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Serving Pierce and Thurston Counties
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Olympia Office:
413 John L. O'Brien Building
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7824
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Toll-Free Legislative Hotline:
1-800-562-6000
Website:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/McCune |
Committees:
General Government Appropriations (Ranking Republican)
Capital Budget
Technology, Energy and Communications |
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Dear Friends,
Our legislative session is now
toward the end of its
eighth week
-- a time when a lot of bills are being considered on
the House floor. This
is a good opportunity to pause and share with you my views on
issues you may be hearing about in the news.
Please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns, as I always welcome your feedback.
State budget shortfall
Our state received bad news when a
revenue forecast revealed its economy continues to
struggle and its budget deficit is now more than $8
billion. The size of our budget shortfall cannot be
pinned solely on our slowing economy. We must not forget
state spending has increased by more than $8
billion in the last four years -- a 33 percent increase.
Our state had a $1.6 billion surplus in 2005.
While it is true that other states are struggling with
their budgets, Washington is deeper in debt than Idaho,
Oregon and California when considering population and size of
respective shortfalls. This tells
an important story. Our state has not been responsible with its
finances and its poor decisions from the last four years
have caught up in a serious way. Simply put, the
majority party spent the fruits of your labor beyond the
means of the state.
What is even more unfortunate is some state
lawmakers in the majority party are using the size of
the budget deficit as a reason to raise taxes. I'm
not aware of any society that has taxed itself into
prosperity.
A
no-new-taxes approach
I support a no-new-taxes
approach. We cannot expect families and employers to
bail out the poor decisions of some state lawmakers.
Instead, our budget problem offers us an opportunity to
commit to a more prioritized, efficient state government
that focuses on education, public safety,
transportation and the protection of our vulnerable
Washingtonians.
The bottom line is while
our budget situation is a serious one, it can be managed
without tax increases.
Assisting our veterans
Few people sacrifice more for our communities than the
hard-working men and women of our armed services. I feel so
blessed to represent many of these men and women in
the 2nd District. As a member of the Joint Committee on
Veterans’ and Military Affairs, I’m focused on efforts
to pass legislation that will assist our veterans. Here
are just a few important bills:
House Bill 1156 – would create a preference
in the alternative route teacher certification programs
for veterans and National Guard members.
House Bill 1478 – would start a new vehicle
registration year when the registered owner is a member
of the United States armed forces and has been stationed
outside Washington state.
House Bill 1876 – would establish the
Disabled Veterans Assistance Account and allow vehicle
owners to make voluntary donations of $5 for initial or
renewal registrations.
House Bill 1877 – would establish the
Disabled Veterans Assistance Account and direct the
department of licensing to issue a special license plate
displaying a symbol or artwork with the words, “In God
We Trust.”
Helping our seniors
Seniors have spent their lifetimes building and
enriching the great communities we enjoy today, and we
owe them a debt of gratitude. I'm working to preserve
funding for home care workers and nursing homes, and am proud to
support many measures that would help our seniors,
including:
House Bill 1764
– would offer property tax relief for seniors, persons
retired because of physical disability and veterans.
House Bill 2104 –
would provide a tax exemption on the sale or use of
power wheelchairs and the related accessories and
services as prescribed by a person licensed under the
laws of this state to prescribe such equipment.
House Bill 1309 –
would expand the circumstances under which a dental
hygienist may practice without the direct supervision of
a dentist -- including helping out in senior centers.
Supporting traditional marriage
I support traditional marriage, between one man and one
woman, and the state’s Defense of Marriage Act. This act
was passed with bipartisan support in 1998. It defines
marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman,
and says that Washington state is not required to
recognize same-sex
marriages from other states. I'm
against any legislation that would undermine traditional
marriage, and there are several bills that, if passed,
would result in this outcome.
Come to a
town hall meeting
Sen. Randi Becker and I will be holding three
town hall meetings on Saturday,
March 14. I hope you can join us. Here are the details:
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Rosemont Assisted Living
215 Killion Road NW –
Yelm
11:00 a.m. to noon
Central
Pierce Fire and Rescue #60
17520 22nd Avenue
East – Spanaway
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Orting Senior Center
120 North
Washington Avenue – Orting
Staying
in touch
I have
really enjoyed sponsoring several legislative pages this
year. Above is a picture of me and legislative pages
Micah and Bethany Atwood
of Spanaway. Please visit my
Web site to learn more about my other legislative
pages.
If you ever have any comments or
questions to pass
along, please contact me. My information is
above.
Click here to e-mail me.
You can also send me an e-mail at
mccune.jim@leg.wa.gov or
here.
Please also stay connected to me and
state government through my
Web site – including my
newsroom,
legislation and
district information.
Feel free to visit any time.
Take care,
Jim McCune
State Representative
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For more
news and information, visit my website at
http://www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/McCune
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