Dear friends and neighbors, We are two weeks into the 2011 session and things are moving fast and frantic.  I have once again been chosen by my colleagues to serve as the ranking Republican on the House Environment Committee.  I’m also the assistant ranking Republican on the Technology, Energy and...

Barr-Tech goes to Olympia A local company located in Sprague, Washington testified before the state House Technology, Energy and Communications Committee during a work session this week on its efforts to turn common yard waste, food waste and other bio-solids into compost, fertilizer and green energy. Barr-Tech, LLC, which was...

Rep. Shelly Short discusses issues of the 2011 legislative session in this update. Time: 6:40 Listen now MP3 File

House Republicans today announced the following committee changes: Remove Rep. Shelly Short from Early Learning and Human Services Committee and appoint Rep. Jason Overstreet to the committee. Rep. Mike Hope has been named Assistant Ranking Republican on this committee. Remove Rep. Ed Orcutt from the Environment Committee and appoint Rep....

Concerned that over-reaching climate change rules could have a devastating effect on Washington’s stagnant economic recovery, Republican members of the Washington State House Ecology and Parks Committee sent a letter to the state Department of Ecology (DOE) last week, asking the department to stop drafting rules governing greenhouse gas emissions....

By Reps. Joel Kretz and Shelly Short Thank you to everyone who called and wrote us during the legislative session. Your input is always incredibly valuable. In this column, we will give you a brief rundown on the 2010 legislative session, tax increases and some local legislation that passed. However,...

Reps. Joel Kretz and Shelly Short applauded the inclusion of $2.75 million in this year’s state capital budget aimed at addressing long-overdue forest restoration projects in Northeast Washington. The funds were secured in the budget by Rep. Norma Smith, a Whidbey Island Republican who serves on the House Capital Budget...

‘With local economies continuing to struggle, and with families trying to keep food on the table, farmers markets are playing a more vital role for both,’ says Short Legislation introduced during the 2010 legislative session to help farmers markets is now law in Washington state. Substitute House Bill 2402, which...

Democrats’ budget relies on largest tax increase in state history to continue failed budget policies In what Republican Reps. Joel Kretz and Shelly Short called an “unconscionable move,” majority Democrats in the Legislature passed a state supplemental operating budget that assumes nearly $1 billion in new and higher taxes this...