For the past few weeks we’ve reported on the legislative priorities of local officials in both Eastern Washington and North Idaho, and over the next few months, you’ll likely read more about the antics and actions of our state governments.
But you, dear reader, have the power to interact with the government, rather than simply monitor it. The first and easiest way to participate in the legislative process is to contact your local lawmakers.
Each lawmaker is elected to represent one of their state’s legislative districts, which each receive two members in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. In total, there are 11 districts in the Inland Northwest — five in Eastern Washington and six in North Idaho. If you don’t know which district you live in, we’ve got you covered: A boundary map for Washington can be found here and a map for Idaho can be found here.
When you contact your legislator you don’t need to have anything substantive to say to them, you can just call to introduce yourself and ask what they’re working on. If you do, however, have an issue that you want to bring to their attention, this will be the best way to do that.
Another direct approach is to testify on bills at the capitol (in Olympia or Boise) or via remote testimony. Whether you agree or disagree with a proposed bill, making your opinion known can inform legislators' votes.
A quick refresher on the process: A lawmaker will introduce a piece of legislation known as a bill in their respective chamber, which is then assigned to a relevant committee. The committee reviews the bill and listens to public testimony about it, ultimately deciding whether to pass the bill on to the full body of legislators, pass it to another committee, decline to approve it, or even table it. That last option is why you’ll often read that a bill has “died in committee.” If the bill is passed by one chamber (the House or the Senate), it then must go to the other chamber to go through the same process. Sometimes similar bills are introduced in each chamber and then the two groups need to concur on which version should be passed into law.
Public testimony generally occurs during committee meetings, and is easy to sign up for online. In Washington you can visit app.leg.wa.gov/csi to provide your name, email, phone number and address to sign up for in-person or virtual testimony. The page will guide you through which chamber and committee you’d like to testify in. You may also submit written testimony up to 24 hours after the start of that specific public hearing, or you can state your position on a bill without including any testimony an hour after.
In Idaho, it’s a bit more complicated to sign up to testify, but the process is pretty similar. You’ll need to find the committee agenda that includes whichever bill you’re hoping to talk about. The agenda will include a link to testify either virtually or in-person. To testify in Idaho you must be a resident of the state and when you register you must include your full name, email and address, what organization you represent (if applicable) and whether you’re for or against an issue. To find House committees visit legislature.idaho.gov/committees/housecommittees or for Senate committees visit legislature.idaho.gov/committees/senatecommittees.
Whether you choose to testify on a bill, or just share your opinions with state officials, finding more ways to actually participate helps ensure that the lawmaking process is for and by the people.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS
Below we’ve compiled a list of the Inland Northwest’s legislators and their contact information.
WASHINGTON
Legislative District 3
Sen. Marcus Riccelli
360-786-7604, marcus.riccelli@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Timm Ormsby
360-786-7946, timm.ormsby@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Natasha Hill
360-786-7888, natasha.hill@leg.wa.gov
Legislative District 4
Sen. Leonard Christian
360-786-7606, leonard.christian@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Rob Chase
360-786-7984, rob.chase@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Suzanne Schmidt
360-786-7820, suzanne.schmidt@leg.wa.gov
Legislative District 6
Sen. Jeff Holy
360-786-7610, jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jenny Graham
360-786-7962, jenny.graham@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Mike Volz
360-786-7922, mike.volz@leg.wa.gov
Legislative District 7
Sen. Shelly Short
360-786-7612, shelly.short@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Andrew Engell
360-786-7908, andrew.engell@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Hunter Abell
360-786-7988, hunter.abell@leg.wa.gov
Legislative District 9
Sen. Mark Schoesler
360-786-7620, mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Joe Schmick
360-786-7844, joe.schmick@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Mary Dye
360-786-7942, mary.dye@leg.wa.gov
IDAHO
Legislative District 1
Sen. Jim Woodward
208-332-1349 (office), 208-946-7963 (home), jwoodward@senate.idaho.gov
Rep. Mark Sauter
208-332-1035 (office), 208-254-1184 (home), msauter@house.idaho.gov
Rep. Cornel Rasor
208-332-1185 (office), 208-290-7403 (home), crasor@house.idaho.gov
Legislative District 2
Sen. Phil Hart
208-332-1345 (office), 207-772-2522 (home), phil.hart@senate.idaho.gov
Rep. Heather Scott
208-332-1190, hscott@house.idaho.gov
Rep. Dale Hawkins
208-332-1070 (office), 208-568-1275 (home), dhawkins@house.idaho.gov
Legislative District 3
Sen. Doug Okuniewicz
208-332-1338 (office), 208-918-1495 (home), dougo@senate.idaho.gov
Rep. Vito Barbieri
208-332-1177 (office), 208-620-0873 (home), vbar@house.idaho.gov
Rep. Jordan Redman
208-332-1180 (office), 208-252-5070 (home), jredman@house.idaho.gov
Legislative District 4
Sen. Ben Toews
208-332-1322 (office), 208-209-7791 (home), btoews@senate.idaho.gov
Rep. Joe Alfieri
208-332-1065 (office), 208-699-0021 (home), jalfieri@house.idaho.gov
Rep Elaine Price
208-332-1048 (office), 208-654-3228 (home), eprice@house.idaho.gov
Legislative District 5
Sen. Carl Bjerke
208-332-1421 (office), 208-704-0925 (home), cbjerke@senate.idaho.gov
Rep. Ron Mendive
208-332-1040 (office), 208-667-9330 (home), rmendive@house.idaho.gov
Rep. Tony Wisniewski
208-332-1060 (office), 208-889-3437 (home), twisniewski@house.idaho.gov
Legislative District 6
Sen. Dan Foreman
208-332-1405, dforeman@senate.idaho.gov
Rep. Lori McCann
208-332-1184 (office), 208-743-5517 (home), lmccann@house.idaho.gov
Rep. Brandon Mitchell
208-332-1175 (office), 208-596-5001 (home), bmitchell@house.idaho.gov♦
