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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
A big “thank you” to those of you who were able to join us Monday evening at our telephone town hall event. Rep. Mary Dye and I took questions and discussed the legislative session with more than 1,100 of you! The results of our survey questions are below:
Telephone town halls are a great way to connect with constituents and listen to questions and concerns, especially with a district the size of ours!
The Week Ahead
We are continually experimenting with ways to keep you informed on what's happening in Olympia. We also want to make it as easy as possible for you to voice your concerns or support for legislation. A newly-revamped product called “The Week Ahead” will include legislation in committees that might be of interest to you. It contains links to testify remotely, submit your comments to the committee electronically, or just submit your position FOR or AGAINST certain bills. Just follow the instructions and the included links to stay involved in YOUR state government.
You can find The Week Ahead here. You can also sign up for The Week Ahead to receive it every Friday in your inbox during session here.
Gun bills
As I mentioned in last week's update, the majority party has passed two gun-control measures that will impact our Second Amendment rights. We all want to reduce gun violence. But going after law-abiding gun owners is not the answer. The vast majority of gun violence is committed by people who are not legally allowed to possess firearms. I don't think another gun restriction or further gun-control measures are the answer. Additionally, it makes no sense to me that in the same week House Democrats voted in support of gun-control measures they also voted to do away with sentencing enhancements for crimes committed with a firearm. This would effectively REDUCE the penalties for gun violence.
You can listen to my comments on the recent gun bills in my Capitol Report podcast here.
Also, here is my column on the vehicle miles travelled tax:
If you have any questions or concerns about a state government issue, please feel free to contact my office. We are here to help.
Sincerely,
Joe Schmick
