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March 23, 2009
Dear friends and neighbors,
Less than five weeks remain of the 2009
legislative session. I wanted to take a few moments to
provide an update and bring you up to speed on the work
we have done and the issues that remain.
Last Thursday, the Washington Economic
and Revenue Forecast Council released its March revenue
forecast report. The news was not pretty. There is another reduction
of incoming revenue to Washington, and that puts our
latest state budget deficit at a record $8.8 billion.
House and Senate budget proposals will be offered in the
near future, followed by vigorous debate on how to
address the issue.
This Thursday, I invite you to join me for a
telephone town hall meeting as we discuss the state
budget and other legislative issues. Details of how you
can participate can be found below.
Please feel free to share this e-newsletter
with your friends and family. If any of them would like
to receive regular e-newsletter updates from my office,
have them go to this link and sign up:
Click here.
Thank you for the honor of allowing me to serve you!
Sincerely,
Dan Roach
State Representative
31st District
P.S. - When e-mailing me, please do not hit
reply to this e-mail as I will not receive the
response. Instead, I invite you to
click here and e-mail me. Thank
you!
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Mark your calendars for a tele-town hall
meeting |
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coming Thursday, March 26, I
will be holding a telephone town hall meeting for residents
of the 31st District.
Calls will be
made to citizens throughout the 31st District.
People may also call in to the program. The
technology works much like a call-in radio show.
The interactive telephone system allows
residents to listen live, ask questions and take
part in a poll on legislative issues. Residents
have complete control over how they choose to
participate and how long they want to stay
connected.
We'll be discussing a number of issues that
are very important to the district.
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| The "tele-town
hall" meeting begins at 7 p.m. If you would like
to participate, I invite you to call in at that
time. Here's the
number: 1-877-229-8493. When requested, enter
pin number 13452. I'm interested in hearing from you and
discussing the issues you care about most.
I hope you can join in. |
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Getting the most out of our transportation
dollars
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When voters
allowed the nine-and-a-half cent state gas tax
increase to remain intact back in 2005, they did
so with the expectation of 16 years worth of
highway projects being funded. That included
funding for the Highway 167 extension in
addition to other important projects throughout
the 31st District. The governor's
transportation budget, however, is proposing to
drop all
projects that were slated for construction
after 2015 and use the savings for mega projects
in the Seattle area, including the Alaskan Way
Viaduct. |
As ranking Republican on the House
Transportation Committee, I feel that the
projects promised to the citizens across
Washington should be carried out. I have
proposed a plan that would allow our local
projects to continue as well as move forward on
the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the 520 bridge
replacement.
Please click here to read
my plan. |
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Student protection bill gains House approval |
A loophole in the law that has allowed teachers
in Washington to walk free after sexually
abusing students needs to be closed as quickly
as possible. That's why I originally
co-sponsored House Bill 1013 and then supported
subsequent legislation,
House
Bill 1385. This measure would clarify the crimes of sexual misconduct in the first
and second degree to include students over the age of 16 and under the
age of 20 who have sexual relations with school personnel.
There have been two
recent court cases involving teachers that had
been grooming their students and waiting for
them to turn 18 years old before luring them
into sexual relationships.
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Even though there was ample evidence the students were being
groomed early on in the relationship, the courts threw out these cases
because they said existing law was ambiguous, unclear and vague.
I believe there's nothing ambiguous, unclear or vague about a school
employee grooming a student for a sexual relationship - it's just wrong,
period.
There is a level of trust and authority that comes into the
relationship between school students and school personnel. That sanctity of trust must not be
violated - ever - no matter the age of the student.
I am pleased to
report that HB 1385 passed the House. A hearing
is scheduled on it for this Friday at 1:30 p.m.
in the Senate Judiciary Committee. |
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Pages help around
the House
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I
would like to take a moment to thank my
legislative pages, Elliot Fletcher of Auburn and
Mary Jarvis of Enumclaw. They had an opportunity
to each serve one week in the House of
Representatives.
Pages' duties
include delivering messages and bills to
lawmakers’ offices and to the House floor. They
also spend time in the Legislative Page School
learning about state government.
It's a great way
to meet a lot of people and to see all the
inner-workings of government. Plus, pages also
are paid for their work.
Elliot is
an eighth-grade
student at Buena Vista Seventh-Day Adventist
School in Auburn and the the 14-year-old son of
Kevin and Amy Fletcher.
Mary is homeschooled, but also attends Enumclaw
High School as a freshman. She is the daughter
of Jim and Karen Jarvis, Enumclaw.
Junior high and high school students between the
ages of 14 and 16 who are interested in the
program can get more information by visiting:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/PageInternProgram. |
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