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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It's been extremely busy under the dome here in Olympia. We just finished a nine-day stretch of long hours and late nights voting bills off the House floor. Of the thousands of bills introduced this session, 353 bills made it past the house of origin cutoff. My Republican colleagues sponsored 89 of those bills including policy focused on helping veterans and working to improve small business. The rest of the bills are considered dead, unless they are necessary to implement the budget.
Speaking of the budget, negotiations are underway for the three main state budgets: operating, capital and transportation. We are expecting the next revenue forecast this week. Our state tax collections have been strong since the last operating budget was written. In fact, our state will have $4.2 billion more in revenue as we head into the next budget cycle. We will see if that number will increase when the new forecast is released. Stay tuned to future updates to see where the state currently sits financially, and where our budgets stand as we head deeper into our negotiations.
On deck: A new edition of the Barkis Breakdown
As I mentioned, we just finished our first session marathon voting bills off the House floor. We saw some good, bipartisan bills come forward, like House Bill 1528. We also saw some hard-fought debates trying to stop bad policy. On deck in my latest edition of the Barkis Breakdown, I discuss these bills in more detail. Simply click on the photo below to watch.
You're invited: 2nd District town hall event | Saturday, March 23
My seatmates, Sen. Randi Becker, Rep. J.T. Wilcox, and I would like to invite you to attend our upcoming town hall event in Yelm. Here are the details:
Date: Saturday, March 23
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: Yelm Community Center (301 2nd St SE)
We look forward to seeing you there! If you cannot attend, or would like to submit a question or comment beforehand, please contact my office.
It's an honor to serve you.
In Service,
Andrew Barkis
