of taxpayer money -- by providing better customer service."

- Rep. Norma Smith, on her legislation that would improve state agency permitting and review processes. Learn more here.

Here we go again

In a news conference Tuesday that included no state lawmakers, Governor Inslee unveiled his plan to increase taxes by $414 million. While less than the $1.2 billion in tax increases he proposed last year, he targets some of the same people and industries. To learn about how Governor Inslee wants to spend this new money, click here.

At least four times as a candidate and three times after being elected, Governor Inslee said he was against tax increases. You can find these broken promises here.

Our economy remains fragile. It's never a good time to raise taxes, but especially during a recovery.

When a House bill emerges, we will let you know. 

McMorris Rodgers provides Republican response to State of the Union

Former Washington House Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, pictured above with Reps. Bruce Chandler and Richard DeBolt in 2003, provided the Republican response to the President's State of the Union address on Tuesday. You can watch it here.

To read then-Rep. Cathy McMorris's response to former Governor Locke's State of the State address in 2001, click here. 

New members settling into their new roles 

Reps. Leonard Christian, Jesse Young and Graham Hunt (pictured above) are settling into their new roles. Learn more about them here. You can also listen to an interview with Reps. Hunt and Young here.

#JobsNow!

Washington House Republicans and the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus held a news conference Wednesday to highlight our solutions for jobs and the economy. Pictured above speaking is Rep. Norma Smith, ranking Republican on the House Technology and Economic Development Committee. Flanked by people from the private sector who had stories to share, state lawmakers discussed various bills aimed at job creation.

You can learn more here. To watch the news conference, click here.

To check out our web post, click here. You can also find more information on Washington House Republican economic solutions here.  

Manweller talks minimum wage, the economy

Rep. Matt Manweller pictured above), our lead on the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee, sat down with Austin Jenkins of TVW's Inside Olympia to chat about the minimum wage, labor laws and the economy. He discussed how the Legislature should go with what actually works over what just sounds good. You can find the interview here. 

To hear what Bill Gates had to say recently about raising the minimum wage, click here.

You can find state-by-state minimum wage trends here. 

Dates to remember

• February 7 | committee reports due (except fiscal)
• February 11 | committee fiscal reports due
• February 18 | last day to consider bills in house of origin
• February 28 | committee reports on opposite house bills due
• March 3 | last day for fiscal reports on bills from opposite house
• March 7 | last day to consider bills not in dispute
• March 13 | last day of 2014 legislative session