Heading back to Olympia

I’ll soon be hopping into the pickup for the long drive from Olympia back home to Ritzville.

These past few days were spent in our state capital for Senate Assembly Days, which has included several committee, caucus and individual meetings. Things got busy even before I reached Olympia.

On my way west last Tuesday, I stopped in Ellensburg to meet with the new president of Central Washington University, Jim Wohlpart, over a cup of coffee. We had a good chat about a number of topics, including Central’s capital-budget needs in the future.

Soon after I arrived in Olympia, my Senate Republican colleagues and I met last Tuesday afternoon in the Legislative Building for “re-org,” the meeting in which we elect our top leadership officers.

As I expected, we voted to retain our current caucus leadership: Leader John Braun of Centralia, Caucus Chairwoman Judy Warnick of Moses Lake, Floor Leader Shelly Short of Addy, and Whip Keith Wagoner of Sedro-Woolley. The remaining four caucus-leadership positions are expected to be chosen in early January.

Last Wednesday morning, the director of government relations for Evergreen State College stopped by my office to talk about campus updates there and to discuss a key renovation project at Evergreen.

That afternoon, I met with some of the Senate’s capital-budget staff to discuss “big-picture items” and the capital-budget development process for next session. As the lead member for the Senate Republican Caucus on the capital budget, these meetings are important.

The first item on last Thursday’s calendar was an 8 a.m. meeting of the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee, which featured a work session on problem gambling. After having to conduct Senate committee meetings remotely for over two years due to COVID-19, it was a relief to again meet in person.

I joined my Senate Republican colleagues for another caucus meeting, followed by a Senate Ways and Means Committee meeting that included updates on the state’s revenue and economic forecasts.

I joined many other legislators, staff and lobbyists at a retirement event for two of my longtime colleagues: Sen. Jim Honeyford of Sunnyside, who was elected to the House (from the 15th Legislative District) two years after me; and Sen. Tim Sheldon of Potlatch, who became a House member (from the 35th District) two years ahead of me. I thoroughly enjoyed serving with them in both the House and the Senate. They will be missed in Olympia.

Last Friday, I attended the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee’s work session on an overview of greenhouse-gas emissions in Washington and an update on the so-called “clean fuel standard” and the Climate Commitment Act, two laws that I have strongly opposed from the beginning.

Last week, the Senate Facilities and Operations Committee, comprising of seven senators – four Democrats and three Republicans – met to decide how the upcoming session will be conducted. This summary will be of interest to anyone wishing to come to Olympia for the 2023 legislative session:

The Senate will return to in-person floor action and voice voting for the 2023 session. Committee meetings will generally be in person, with some exceptions.

In-person meetings will be allowed in member offices and meeting rooms. Posted capacity numbers for meeting rooms must be observed.

Staff will work in person on campus. Interns and pages will be in person and return to normal operations.

Members of the public may enter Senate facilities, unless they have COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive within the last five days.

Masks and tests will be available.

In other words, while things won’t be 100% back to coronavirus pre-shutdown mandates, the 2023 session will look more normal than the past two.

I look forward to having visitors to my Senate office once again.

— Sen. Mark Schoesler, a Ritzville Republican, represents the 9th Legislative District, which includes Whitman County. Email him at Mark.Schoesler@leg.wa.gov.