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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Hello from Olympia, and welcome to my email update!

In prior email updates I have explained my role on my three policy committees. In this update, I’d like to take an opportunity to discuss some of the bills I have sponsored, and why I think they are good for the 12th District and Washington state.

First, I’d like to explain my legislative philosophy because it may differ from others in Olympia. I believe we need less intervention from government in our lives and too may bills are introduced each session. The more bills we hear, the more rushed the legislative process becomes. I believe that as legislators we need to think critically about every piece of legislation we consider. We should be a deliberative body; we owe it to the people of Washington.

Below you will find a few of the bills I have personally signed my name to because I believe they are important for our State and district.

House Bill 1174—Known as the “Fund Education First” bill—I consider this to be the most important piece of legislation we will consider this session. I wrote an opinion piece which appeared in the Wenatchee World that explains my view on why funding education first, before any other money is allocated for state programs, is the right thing for our state.

Here is the last paragraph of my submission, which summarizes my view on this important piece of legislation:

“If we are serious about meeting our constitutional and court obligations — and if we want to do so within existing revenues — we need the Legislature to pass the Fund Education First bill. If not, all aspects of the budget could be treated similarly in terms of priority, and certain lawmakers will likely once again politicize educational issues in an attempt to justify higher taxes.”

House Bill 1733—This bill aims to promote greater transparency in government spending. I co-sponsored this legislation with a freshman House Democrat, and the bill has received bipartisan support. It would leverage existing government data to create a user-friendly online map which would display capital Budget and transportation Budget spending by legislative district and county.

I believe strongly that the people who elect us want legislators to work together, and they want transparency in government spending. This bill will help citizens across the state better understand where Capital and Transportation budget investments are made.

House Joint Memorial 4207—This legislation is called a memorial because it would amend the State Constitution. HJM 4207 would modify the eligibility requirements for superior court judges to ensure they live in the county they were elected to serve in. This is already the case for all elected officials except superior court judges, and recently a judge in our state was elected in one county, but lives in another. I believe all elected officials should live in the communities they are elected to represent, and this bill would ensure that.

To see the full list of bills I am sponsoring this session, click here. As you will discover, this list is not long, but I believe quality over quantity will be how we move the state forward.

As always, it is an honor to serve and represent you as your 12th District Representative.

Sincerely,

Brad Hawkins

State Representative Brad Hawkins
12th Legislative District

E-mail: brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov
Web site: houserepublicans.wa.gov/hawkins

122G Legislative Building – P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7832 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000