Dear Friends and Neighbors,

January proved to be a devastating month for our state and national economies as one company after another announced job losses.

Hewlett Packard, Starbucks, Caterpillar, Home Depot, and many others, have all announced large layoffs.  Even the two companies we expected to be bright spots in our economy - Boeing and Microsoft - are laying off thousands.  And these are just the larger, more public layoffs.  I know there are many small businesses owners out there who have had to choose between laying off one or two employees, or going out of business altogether.  A friend of mine who owns Barracuda's has had to cut back hours and the Tri-Cities region has one of the state's highest unemployment rates.

Now, more than ever, the decisions we make in Olympia should be based on whether it will help our families, the economy, and jobs.

I am encouraging my colleagues in the Legislature to keep these criteria at the forefront of their decisions.  I cannot let my fellow legislators forget that the decisions we make have a direct impact on families, taxpayers and those desperately looking for employment. Again, thank you for allowing me to represent you in Olympia.  Please feel free to contact my office with any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Larry Haler State Representative, 8th District PS - Please see the information below regarding my upcoming town hall meetings.  I invite you to come to the town hall most convenient to you, where we'll discuss in more detail the issues the Legislature is dealing with this session.

Rep. Larry Haler gives a speech on the House floor

Thank you for contacting my office!
So many of you have e-mailed, called and written letters to my office.  Thank you!  Your voice does make a difference!  As we approach the first cutoff of the session - the deadline for bills to get out of their committee of origin - I'll be able to respond more accurately to many of your inquiries.  There are several stages of the legislative process where a bill can "die": in the committee of origin; a fiscal committee; the Rules committee; the House floor; the Senate.  I'll keep you up-to-date as best I can on the issues important to you.

UPDATE: Cap and Trade
Previously, I told you about Governor Gregoire's "cap and trade" proposal that would cap emissions for the manufacturing and energy producing sectors of our economy.  Last week, House Bill 1819 was introduced by Rep. Dave Upthegrove (the governor cannot introduce legislation; she must find someone willing and "request" that they sponsor it).

Because this bill has the potential to increase power rates for low income citizens and will affect everyone that uses natural gas, electricity or gasoline, I testified against it in the House Ecology and Parks Committee.

The way I see it, this is not the time to be adding punitive and costly regulatory policies on our employers.  Our state accounts for only three-tenths of one percent of global greenhouse gasses.  We shouldn't be risking our state economy and jobs for unproven regulations which would burden businesses and discourage out-of-state companies from bringing their jobs here.

I have serious concerns that a state-sponsored cap and trade proposal would end up spending our limited state resources, cost businesses money they don't have, and cost our state and region jobs we can't afford to lose.  And, citizens cannot afford more increases in their electricity bills.

Energy Independence Day Thanks to all of the participants in our energy independence day at the state Capitol. We had great participation from the folks from Tri-Cities as well as Legislators and staff.  I hope to make this a yearly event and am already hearing from a lot of other companies and organizations that would like to be included next year! Here's a link to the Tri-City Herald story that appeared over the weekend.

Rep. Larry Haler and Jessica Ballard from Infinia

Budget Update:
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives took the first step – albeit a very small one – in dealing with our state's $6 billion deficit.

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1694, which I supported, implements just over $630 million in cost savings for the rest of the current biennium – less than ten percent of the gap we need to close.

I was hoping we could do more. Unless we implement more savings, we're just delaying the inevitable. We're going to have to cut more out of the budget eventually; why not make those cuts now and gain the cost savings associated with early implementation? House Republicans offered an amendment to cut deeper into bloated government spending, but that amendment was defeated by the majority party. I still voted in favor of the final bill. Though it is a small step, it is a step in the right direction.  Also, the bill contained levy equalization money for our rural school districts that Gov. Gregoire's supplemental budget eliminated.

I believe we need to work harder to find more efficiencies before eliminating desperately needed levy equalization funds.

Bringing transparency and accountability to the budget process
While the majority party continues to struggle with how they're going to fill a $6 billion budget hole they helped create, it's important for us to remember that we need to make fundamental changes to the structure of the budgeting process.  "Business as usual" will only get us right back in this mess down the road.

I'm cosponsoring legislation that will allow more public input into the budget process.  House Bill 1654 establishes a period of public and legislative review for the state's major appropriations bills.  Nicknamed "The Budget Sunshine Act," it would require a five-day waiting period before either legislative body could vote on the operating, capital or transportation budgets.

For the most part, the actual budget never sees the light of day before it is brought to the floor for a full vote.  We need to allow legislators and the public enough time to give input when deciding the state's most important issue.  While this legislation won't necessarily help get us out of the current $6 billion budget hole, it would help us shed light on the upcoming budget proposals and the impacts of our decisions.

I am also supporting a legislative balanced budget requirement with House Bill 1655.

It's important that we immediately dispel any notion of borrowing money to pay for the state's everyday operating expenses.  As the budget shortfall continues to grow, every option will be considered by the majority party.  This is one option that should be off the table.  Borrowing money to pay for everyday expenses is bad fiscal policy and would lead to more problems down the road.

You are invited!
Sen. Jerome Delvin, Rep. Brad Klippert and I will be hosting several town hall meetings in March.  Please feel free to attend the one most convenient for you.  We'll have a chance to discuss the issues the Legislature is dealing with this session, including our state's $6 billion budget shortfall.

March 14 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Prosser City Council 601 7th Street Prosser March 14 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Kiona-Benton City High School Performing Arts Center 1205 Horne Dr. Benton City	March 21 10:00 a.m. - noon Richland City Council Chambers 505 Swift Blvd. Richland March 21 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Kennewick City Council Chambers 210 West 6th Kennewick
March 14 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Benton Rural Electric 6095 W. Van Giesen West Richland

Visit my Website for further information and news
You can always visit my Web site for updated information and to contact me via e-mail.  You can also sign-up for my E-newsletter by going to my home page and clicking on the "sign up here" link on the left side of the page.