OLYMPIA—Rep. Hans Dunshee (D-Snohomish) was elected as new chair of the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives.
“It’s humbling to be chosen for this job,” said Dunshee. “Writing the state budget is about more than numbers. It’s about great public schools and universities for our kids, health care for seniors and the disabled and making sure citizens across the state get the services they need.”
Dunshee is the long-time chair of the Capital Budget Committee, which writes the state’s construction budget. He said his experience working closely with Republicans on those budgets will be useful when it comes to negotiating with the Senate Republicans to balance the state budget.
“Writing the state budget is the hardest and most important job we have as lawmakers,” said House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington). “We have a lot of talented lawmakers to consider for this job, and I’m excited that Hans will be our new Appropriations chair. He will do an excellent job as budget chair.”
Dunshee replaces the previous budget chair, Rep. Ross Hunter, who left the Legislature to become director of the state’s Department of Early Learning.
“No matter what district you represent or what letter is beside your name, we all come here as citizen lawmakers to get things done for our neighbors back home,” Dunshee said. “The biggest thing we have accomplish is fully funding our public schools, and I welcome the chance to work with lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate to get that done for our kids.”