We're in the middle of the eighth week of session and spending most of our time in caucus or on the floor of the House debating and voting on bills that have passed through the committee process.

Of the two bills that I sponsored this year, one has made it through the House committee process, passed a full vote on the House floor, and is now in the Senate Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Committee.  (One out of two -- that's a batting average even Ichiro could be proud of!) My bill that's still alive is House Bill 1254, which would merge the Washington Wheat Commission and the Washington Barley Commission into the newly-created Washington Grain Commission.
I believe Farmers, like everyone else, are trying to find ways to tighten their belts.  Most of my		Sen. Mark Schoesler, Rep. Don Cox and Rep. Joe Schmick meet with the EWU student lobby in Olympia

colleagues in Olympia were surprised to learn that most farmers who grow wheat also grow barley.  The ability to merge these two entities into one provides an opportunity to reduce overhead and costs.  We're looking at being more efficient with the limited resources we have.

There are 25 agricultural commodity commissions in Washington.  These commissions are formed primarily to engage in research and marketing for their specific commodity.  The activities of commodity commissions are funded primarily by assessments on the producers of the commodities.

There has been talk of merging the two commissions for the past five years.  With the current state of our economy and with the challenges and financial turmoil facing our farmers, now seems to be the best time to do this.

My bill passed the House with a unanimous 97-0 vote.

I'm also continuing to work with a number of legislators to improve job opportunities and to balance the budget with the least impact to services and the citizens who rely on those services.

Thank you for taking the time to keep up to date on what is happening here in Olympia.  I hope this newsletter is helpful.

		PS - Thanks to those of you who have participated in my 9th District survey.  For those of you who haven't been able to do so yet, this is an opportunity to take a few minutes and let me know how you feel about some of the issues we're dealing with on a daily basis in Olympia.  I'll leave the survey active for another week or so and then report back on the results.
Rep. Joe Schmick meets with EWU Acting President Dr. John Mason and EWU Board of Trustees