Legislative exercise

1.Go to www.leg.wa.gov and find a bill on your beat by searching a key word.
HB 1334 Concerning water resource management on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

2.Find one item on the agenda of a committee relevant to your beat.
Environmental health Committee

Find the chair of the committee.
Tom Campbell (R)

Find the name of one committee staffer (Legal counsel, legislative assistant, researcher, etc.).
Pam Madson, Counsel

Who are the three representatives of the 9th District, which includes Whitman County?
Senator Mark Schoesler
Republican
Representative Don Cox
Position 1, Republican
Representative Joe Schmick
Position 2, Republican

On which committees does Sen. Mark Schoesler serve?
Committees:Agriculture & Rural Economic Development(Ranking Minority Member)Financial Institutions Housing & InsuranceRulesWays & Means

Find one bill sponsored by Schoesler.
SB 5076 Creating the Washington grain commission.

What’s the phone number for Rep. Joe Schmick?
(360) 786-7844
Find audio or video of a committee meeting relevant to your beat.
TVW

When is the next meeting of the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee?
Ways & Means - 09/30/09 3:30 p.m.

What’s the difference between an RCW and a WAC?
RCW is the revised Code of Washington and WAC is the Washington Administrative Code.
Unlike the WAC, the RCW is a collection of laws that includes all subsequent revisions due to amendments and repeals.

What is the status of SB 5039?
Made eligible to be placed on second reading.

Who sponsored the bill?
Senators Jarrett, Kohl-Welles

What was the projected cost of the bill in FY2010?
$5,257

Which state agency creates the fiscal notes?
Office of Fiscal Management

Using the Web site www.pdc.wa.gov, determine how much Gov. Chris Gregoire received in campaign contributions last year.
$13,656, 561.01

a. Use the Web site www.fec.gov to find out how much Cathy McMorris raised through the end of 2008? She raised $1,426,107 through 2008.

According to Open Secrets, McMorris-Rogers' campaign committee raised $1,442,687 during the 2008 election cycle.

b. Use the Web site www.opensecrets.org to find the top five donors to McMorris in 2007-2008.

1	Avista Corp
2	Hecla Mining
3	Microsoft Corp
4	Wells Fargo
5	Alltel Corp

What’s an RSS feed on a bill and how could it be useful to journalists?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary." These feeds are used to frequently publish new postings on blogs or news sites and help journalists follow emerging trends in their stories.