Rep. Haler to continue serving as ranking Republican on the House Higher Education Committee
CONTACT: Brendon Wold, Senior Information Officer – (360) 786-7698
Rep. Larry Haler – (360) 786-7986
Rep. Haler to continue serving as ranking Republican on the House Higher Education Committee
OLYMPIA – Rep. Larry Haler, R-Richland, has been chosen by his peers to continue serving as the ranking Republican on the Higher Education Committee for the next two years.
Haler, who is serving his fifth term in the Legislature from the 8th Legislative District, said he was pleased his colleagues in Olympia feel he is the one to lead their efforts on higher education issues.
“Educating our children from preschool through colleges and universities continues to be one of my main passions in life,” said Haler, whose wife is a retired school teacher. “I continue to believe that we need a bigger bang for our buck from our higher education system. We need to continue to ask ourselves and the public what they expect from our state's higher education system and then implement the right policies to achieve those goals. One of the most resounding messages I hear from my district is the need for our higher education system to lead to job creation and economic growth, while remaining accessible to everyone from all walks of life across the state. These will be some of the key elements we look at as we head into the next legislative session.”
Haler will also continue serving on the House Appropriations Committee – formerly known as the House Ways and Means Committee – which helps write the state's two-year operating budget.
“Obviously, with the recent state Supreme Court decision, education funding and our state budget will once again take center stage this session,” said Haler. “Our caucus showed our priorities last year by introducing our 'Fund Education First' proposal and then showed how it could be done within existing revenues. I anticipate that we will once again push for a separate education budget early on in the session.”
He was also chosen to sit on the House Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee.
The 2013 session starts Jan. 14 and will last 105 days.
