Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We’ve reached the policy and fiscal committee cutoff point of session.  Bills that have received public hearings and been voted out of the policy and fiscal committees are now able to be brought to the floor of the House for discussion and debate.  Much of the next 10 days will be spent on the House floor voting on legislation.  These sessions are frantic, fast-paced affairs interspersed with a lot of “sit around and wait” time as the majority party tries to manage the schedule.  These days often drag into the late night.  Voting on bills around the midnight hour is not a rare occasion.

To see a list of some of the big “dead/alive” bills, click here.  There are some good bills that are dead; and there are some bad bills that are alive, and vice versa.  This is only the beginning of the process, so stay tuned.

I want to thank those of you who were able to join Sen. Brian Dansel and Rep. Joel Kretz and me during our telephone town hall.  We had a fantastic turnout with 7,448 live participants in total with as many as 1,236 folks on the line at a time!  We took questions, discussed different legislative issue (wolves and forest fires remain hot topics) and then asked some poll questions.  Here are the questions and results of the poll:

What issue is most important to you?
State Spending (32.4%), Jobs/The Economy (29.6%), Health Care (12%), Forest Management/Wildfire Fighting (9.3%), K-12 Education (9%), Other (5.9%), and Transportation (1.9%)

The governor is proposing a carbon tax on large employers like Vaagen Brothers, and also on many large energy companies to pay for transportation and education. Knowing this will most likely raise the price of food, fuel and electricity, would you support the governor’s plan?
NO (84.8%), YES (11.8%) Not sure.  Need more information (3.4%)

If you missed out on the telephone town hall and want to let me know where you stand on these two issues, click here to take a quick, two question online survey.

Gov. Inslee’s cap and trade
Last week, I was on the Rick Rydell show (KXLY 920) where we talked about the governor’s cap and trade (carbon tax) plan and how it would hurt our economy and increase the costs of goods, services and fuels.  To listen to that interview, click here.

Despite our (House Republican) efforts to fight the bill in the House Environment Committee, it passed on a party line vote with all House Democrats supporting the measure.  To watch a short video on how we tried to fight it, click here.

HB 1011 – construction climate zones
My bill to help keep local construction costs down passed the House unanimously and is now in the Senate for further consideration.  To read my press release on this bill, click here.

Wolves and forest fires
To read more about Rep. Kretz and my efforts to revamp how our state fights wildfires, click here and here. To read about our efforts to deal with the wolf issue in Northeast Washington, click here.

To view my latest video update where I talk about wolves, forest fires and Gov. Inslee’s proposed low carbon fuel standards, click here.

Thank you for taking the time to read my legislative update and for staying involved in your state government.  Please let me know if you have questions or concerns about an issue or state agency.  It’s an honor to serve you in Olympia.

Sincerely,

Shelly Short

State Representative Shelly Short
7th Legislative District
E-mail: shelly.short@leg.wa.gov 
Web site: www.representativeshellyshort.com

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The 105-day 2015 session is in full swing and I’ll be spending most of the next three months in Olympia working on your behalf.  I’m honored to serve you and represent the 7th Legislative District.  If you ever have thoughts, concerns or questions about legislation or other state issues, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I’m excited to report to you that I was recently selected to a senior leadership position within the House Republican Caucus.  My colleagues chose me to serve as Caucus Chair where I will preside over meetings where we discuss bills, amendments, procedural moves, strategy and voting.  It’s an honor to be recognized by my colleagues but an even greater opportunity to bring the issues and concerns important to the 7th District to the forefront of discussions.

During the first few weeks of session we’ve had Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a rally in support of our 2nd Amendment rights and against the passage of I-594, and the always popular March for Life.  I’m always encouraged to see people from all over the state exercising their free speech rights – something that citizens in many other countries are unable to do.  Which leads me to once again say a huge ‘thank you’ to the amazing men and women who have served and continue to serve our nation in the Armed Forces.  Your service and sacrifice are at the forefront of my thoughts every day when I walk into our state Capitol Building and see the flag flying high!

I’m sponsoring and cosponsoring legislation this year to assist landowners and local residents fight wildfires more quickly, efficiently and with less bureaucratic red tape (HB 1677 and HB 1237).  If you want to know more about this effort, click here to view my latest video update.

I’m also sponsoring and cosponsoring legislation to allow for the delisting of wolves and to make the state study the impacts the increased wolf population has had on our local deer and elk populations (HB 1199 and HB 1676)

I have other bills that are in the works or are moving through the process.  I’ll continue to update you on those as the session progresses.

I want to make sure you have every opportunity to be involved in what goes on in Olympia. This is YOUR government. Accessibility to the legislative information and action is paramount to being an involved citizenry. Here are a few ways you can stay connected this year:

• Capitol Buzz – A daily, electronic clip service of House Republicans. Click here to subscribe.
• The Current – An online publication from House Republicans to include you in the legislative process. Click here to subscribe.
• Capitol Report – A three-minute, weekly radio program (aired weekly on KOMW in Omak and KCVL in Colville) that discusses current issues of the 7th District and the state. Click here to sign up for my RSS podcast. You can also get all of the Washington House Republican Capitol Report programs on your iPhone and iPad through the iTunes store by clicking here.
• Check out my website – www.representativeshellyshort.com. From this link, you can get more information about me, the bills I’ve sponsored and view my news releases.
• Photos – Access my photo gallery here.
• Video updates – Every week, I record a new legislative video update with the latest news from the Legislature. You can view my reports here on YouTube.
• TVW – The state’s own version of C-Span, TVW broadcasts floor and committee action live. You can also watch on your computer, smartphone or tablet: www.tvw.org
• Legislature’s website – You can get bill reports, committee agendas and information about upcoming activities in the Legislature at: www.leg.wa.gov

I’m also hosting a telephone town hall with my seatmate, Rep. Joel Kretz, on Tuesday, Feb. 10 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  I invite you all to participate if you can by calling (509) 724-2970.  The phone line will open shortly before the call begins. To ask questions, press star (*) on your telephone keypads.

Thank you for reading my e-newsletter and thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you in Olympia.  Please feel free to visit any time.  I would love to see friendly faces from back home!

Sincerely,

Shelly Short

State Representative Shelly Short
7th Legislative District
E-mail: shelly.short@leg.wa.gov 
Web site: www.representativeshellyshort.com