Letter from Leadership

With the ceremonies and speeches behind us, the hard work of the 2013 legislative session is underway.

This week began with recognizing the life and work of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It also included House committee hearings on critical issues such as K-12 education funding, mega-transportation projects, workers' compensation, and Medicaid expansion.

Next week promises to be busy and interesting. Please take a look at The Week Ahead for highlights. 

In closing, Washington House Republicans are now on Facebook. You can find our page here. 

Sincerely,
Rep. Richard DeBolt
20th District
House Republican Leader

In The News

Please remember you can subscribe to The Capitol Buzz here. Here are some articles from this week:

• 5 things Inslee must do to be successful as governor (The Everett Herald)
• Opinion: More changes to state workers' compensation system needed (Reps. Cathy Dahlquist and Chris Hurst/The Seattle Times)
• Inslee encouraged by pot talk with AG Holder (The Seattle Times)  
• Opinion: Searching for balance in the Washington State Legislature (Tranh Tan/The Seattle Times)

"We need to have an economic plan that works for everyone and doesn't pick winners and losers." 

- House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt
2013 AP Legislative Preview Jan. 10, 2013

Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, talks to 3,500 March for Life supporters on the Capitol steps Tuesday. 

Social Media

Washington House Republicans are on:

• Facebook 
• Twitter
• YouTube 
• Flickr
• Delicious 
• iTunes

The Week Ahead

• Monday
  2013-2015 Capital Budget. House Bill 1088 and  House Bill 1089. House Capital Budget Committee. House Hearing Room B at 1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday
  Eliminating assessments as a graduation requirement. House Bill 1015. House Education Committee. House Hearing Room A at 1:30 p.m.
• Thursday
  Abortion health insurance mandate. House Bill 1044. House Health Care and Wellness Committee. House Hearing Room B at 8:00 a.m.
• Friday
  Joint Task Force on Education Funding’s recommendations review. House Finance Committee. House Hearing Room A at 8:00 a.m.
  

Implementing
I-502

Initiative 502 passed with 55.7 percent of the vote in November. It establishes the legalization of marijuana in our state. You can find a fact sheet on it here.  

How we move forward with implementing I-502 is critical and a lot of questions remain. You have a voice in this process.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board is holding six public forums on I-502. Two of them have already taken place. To read about the one held in Olympia Tuesday, click here. To learn more about the other events and locations, click here.  

Freshman Spotlight:
Chad Magendanz

How many state lawmakers can say they have earned more than 20 Microsoft patents awards? Rep. Chad Magendanz can.

The 5th District Republican from Issaquah graduated from Cornell University with an electrical engineering degree and worked for Microsoft for 10 years.

To learn more about Rep. Magendanz, click here.

Honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Rep. Magendanz delivered one of the two Republican speeches on the House floor Monday honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. You can watch it here.

Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, provided the other speech. You can find it here.