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Olympia Office:
426-A
Legislative Bldg.
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
Phone: (360) 786-7832
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Toll-Free Legislative Hotline
1-800-562-6000
Website
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Armstrong |
Committees:
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Gov't and Audit Review
(Ranking)
Rules (Alternate)
State Government and Tribal Affairs
Transportation |
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Feb. 23, 2007
Dear friends and
neighbors,
We've just
finished our seventh week of the scheduled
105-day legislative session and some important
committee deadlines are rapidly approaching.
Soon, much of our time will shift from the
committees to the House floor where we will be
considering bills that have been reported from
their respective committees.
As these
deadlines approach, we're wrapping up our work
in the Appropriations Subcommittee on General
Government and Audit Review. Frankly, I'm still
puzzled about this committee and its role. I'll
share why in a moment.
Also, I'm
continuing work to secure funding for the
Monitor water project.
Please read
further about our legislative page program. This
week, a student from Leavenworth is assisting as
a page.
You'll find more
information on these issues below in this e-newsletter update from
Olympia. I
welcome your questions, comments and ideas.
Please contact my office. You'll find my contact
information above.
Also, be sure to
check out my new web site for local news and
views, photos, and district information. You may
view it at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Armstrong.
It is an honor to
serve you!
Rep. Mike Armstrong
P.S. Watch
your mailboxes for my Emergency Preparedness
newsletter!
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Committee
deadlines approaching
Today is the 47th day of the scheduled 105-day
legislative session, which means we are
approaching the halfway mark. It also means we
are approaching the first
important deadlines of
the session.
Next Wednesday,
Feb. 28, is the committee cut-off for policy
bills. Policy bills that have not passed their
respective committees by that date are
considered dead for the session. The following
Monday, March 5, is the fiscal bill cut-off date
(that's money bills). Fiscal bills not passed in
their respective committees by that date are
also considered dead for the session (Although
some fiscal bills often are written into the
final state budget bill which usually emerges in
the final weeks of the session).
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So by next Thursday, hundreds of bills will be
dead. And those remaining will go to the House
floor for a vote. That means we'll be spending
long hours in the next couple of weeks debating
and voting on bills in the House chamber.
The bills we pass from the House will be sent to
the Senate. The Senate will send us its bills.
And then the committee process starts all over
again, with House committees reviewing Senate
bills and the Senate reviewing House bills.
It's meant to
be a very difficult and deliberative process so
that the bills that do become law have been
thoroughly debated.
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Appropriations Subcommittees - What are
these really?
Traditionally, the state budget is
written in either the Senate Ways and
Means Committee or in the House
Appropriations Committee. This year,
majority party Democrats in the House
set up something very unusual. In
addition to the Appropriations
Committee, they created three
Appropriations Subcommittees.
We were
told these subcommittees would take a
closer look at segments of the budget. I
was named as ranking Republican of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on General
Government and Audit Review.
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From
the beginning, it has been unclear what
authority these subcommittees have, if
any. Seven weeks into this process, as I
look back, it is still unclear. We
didn't take testimony on bills as a
normal committee would do. We didn't
vote on bills as a normal committee
would do. Instead, the chair allowed
testimony on certain segments of the
budget.
As a
long-time supporter of parks, I asked
that funding for our state parks system
be made whole. So the committee included
$4.2 million for parks. We reviewed 67
state agencies and commissions. And in
the final outcome, a document was
produced making $1.49 billion in budget
recommendations, which is 4.9 percent of
the entire general fund budget.
We were
presented an opportunity to vote on this
document yesterday (Thursday). However,
many of our committee members were still
unclear just exactly what the vote
meant. The recommendations were not in
the form of a bill. Yet they will be
sent to the Appropriations Committee for
review. The important thing to note is
that these are NONBINDING
recommendations. The Appropriations
Committee could review them or just set
them aside.
I voted
in favor of the document, because I
agree with the policy, which also
recommended elimination of 97 new state
positions the governor has proposed.
However, I don't agree with the process
which has us taking a vote on what may
very well be an irrelevant document.
Read my news release for more
information about this committee and the
vote we took. |
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Meet
my Legislative Page
This
week, I am proud to host
Polina Carlson
of Leavenworth as my legislative page.
Our
page program is a wonderful opportunity
for young people to be involved in the
legislative process firsthand. Pages
help in operational chores like
delivering messages and documents to
legislators in their offices, committee
meetings, and the House chamber. Pages
also spend two hours each day in a
classroom setting learning about the
Legislature. They each spend one week in
Olympia and often live with host
families. Plus, they get paid for their
work!
If you
have a son or daughter who is at least
14, but has not reached his or her 17th
birthday, contact my office about
getting them involved as a legislative
page.
You can
also find out more about the page
program at:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/house/pageinternprogram
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Water for
Monitor
In one of my
previous
e-newsletters, I talked about the need to
secure an additional water source for the
community of Monitor. The most feasible solution
is for Chelan County PUD to extend a water line
from Wenatchee. That will be expensive ($6.5
million) and the folks of Monitor won't be able
to afford the entire tab. So I'm exploring
several sources to secure about $2 million in
state monies, including the WSARP (Water System
Acquisition/Rehabilitation Program) which is a
state grant fund.
This past week,
I also spent time talking to the chairman of the
House Capital Budget Committee about getting an
appropriation in the state's capital budget. He
seemed to be receptive to the idea and
empathized with the difficult situation
residents of Monitor face. Now that I have his
ear, I hope we can finalize an amount that would
allow this project to get under way.
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For more
news and information, visit my website at
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Armstrong
If you would rather not
receive legislative e-mail updates, please
click here and send me an e-mail.
In the subject line, please include the words UNSUBSCRIBE ME. |
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