While lawmakers don’t kick off the 2009 session until January 12, next week will see plenty of action as legislative offices reopen and legislative leaders lay out their session agendas at the annual AP Legislative Forum.
This week, House Republicans announced their committee assignments. On the Higher Education Committee, Rep. Glenn Anderson of Fall City returns as the ranking member, joined by two members new to the committee — Rep. Joe Schmick of Colfax (9th District) and newly-elected Rep. Jan Angel of the 26th District (Kitsap and Pierce Counties).
The Ways and Means Committee (formerly Appropriations) sees returning Ranking Member Rep. Gary Alexander and Assistant Ranking Member Rep. Barbara Bailey of Oak Harbor joined by Assistant Ranking Member Rep. Bruce Dammeier of Puyallup, Rep. Bruce Chandler of Granger, Rep. Bill Hinkle of Cle Elum, Rep. Skip Priest of Federal Way, Rep. Charles Ross of Naches, and Rep. Joe Schmick of Colfax.
The Capital Budget Committee has a new Ranking Member, Rep. Judy Warnick of Moses Lake who replaces the retired Rep. Joyce McDonald. She will be joined by Rep. Kirk Pearson of Monroe, new Rep. Mike Hope of Everett, Rep. Jim McCune of Graham and Rep. Norma Smith of Coupeville.
You can find a complete list of House Republican committee assignments here.
Also, earlier this week Joe Turner had a story in The News Tribune about the possibility lawmakers might approve tuition increases above those included in the Governor’s budget as a way to offset some of the effects of proposed budget cuts. The House Democratic Caucus featured the story on their blog, along with comments from Rep. Deb Wallace who chairs the Higher Education Committee, and Rep. Kathy Haigh who chairs the Education Committee. As we have mentioned before (and no doubt will many times again) writing the budget will be a long and complex process, but it is interesting to see some of the perspectives of key lawmakers as the session begins.