Dear friends and neighbors,

Last night, Rep. Hinkle and I hosted the telephone town hall I told you about in my last e-mail. We were extremely pleased with the involvement and feedback. Callers asked us about everything from parks and taxes to water and the proposed cap and trade program. We had more than 200 people on the call for awhile, and we answered 17 questions. I love representing our district because so many of you are engaged in your government! Thanks to everyone who joined us for the hour-long conversation.

This week, we received a new picture of our state's economic situation. The Employment Security Department reported that in February alone, more than 28,000 people lost their jobs. We also got a review of tax collections and a forecast for future economic activities from the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The council reported our state has taken in $552 million less than we expected, bringing our budget shortfall to $8.8 billion. The head forecaster believes our state economy will level off later this year and begin to rebound sometime next year.

This is not good news, and I believe we could have prepared better for these bad economic times. The following graph shows taxes collected, what state spending should have been under voter-approved Initiative 601 (the blue line) and actual state spending (the red line). This illustrates how our state's budget situation is partially based on unsustainable spending - one simply cannot spend more than one takes in and expect to be financially stable.

However, we can not look back; now is the time to solve our budget problem. I have and will continue to fight against a tax increase that many of you have told me you opposed.

During these difficult economic times, we especially need to focus on how we can help the private sector create jobs and provide community services, instead of relying on government. One bill that barely passed the House last week, House Bill 1393, would really hurt businesses if it becomes law. The bill would add warranty requirements and additional mandates on home builders. On the surface, home warranties sound like a good idea. But the bill goes too far in the name of protecting the consumer. In reality, it will increase the price of homes and prevent some families from owning a home.

The bill was written because of a few bad apples in the construction industry. I know that to most builders, reputation means everything. Builders who don’t do a quality job simply do not get more business. We should be relying on the market to kick out bad builders, not put further mandates on an industry that is already suffering. In just one year, from January 2008 to January 2009, construction jobs have dropped more than 19 percent. We need to provide meaningful consumer relief, like reducing costs and giving you a reason to spend again.

Last week, we voted on an important education bill. House Bill 2261 would redefine basic education to include special education and transportation for students. The bill outlines all-day kindergarten and early learning for at-risk children to also be included in basic education funding. I voted 'yes' on the proposal. I want you to know it was a vote I spent a lot of time thinking about and deciding if it would be best for our district and state. In the end, I decided this is a step in the right direction toward the Legislature fully funding its primary duty as laid out in the state's constitution. My hope is that this bill will take the burden off locals with high property taxes. The great thing about this measure is that it increases education funding without raising taxes, because it requires that when revenue growth is more than 5 percent, half of those revenues would go toward education.