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JOEL IN THE NEWS: |
This past year has been very busy and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It has been an honor and pleasure to serve you for the past five years. I have worked hard to represent the citizens of the 7th District and will continue to do so in the future. |
JoelKretz |
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"Outstanding Legislator" Continued |
“This award is a huge honor because small businesses are the backbone of our economy. I respect entrepreneurs because they put everything on the line with the goals of creating good-paying jobs and products that are second to none. They don’t want a government hand-out; they want government to get out of the way so they can do what they do best – create jobs and foster individual prosperity,” said Kretz. “It’s the mom-and-pop shops that keep our communities vibrant and support our schools, parks and critical local services. My door is always open to small employers and they can count on my continued support of their issues.” “Small-business owners look at what legislators actually do, not just what they say. That’s why our members chose Rep. Joel Kretz as one of only two Washington state lawmakers to receive the ‘Outstanding Legislator’ award for the 2009 and 2010 sessions,” said Patrick Connor, Washington State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business. “I truly believe the only way to turn our economy around, particularly in rural parts of the state like ours, is to cut the government red tape that is tying the hands of small-business owners and to reduce their tax burden so that company resources can be put toward hiring employees, not filling state coffers,” Kretz concluded. |
Rep. Joel Kretz appointed to 'Open Government Task Force' |
Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has appointed Joel to the state's Open Government task Force, which is charged with finding efficient and effective ways to address public records requests while reducing costs to governmental agencies. This is truly an honor and a group in which I know can make a difference for the citizens of the state. The government at every level is supposed to serve the public, and everyone has a right to ask to review documents prepared by the government. That said, there have been some abuses in the system, costly litigation and legitimate questions raised that I hope this task force will address. The directives to the task force include looking at what other states are doing to resolve open record request disputes. The goal is to ensure public records requests are handled in the best possible way without costing citizens requesting records and state and local governments exorbitant amounts of money. One key element the group will study is how to train governmental officials about their responsibilities under the Open Public Records Act. I think many of the disputes over requests are due to a lack of understanding of this complex law. We can begin to make the system more understandable and responsive just by tackling this problem. I look forward to making some positive progress on this issue. I appreciate Rob McKenna taking a leadership role as we work to ensure an open and transparent government. I was privileged to authored an "open government" measure that was signed into law this year. House Bill 1552 requires state agencies to accept individual oral testimony in the presence of all other attendees at public meetings. This applies to meetings held under the Open Public Meetings Act where a state agency is adopting an ordinance, resolution, rule, order or directive. |
"Deputy Leader" Continued |
The deputy leader's duties include developing policy, determining priorities for the caucus and leading constituent and media outreach efforts. I'm honored to have been chosen by my House Republican colleagues to take on this important leadership position. This is an exciting time to be a legislator because we face challenges like no other year in recent history. This legislative session will be about solutions to our greatest challenges, not slogans and empty promises. We can turn this state around with a little elbow grease and leadership, both of which I am more than willing to offer to the people of Washington. Balancing the budget shortfall on the backs of families and small businesses is not an option for House Republicans. While this budget crisis calls for tough decisions, I believe it also gives us the opportunity to commit to prioritizing state spending and creating a more limited and efficient state government. Our family farms and mom-and-pop shops in the Seventh District and around the state need relief, not higher taxes and bigger government. In addition, I want to focus on keeping the agriculture and natural resources industries afloat. The exports of agricultural products account for 11 percent of the state's economic production and $6.7 billion in exports in 2007. These vital industries account for 160,000 jobs, most of which are in rural parts of Washington. |