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June 3, 2009
Dear friends and neighbors,
With the state budget in such crisis and
people tightening their spending throughout Washington,
I have decided that in lieu of mailing a session-end
newsletter this year, I would send this e-newsletter. I appreciate the ability to serve as
your voice in Olympia for the 31st Legislative District.
The 105-day session, which ended April 26, was probably
one of the most challenging in terms of budgets. We entered the session in January with a
projected $5 billion budget shortfall which was later
updated in March to nearly $9 billion. The Legislature put off the difficult decisions of prioritizing
spending and instead, balanced the budget using mostly
one-time money for ongoing programs. I voted against the
spending plan. That money will not
be available two years from now, which means
Washington may be in for bigger budget problems in 2011.
As the ranking Republican on the House
Transportation Committee, I spent a good portion of time
working to ensure highway projects across the state and
in the 31st District would receive funding as promised.
The Legislature also moved forward on funding for
replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the 520
floating bridge in Seattle.
More information on these and other
topics can be found below in this e-newsletter.
As always, I welcome your comments.
Please
click here to contact my office through our e-mail
service.
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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Operating
budget punts
hard decisions to the future |
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If you think this was a difficult budget year,
wait until 2011. Lawmakers this year failed to
deal with the systemic problems that
contributed to a $9 billion budget deficit --
namely overspending. Instead, the Legislature
used almost $5 billion in one-time money that
will not be available when the next budget cycle
comes around in 2011.More than $3 billion in
one-time federal stimulus money was used. The
capital budget was raided of $777 million. Money
was also taken from numerous other dedicated
accounts. |
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In addition, the Legislature skipped a $449
million pension payment to balance the budget,
leaving that fund short by $6 billion.What
this all means is that Washington will be facing
an even greater budget challenge in two years
because the Legislature punted its
responsibility in providing a sound budget for
the future.
I believe government should live within its
means. The Legislature should be prioritizing
and maximizing every dollar to ensure jobs are
protected and created in Washington. This year's
budget fell far short of that. |
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Promises made,
then broken in the transportation budget
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Traffic lines
up on the 520 bridge. |
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In 2005, the
Legislature approved a 9.5 cent per-gallon
increase in the state's gasoline tax with the
promise of providing for transportation
projects across the state. Citizens voted that
fall to retain the increase with the expectation
that transportation projects promised to their
areas would be carried out.
The $4 billion transportation budget adopted
this year delays 16 of those highway projects
and eliminates funding entirely for 14 more.
Why?
Because the Legislature decided to funnel
much of that money into the Seattle
mega-projects, including replacement of the 520
floating bridge across Lake Washington and the
Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel.
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Alaskan Way Viaduct to be
replaced with deep-bore tunnel. |
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I offered several
amendments to the transportation budget that
would have allowed both mega-projects and
statewide projects (promised to voters in
2005) to be completed. Those amendments included
selling the real
estate where the viaduct currently stands, and
dedicating all sales tax on tunnel construction
and related private development back to the
project to reduce costs. Unfortunately,
the Legislature rejected those proposals.
That means any projects scheduled for 2015 or
beyond will require additional taxes, fees and
tolls. For the
31st District, we were able to secure $44
million for several projects, including corridor
improvements to SR 161, HOV lane improvements to
SR 167 from Renton to Puyallup, and new lanes on
SR 410 in the Bonney Lake area.
Click here
to see the full list of 31st District
transportation projects. |
Transportation bills
Here's a list of transportation-related bills I
prime sponsored this session. Click on the links
for further information about these measures:
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HB 2037 - Addressing traffic congestion
relief through state transportation system
policy goals.
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HB 2038 - Opening high occupancy vehicle
lanes during nonpeak hours.
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HB 2039 - Providing an expedited permit
process for transportation projects of
statewide significance.
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HB 2093 - Requiring a reduction in toll
rates charged to motorcycles. (Read
my article relating to this bill.)
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Criminals should not be protected with body
armor
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| It's unfortunately more common
these days that criminals are becoming very
sophisticated with their equipment. Some are as
well armed as law enforcement officers. And even
more are beginning to use body armor when they
commit a crime. In Washington, there is no
state law prohibiting convicted felons from
possessing body armor. So I introduced
legislation to change that.
House Bill 1922 would create a class C
felony for anyone convicted of a violent offense
who is knowingly in possession of body armor.
Under this measure, those convicted of body
armor possession could receive up to five years
and/or up to a $10,000 fine. |
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The bill also provides certain exceptions, such
as if a law enforcement officer provided body
armor for the protection of the suspect during
transport or accompanying the officer, or if at
least 15 years has passed since the person had
been convicted of a violent offense.
The measure was referred to the Public Safety
and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Unfortunately, it did not advance this year.
However, I will continue to push for this
legislation to ensure criminals cannot use these
tools to escape from justice.
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Good
bills that passed the Legislature
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Rep. Dan Roach
speaks to a group of students who visited the
state Capitol. |
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While it may have
been a difficult budget year, we did have
success in passing several very good bills.
Here's a quick list of that legislation:
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Eryk's Law - HB 2279: Prohibits
convicted child abusers from working with
children under the age of 13 in a paid or
volunteer capacity. (Roach co-sponsored)
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Sexual misconduct - HB 1385: Protects
students up to the age of 21 from sexual
misconduct by teachers and school employees.
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Military licenses - HB 1478: Allows
military personnel whose vehicle license
expired while they were deployed a full year
to renew their license.
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Flags for military - HB 1121: Allows the
state to accept voluntary contributions for
use in purchasing Washington state flags for
military personnel.
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College textbooks - HB 1025: Requires
college-affiliated bookstores to provide a
four-week advance notice of course material
requirements, giving students time to find
the best prices of books and materials they
need.
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Creating greater awareness of autism
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As the father of a young boy
with autism, I know firsthand the challenges and
frustrations other parents face who also have
children with autism. That's why
I'm glad that programs such as Autism Awareness
Day at the state Capitol are helping to educate
people about this affliction.
I had the honor to speak during
the event in April. I used that opportunity to
encourage those
attending the rally to contact their lawmakers
and advocate for good policies that support
those afflicted with autism.
I also supported
House Resolution 4627, honoring individuals
with autism and their families.
Read my
press release about the resolution. |
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Remember, I work for you throughout the year!
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Although the 2009 legislative
session is finished, I represent and work for
you throughout the year. If you have any
questions, comments, concerns or ideas about
legislation, please contact my office. Monday
through Thursday, my legislative assistant,
Tammi Lewis, works at my office at the state
Capitol in Olympia. The phone number is (360)
786-7846. The address is listed at the top of
this e-newsletter.
On Fridays, she staffs my Sumner office. That
phone number is (253) 826-3167. The local office
is located at 627 45th St. E., Room D-103, in
Sumner.
You may also contact me through my Web site
at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Roach. |
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