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Fast start to 2022
Dear Neighbor,
As we enter 2022, I want to send my best wishes to you and your family for a happy and healthy new year. With the new legislative session beginning this past Monday, it was my hope that this year would be different from the remote legislative session conducted last year. Unfortunately, it is déjà vu and in response to the current situation, Senate administration put in place the following guidelines for this year’s mostly virtual 60-day session:
- All in-person meetings are suspended. Visitors and members of the public will not be permitted in Senate facilities.
- All members and staff working on campus must have a confirmed negative test before entering Senate facilities.
- Floor action will be conducted in a hybrid format with 8 Democrats and 7 Republicans on the Senate Floor while others participate virtually
- All Committee meetings will be conducted virtually.
- The Senate will reassess this plan at least every two weeks and adjust as conditions allow.
Even though session will once again be conducted in a mostly virtual manner, I believe it is crucial that I hear from you. So, please feel free to contact my office with items of state level concern and, if you have a special area of concern, I’d be glad to schedule a meeting as the calendar allows.
State of our state: what legislators must accomplish this year
Earlier this week, I had the honor of delivering the Republican response to this year’s State of the State address. In my response, I outlined four major policy goals:
- Improve public safety by reforming the police bills passed last year.
- Lower the cost of living by implementing four specific taxing policies
- Rebuild trust in state government and ensure proper checks and balances among the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches by implementing sensible, bi-partisan emergency powers reform.
I invite you to learn more about these issues by watching my speech below.
Participating in your state government
Since most of this session will be conducted online, I’d like to share some of the most vital links that will allow you to participate in the legislative process.
Watch a legislative hearing - https://www.tvw.org/
Testify in a committee - https://app.leg.wa.gov/csiremote
Comment on a bill - https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/
Your input is vital and I invite you to view committee meetings of interest, leave written comments on bills of interest or even sign up to testify on them. It is much easier than you may think!
To learn more, I invite you to watch my video on how to provide remote testimony on a bill. (Please note, this video is from last year and the bills mentioned are not currently in play. This video is a tool to help you provide remote testimony.)
Meet Caylin!
I recently had the pleasure of welcoming Caylin Jensen as my new legislative assistant. Caylin is a great addition to the team and I hope you have the opportunity to connect with her soon. She lives in Orting with her husband and two children and is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in History. Her hobbies include cooking, camping, golfing and traveling. This will be her first session in my office, and I invite you to reach out to her with any questions or concerns you may have. If you would like to have a meeting this session, Caylin can make that happen as well. Her email is Caylin.Jensen@leg.wa.gov.
Thanks for reading and it is an honor serving you!
 Chris Gildon
Senator, 25 LD
Deputy Floor Leader
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