OLYMPIA – Democratic Rep. Hans Dunshee is out as leader of the House Capital Budget Committee and in as second-in-command of the chamber’s powerful budget-writing panel.
Democratic caucus members made Dunshee the new vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee in voting completed Monday.
Rep. Helen Sommers, D-Seattle, will remain the leader of the budget panel while Rep. Bill Fromhold, D-Vancouver, will take over Dunshee’s chairmanship.
Dunshee will be giving up the high-profile seat he’s held for four years. In 2005, he wrote a $3 billion construction budget that included funding for the largest increase in new school construction in the state’s history.
House Speaker Frank Chopp asked him to make the change, he said. It will make him part of negotiations with Gov. Chris Gregoire on the nitty-gritty in the vast operating budget.
“I’ll be going from $3 billion to $30 billion,” he said Monday. “This is a step up.”
Another key decision made Monday places Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, at the helm of the House Transportation Committee. She beat out several lawmakers contending for the job.
One of those was Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, who is the vice chairwoman of that transportation panel. Wallace will now run the Higher Education Committee.
Three area lawmakers retained chairmanships though each of their committees has been renamed.
Rep. Brian Sullivan, D-Mukilteo, will head Agriculture and Natural Resources, formerly Natural Resources, Ecology and Parks; Rep. Al O’Brien, D-Mountlake Terrace, will lead Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, formerly Criminal Justice and Corrections; and Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, will guide Early Learning and Children’s Services, formerly Children and Family Service.
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