Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I’m disappointed to share that the Legislature was unable to come to a compromise on our state budget during the regular session. Today, we are adjourning two days early, and the governor has called for a special session to start Wednesday, April 29. I would have preferred we work through the weekend and start the special session right away on Monday.

The state constitution allows for a special session to last up to 30 days. Technically, all items are eligible for debate and discussion, but I hope lawmakers will keep their focus on the budgeting process. We need to find a responsible solution on the budget soon, so schools and state and local agencies depending on the budget can have certainty in planning.

As your representative, I’m committed to finding a solution on our state budget, but the final budget needs to be a responsible one that spends your tax dollars wisely. The state has more than $3 billion in additional funding within existing tax revenues, and I believe this is enough to provide more funding for basic education and other priorities of the state.

Often in these situations, politicians fault “the other side” for certain delays or circumstances. I will not play those games. The reality is that every member of the Legislature shares in the responsibility of approving our state budget. Every member is tasked with representing the collective interests of their districts and finding common ground that helps move our state forward. It took many extra weeks to achieve a bipartisan budget two years ago, but our state is much better off because of it. I truly hope it doesn’t take as long this time.

Thank you for the privilege of serving as your state representative.

Sincerely,

Brad Hawkins

State Representative Brad Hawkins
12th Legislative District
E-mail: brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov 
Web site: www.representativebradhawkins.com
122G Legislative Building – P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7832 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000