Jan. 30, 2009

Dear friends and neighbors,

This month has been a devastating one for our state and national economies as one company after another announced job losses.

Hewlett Packard, Starbucks, Caterpillar, Home Depot, and many others, have all announced large layoffs.  Even the two companies we expected to be bright spots in our economy - Boeing and Microsoft - are laying off thousands.  And these are just the larger, more public layoffs.  I know there are many small businesses owners out there who have had to choose between laying off one or two employees, or going out of business altogether.

Now, more than ever, the decisions we make in Olympia should be based on whether it will help our families, the economy, and jobs.

I am encouraging my colleagues in the Legislature to keep these criteria at the forefront of their decisions.  I cannot let my fellow legislators forget that the decisions we make have a direct impact on families, taxpayers and those desperately looking for employment.

Stay tuned for next week's update.  I plan on introducing an online survey for 18th District residents.  It will enable you to click on the link and take a five minute survey to tell me your thoughts on issues we're dealing with in the Legislature. Again, thank you for putting your trust in me to represent you in Olympia.  It is an honor to serve you. Sincerely, Ed Orcutt State Representative, 18th District

Bringing transparency and accountability to the budget process
While the majority party continues to struggle with how they're going to fill a $6 billion budget hole they helped create, it's important for us to remember that we need to make fundamental changes to the structure of the budgeting process.  "Business as usual" will only get us right back in this mess down the road.

I'm cosponsoring legislation that will allow more public input into the budget process.  House Bill 1654 establishes a period of public and legislative review for the state's major appropriations bills.  Nicknamed "The Budget Sunshine Act," it would require a five-day waiting period before either legislative body could vote on the operating, capital or transportation budgets.

For the most part, the actual budget never sees the light of day before it is brought to the floor for a full vote.  We need to allow legislators and the public enough time to give input when deciding the state's most important issue.  While this legislation won't necessarily help get us out of the current $6 billion budget hole, it would help us shed light on the upcoming budget proposals and the impacts of our decisions.

I am also cosponsoring a legislative balanced budget requirement with House Bill 1655.

It's important that we immediately dispel any notion of borrowing money to pay for the state's everyday operating expenses.  As the budget shortfall continues to grow, every option will be considered by the majority party.  This is one option that should be off the table.  Borrowing money to pay for everyday expenses is bad fiscal policy and would lead to more problems down the road.

License plate retention fees
This session, I've signed onto two bills sponsored by Rep. Jamie Herrera that deal with a rather annoying license plate replacement mandate.

Many of you have probably been surprised at some point in the last few years to get a notice in the mail informing you that your license plates were no longer any good and needed replacing.  Whether your automobile has been in a garage for the past five years or out in the fields, the state sets an automatic seven-year time frame to replace your license plates.

To make matters worse, you were informed that if you wanted to keep your existing license plate numbers, you would be charged a $20 processing fee. In my opinion, this is an unnecessary burden on our citizens and their wallets. The first bill, House Bill 1368, would eliminate the state-initiated license plate replacement mandate and instead allow car owners to ask for replacement plates as needed. The only time the state could require new plates would be during the transfer of ownership.

The second bill, House Bill 1367, eliminates the $20 fee associated with keeping the original license plate numbers if a plate does need replaced.

In my mind, our state shouldn't be in the business of mandating – and then charging – for a change that is not necessary.

UPDATE: Cap and Trade
Last week, I told you about Governor Gregoire's "cap and trade" proposal that would cap emissions for the manufacturing and energy producing sectors of our economy.  This week, House Bill 1819 was introduced by Rep. Dave Upthegrove (the governor cannot introduce legislation; she must find someone willing and "request" that they sponsor it).

The way I see it, this is not the time to be adding punitive and costly regulatory policies on our employers.  Our state accounts for only three-tenths of one percent of global greenhouse gasses.  We shouldn't be risking our state economy and jobs for unproven regulations which would burden businesses and discourage out-of-state companies from bringing their jobs here.

I have serious concerns that a state-sponsored cap and trade proposal would end up spending our limited state resources, cost businesses money they don't have, and cost our state and region jobs we can't afford to lose.  And, citizens cannot afford more increases in their electricity bills.

I would encourage all concerned citizens to call (360) 786-7868 or click here to let Rep. Upthegrove know that Washington families and businesses cannot afford the costly environmental regulations he and the governor are proposing.  You can call the governor's office at (360) 902-4111 or leave a message on the governor's website here.

UPDATE: Committee hearings on my bills
Several of my bills will receive public hearings in various committees next week.  They include:

House Bill 1038* - Relating to specialized forest products
House Bill 1474* - Relating to the border county higher education opportunity project
House Bill 1475 - Requiring state agencies to post information on their web sites showing current rule-making activity
House Bill 1478* - Relating to vehicle registrations for deployed military personnel
House Bill 1480* - Providing additional time to appeal property assessed valuation

(* legislation requested by constituents)

Visit my Website for further information and news
You can always visit my Web site for updated information and to contact me via e-mail. You can also sign-up for my E-newsletter.