Conservative Republican lawmaker Matt Shea will take on a new role as the ranking minority member of the House Environment Committee in Washington state. The legislature convenes on January 12th for the 2015 session.
The House Environment Committee considers issues relating to air quality, aquatic lands, oil spill prevention, recycling and solid waste, toxins, and climate change. Shea is likely to be a thorn in the side of Governor Jay Inslee, who has plans to tax the state's highest polluters. Shea says of Inslee's plans:
"These are issues many people across our state, and especially in eastern Washington, are wary of."
Shea says he wants to make sure any decisions related to the environment are based on "sound, peer-reviewed science, not on political agendas or emotional and extreme environmental rhetoric."
Shea is an advocate for less taxes and less government. He traveled to Nevada in April, 2014, to support rancher Cliven Bundy in his stand against paying grazing fees on federal land.