Hello,
The legislative session starts January 8th, and amid the flurry of the holidays I’ve been preparing for my first session as a lawmaker in a few different ways.
First – listening. From sports and community events to visiting schools, small businesses, chambers of commerce, tribal hatcheries, homeless shelters, affordable housing developments, fire stations, and non-profits, I’ve had great conversations with neighbors across Kitsap about what issues matter most and our priorities for our community.
One of the most frequent topics is transportation – Washington State Ferries, Kitsap Transit, our state highways, walkable and bikeable communities – and how we can make sure all our systems work together safely and reliably. In fact, if you have a minute, I’d love to hear from you right now with a two-question survey on transportation. Click here to access the survey. Your answers will help me understand how I can better advocate for our district as a lawmaker.
The second way I prep is coffee. Lots of coffee. If you haven’t had a chance to join me at one of my coffee chats over the last few weeks, there’s still a chance before session starts! I invite you to join me in your neck of the woods at any of the dates below to chat about the issues facing our community, and your thoughts and suggestions for making things better.
Finally, I’ve been doing a lot of reviewing and researching. I’ve been diving into the State Transportation Budget to better understand how state dollars get spent, how projects are prioritized, and how we maintain our transit infrastructure. I’ve read through Washington State Ferries and Kitsap Transit long-range plans to better understand needed state investments and opportunities to leverage federal funding.
This year is a short session meaning we only have 60 days to pass legislation before the Governor adjourns (called Sine Die). During short sessions, lawmakers tend to revisit bills that didn’t pass during last year’s long session (105 days). I’ve been reviewing bills that will probably come to the floor this year, and researching what legislation will be most impactful for Kitsap. I’ll make sure to keep you posted on legislative updates as session gets underway.
I hope you’re enjoying your holidays. As always, I’m honored to serve as your State Rep., and look forward to seeing you in the community.
Greg
