State Sen. Marko Liias will be the ranking Democrat on the Senate government operations Committee and No. 2 Democrat on the Transportation Committee when the legislature reconvenes Monday.
The Government Operations Committee covers the widest range of policies and traditionally hears the greatest number of bills of any committee in the Legislature.
Liias says that he expects the transportation appointment to help Snohomish County.
“This puts me in a stronger position to address the needs of the 21st District as well as to help prioritize transportation projects in communities across the state,” Liias said after the appointment. “This is very good news for residents of the 21st District.”
The district includes most of Edmonds, all of Mukilteo and part of south Everett.
At the Democrats’ reorganization meeting in December, Liias also was appointed to the Senate Higher Education Committee, a move that the chancellor of Washington State University’s North Puget Sound campus in Everett applauded.
“We’re excited to have a legislator with Sen. Liias’ track record taking a strong leadership role in expanding college opportunities here in Snohomish County,” Chancellor Bob Drewel said.
Liias is starting his first full four-year term in the Senate. He replaced retired State Sen. Paull Shin early last year after serving six years in the State House of Representatives.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com
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