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Legislators share insights with East King County Chambers of Commerce
Multiple legislative sessions led to reforms with Eastside legislators playing key roles

A packed house of Eastside business leaders joined 11 legislators from around East King County at the Swedish Medical Center in the Issaquah Highlands yesterday for a re-cap of the recently completed legislative session. Legislators discussed a session in which some key budget reforms were passed after a rare parliamentary procedure was used to force compromise.

The East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition, an organization bringing 10 chambers of commerce from the Eastside together to advocate in Olympia issues of concern to the business community, hosted the event at Swedish Medical Center. It was due in large part to the representatives and senators on the Eastside that legislators were able to pass reforms in K-12 education, stop cuts to higher education, and make structural reforms to the state’s budget.

“East King County is well-served by having legislators who are willing to work together and compromise to get things done for their constituents,” said Dick Paylor, chair of the East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition. “We appreciate our legislators taking on leadership roles this session to help reform our state government. We in the business community must continue to work with our legislators to create an environment for private sector job growth, which includes low taxes, a robust transportation infrastructure, and competitive education systems in both K-12 and higher education.”

Legislators thought that some of the best things that happened for the Eastside business community during the session were the McCleary Decision, which will force the Legislature to focus on education, continuing progress on the SR 520 Bridge and the parliamentary move which allowed for a compromise budget. Legislators also speculated that the Puget Sound region is poised to develop economic industry clusters in the fields of video games, bio-technology, clean energy and finance.

The East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition brings together 10 chambers of commerce representing the Eastside business community and enables these chambers to speak with a unified voice on legislative issues. The Coalition develops a variety of annual publications and brings lawmakers and business leaders together through events and activities. The Coalition’s membership consists of 10 Eastside Chambers of Commerce including: Bellevue, Bothell, Issaquah, Kirkland, Maple Valley – Black Diamond, Newcastle, Redmond, Sammamish, Snoqualmie Valley, and Woodinville.

Contact: Kevin Kelly, 425.213.1208
kkelly@bellevuechamber.org

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Added on 05/11/2012