NEWS: Hawkins transparency bill signed into law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 21, 2013

CONTACT: Ashley Wilson, Public Information Officer – (360) 786-7761

Hawkins transparency bill signed into law

Today Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 2058 into law sponsored by Rep. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee. The legislation will promote more transparency in government spending and is Hawkins’ first bill to become law.

The legislation will leverage existing government data to create a user-friendly online map which will display capital and transportation spending by legislative district and county. The statewide capital and transportation budget expenditures are over $12 billion per biennium. Hawkins believes this information should be more accessible to taxpayers.

The bill is a joint venture by Hawkins and fellow freshman legislator Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, and was a crash course in the way legislation is developed, amended and finally approved.

“Representative Riccelli and I worked hard on this idea all session. We learned plenty together about the twists and turns of the legislative process along the way. This common sense idea became law because of hard work, bipartisan cooperation and freshmen optimism,” said Hawkins.

“I am happy Representative Hawkins and I were able to work closely together to move this important piece of legislation forward,” said Riccelli. “This shows that transparency and accountability in government is an idea both parties in Olympia can support. It is heartening for two newly elected legislators to see that sound policy can still trump politics these days.”

The bill goes into effect on July 28, 2013. Upon signing the bill into law, Gov. Inslee said “I appreciate the great bipartisan work that got this bill to my desk by Representatives Hawkins and Riccelli and others.”

For more information about Rep. Hawkins, visit: houserepublicans.wa.gov/hawkins.

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Rep. Hawkins’ media: