Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Not to sound overly dramatic, but if I could impersonate Paul Revere and ride my horse through the 8th district shouting, "Taxes are coming, taxes are coming!" I would.

The Legislature needs to take the bull by the horns now.  We've known about our state's budget deficit for months and yet little has been done thus far to slow state spending.  And now, with this week's preliminary revenue forecast showing a continued downward trend in our state tax collections; the situation is getting worse.  Our budget shortfall for the 2009-11 biennium is now closer to $8 billion!

We do not want to wait until the deficit is so bad that the public has no choice but to support a tax increase.  Acting immediately to curb state spending, however, does not seem to be the strategy of the leading budget writers in the Legislature.  Instead, they have made it official: they're expecting to send the voters a tax increase at the end of session. They'll tie the tax increases to specific, emotional and public relations-friendly programs that deal with education, health care or children.

There will be floor speeches about doing the right thing and having the courage to raise taxes.  But in the end, this is another government bailout at taxpayers' expense.

Here's what the House Democrat budget writer, Rep. Kelli Linville, said in a Seattle Times article this week: "I'm assuming there will probably be something that goes on the ballot." And, speaking of specific tax increases, Senate Democrat Leader Lisa Brown said: "People are looking at a collection of things that could be considered green.  It could be anything from bottled water, because of the negative effects of bottles, to things in the dirty-energy sector of the economy." You can read the entire Seattle Times article here. I do NOT support tax increases and hope you will join me rejecting the Legislature's attempt to take more money away from hard working families. Thank you for the honor of serving you in Olympia. Sincerely, Larry Haler State Representative, 8th District

Rep. Larry Haler addresses students from Tri-Cities Prep in the state reception room

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.

Extending State Route 397

One of my bills passed the House last week.  House Bill 1000 simply extends State Route 397 to include about 11 miles of new construction that connects up to Interstate 82.  The new road, which was completed in October of last year, will allow industrial and farm-to-market truck traffic to access the Finley and South Kennewick industrial and agricultural areas while bypassing the Tri-Cities area. By having it designated an official State Route, the state will assume responsibility for maintenance, as it should since the road is basically an extension of the existing state route.

UPDATE: Cap and Trade The governor's cap and trade proposal, House Bill 1819, passed the House Ecology and Parks Committee this week.  Here are a couple things that I like to keep in mind as I talk to my colleagues about why we don't need this job-killing legislation: * Washington is one of the lowest producers of CO2 in the nation with only three-tenths of one percent of global emissions.  Of that total amount, a majority of our emissions are due to automobiles on the highways.  Trying to place punitive and costly restrictions on manufacturing and energy-producing businesses makes no sense.

Reps. Larry Haler and Brad Klippert meet with 8th District members of the American Cancer Society

* It would take just 50 days for China's growth in CO₂ emissions to make up for even a complete elimination of all Washington's emissions.

* Now is not the time to add costs and burdens to Washington businesses that could well force companies out of business or to move to other states.

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 now $8 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.