WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Rep. Kristine Lytton Legislative Update

Dear Friends and Family,

The 2015 Legislative Session has arrived and I’m happy to be back in Olympia representing the 40th Legislative District. I’m honored to have been elected Majority Floor Leader by my colleagues. This year I will also serve as Vice Chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and as a member of the Appropriations, Education, and Rules Committees.

The session is in its beginning stages, and I am working hard to draft legislation that best reflects the interests of the 40th. Thank you to all who have emailed me about current and potential bills. I appreciate your feedback because it helps guide me during this process. Make sure to monitor the progress of bills at https://app.leg.wa.gov/DLR/billsbysponsor/. It is a great resource to track bills by their sponsor.

The first order of business for this year is passing an early action supplemental operating budget (HB 1105). It tackles four items that need immediate attention, and the Appropriations Committee anticipates adopting a more typical supplemental bill later on. Following are the specific issues addressed in the bill:

  • Mental Health: More mental health treatment capacity is created to resolve the emergency room boarding lawsuit and an expected court order requiring more evaluation and treatment capacity to take pressure off local jails.
  • Natural Resources: Eastern Washington wildfires, the Oso Landslide, and other natural disasters had a larger impact on the state budget than what was originally allocated.
  • Homecare Shared Living Lawsuit: The state lost a lawsuit with in-home care workers in the spring of last year. This bill appropriates the money to pay the debt.
  • Children Services: Child abuse caseloads have been significantly larger than expected and funds are allocated to help resolve cases as quickly as possible.

Representative Bruce Chandler and Representative Ross Hunter jointly introduced the supplemental operating budget, and I believe that it will have significant bipartisan support. I expect it to pass out of the House later this week. It has yet to come before the Senate, and I hope they give it the same thoughtful consideration.

Meet my new Legislative Assistant

Meagan West

Born in Spokane, Meagan West has happily returned to the great state of Washington after living in California for much of her life. She attended University of California, Davis where she received her undergraduate degree in History. Additionally, she has a Master’s in Public Policy with a concentration in Agricultural Policy from California Polytechnic State University. Meagan has accumulated a wealth of experience by working at the local, state, and federal levels of government. She also successfully ran state Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self’s 2014 campaign in the 21st Legislative District before joining my team. When she’s not working, Meagan enjoys snowboarding, trying out new recipes, checking out local breweries, and hanging out on her grandparents’ ranch in Eastern Washington.

Meet Our Intern

Ben Reh has joined us for session as our intern. He is currently a senior at Western Washington University studying economics. While at school he is an officer in the Student Economics Association, assists a professor doing research on the 2008 housing crisis, and works as a peer tutor in the Writing Center. Outside of school, he enjoys spending his time rock climbing, cooking, and just recently got into cycling. Ben has always been interested in public policy and, as a Bellingham resident, is very excited to be working for Representative Lytton. He is amazed how much he has learned in to first three weeks of session and cannot wait to see more of the legislative process.

I’m here to serve you. If you ever have a legislative matter or questions about a bill, please don’t hesitate to contact me at kristine.lytton@leg.wa.gov or call my office at 360-786-7800. I enjoy hearing your thoughts as they are a crucial component of the legislative process.

Warm Regards,

Kristine