The Session Is Underway We have almost completed the third week of the legislative session, and one thing I know for sure, Zoom and Teams may work, but the impersonal nature of them is a trying experience. Sitting in front of a computer screen talking with legislators, constituents, lobbyists and attending hearings and senate sessions is different. It just increases the desire to actually meet in person. One benefit of the session is learning that virtual testimony in hearings increases public involvement in the legislative process. Last week we had two hearings that had over 1,000 people sign up to testify or express their views for or against bills. And future hearings on controversial bills will have even larger numbers of ...
Read MoreAbout Sam
Senator Sam Hunt was elected to the Senate in 2016 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. He is chair of the State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee and is also a member of the Ways & Means and Early Learning & K-12 Education committees. In addition, he the serves on the Legislative Oral History Advisory, Capitol Campus Design Advisory, Public Records Accountability and Exemptions and Public Records Committees, and the Washington-Hyogo Friendship Council. A former member of the Washington State Historical Society Board of Trustees, Sam volunteers with the National Institute for Civil Discourse, working to promote and improve civility among members of state legislatures.
A graduate of Washington State University, Sam was a schoolteacher in Pasco (where he also served as a city council member and mayor pro tempore) and Montesano. He also worked for the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, served as staff director for the Washington Senate Majority Leader, was education advisor to Governor Booth Gardner, and served as legislative director at the Department of Information Services.
In 2017, Sam chaired the Council of State Governments West, an organization composed of legislators from the 13 western states, the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and several Mexican border states. He is Chair-Elect of the Council of State Governments, which works with legislators and state elected officials across the nation.
Read Sen. Hunt’s full biography here.
