A Day in the Life of a 45th District Washington State Senator

Editor's Note: Legislators are facing a tough session in Olympia this year. Shrinking revenue has them scrambling to balance the budget. Patch asked state legislators representing Woodinville to let us know how things are going. (R) is the only elected official who has responded. We hope to feature other Woodinville elected officials.

By Sen. Andy Hill

I am often asked what it’s really like to be a state senator. So here’s the true scoop about an average day while the Legislature is in session:

 I wake up in my Olympia apartment at 6 or 7 a.m. – and immediately miss my wife and three kids back in Redmond.

 Next, it’s grabbing instant coffee and driving to work for my first appointment, between 7 and 8 a.m.

 The first eight weeks of session was non-stop “listen and learn.” I was so busy taking in reams of information I hardly had time to process it. Now I’m starting to put the pieces together, figuring out the complexities of each issue and determining what policies make sense.

 I try to meet with as many constituents as possible, so I’m booked with back-to-back 15-minute appointments when I’m not scheduled for committee meetings. I’ll meet with constituents, fellow legislators, lobbyists and passionate advocates for every type of issue and cause imaginable.

In a single day, I might hear about and discuss the pros and cons of HOT lane tolls, how to reduce high-school dropout rates, the dangers of mercury poisoning, public-pension difficulties, the environmental impact of light rail, Washington’s homeless problem, online learning, oral chemotherapy legislation, capital budget requests, universal healthcare, and domestic violence. I might also attend a class on parliamentary procedure, a necessary skill in the Senate.  

 Then, from two to six hours a day, I attend committee meetings. As the minority leader on the Senate Higher Education Committee, and a member of the Early Learning and K-12 Education and Transportation committees, I’m in constant study mode to get up to speed on the issues.

 In committee, I’ll hear public testimony on bills and take in massive amounts of information on every issue. That includes input from outside experts, members of the public, lobbyists, agencies and anyone else who might have a stake in the outcome. Later in committee we discuss each bill and vote on whether or not the bill is worth forwarding. Occasionally, I will testify on a bill at a public hearing.

Several times a week – and much more often near the end of the legislative session – all 49 senators convene on what we call the Senate “floor – think of it as a giant version of a typical city council chamber. We offer our opinions on various bills as they come before us and cast our votes on whether or not to pass them. During these sessions, we break periodically to meet in our caucuses to discuss the merits and drawbacks of upcoming bills.

 Then it’s usually a sack lunch on the fly and answering my e-mails until the next thing on my little blue appointment calendar. 

As I write this, my day sounds fairly organized, but really it’s totally chaotic. For example, I’ll be pulled out of committee for five-minute meetings on different but equally urgent issues…or get briefed on another issue while I walk from one building to another. Often constituents drop by without an appointment, and I’ll squeeze them in as best I can. 

 Meetings and committees end about 5:30 p.m., so I answer e-mails and phone calls until about 6:30 p.m. Then I usually go to one or two receptions and dinner, often with my fellow freshmen legislators. They are very entertaining, so I do get a little comic relief at the end of the day. 

 Finally, I’m back at the apartment about 9:30 p.m. Immediately, I miss my wife and kids.

 It’s a crazy schedule, and the work is hard. But it’s also fascinating, challenging and fun. Plus, I know every day that this effort is vitally important given where our state is economically and where it needs to be educationally.

 At the end of the day (literally), I’m working for the kids.   

 Sen. Andy Hill represents the 45th Legislative District, which includes Woodinville, Duvall, Carnation and parts of Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish and rural King County.