AUDIO: Legislative update with Rep. Shelly Short
Rep. Shelly Short discusses issues of the 2011 legislative session in this update. Time: 6:40 Listen now MP3 File
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House Republicans announce several committee assignment changes
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....
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Legislators tell Department of Ecology to ‘cease and desist’ with climate change guidance
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....
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OP-ED: 2010 legislative session had some hits, misses
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,...
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Forest restoration funds aimed at long-term disease management, fire prevention
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...
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Legislation to help farmers markets becomes law
‘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...
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Democrats pass their ‘no new ideas’ budget, leave taxpayers with nearly $1 billion tab
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...
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Local legislators not giving up the fight for Pine Lodge
‘I just feel like our arguments and our statistics have fallen on deaf ears within the majority party and in the governor’s office,’ says Schmick Despite a House Democrat budget proposal that officially wipes Pine Lodge Correction Center off the state budget books, two local legislators aren’t giving up the...
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7th District legislators fight for taxpayer protections
‘The voters want tax increases to be a last resort not the first option when it comes to dealing with years of overspending,’ says Kretz Washington state taxpayers had their voices silenced today as majority Democrats in the state House of Representatives approved legislation repealing voter-approved Initiative 960, the Taxpayers...
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