![Sen. Andy Billig [D-Spokane] is leaving the legislature after 14 years, 12 in the Senate, two in the House.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7f1d8a7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/900x1200+0+0/resize/840x1120!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb9%2F67%2F0095e50042f2afb5047e58dce887%2Fandy-billig-legislature.jpg)
Andy Billig is the chief executive officer and part owner of the Spokane Indians baseball team and the Spokane Chiefs hockey club. His side gig for the last 14 years has been as a politician. For the last dozen years he has served Spokane in the state Senate and, for the last six, he’s been the Senate Majority Leader.
“The Senate Majority Leader is like the coach of the Majority Caucus, which is the Senate Democratic Caucus currently, and also the orchestra leader for the entire Senate. And there's a lot that goes into that. There's a lot of coaching and cajoling and comforting, but I think the key parts of the job are really helping to set the agenda for the Senate and then helping to deliver on that agenda by passing the legislation and budgets that are required to deliver on that agenda for the people of Washington State.”
Far fewer districts in Washington offer driver education than 25 years ago, in part because the state no longer pays districts to teach it. Many students get training through private companies. But that’s an expensive option not available to all. Fewer students are taking drivers ed and fewer people are teaching it. Dan Cooke from the Department of Licensing is leading a team that is revitalizing the state's driver education program.
“Our skills exam in the state of Washington hasn't seen a significant upgrade or change at all since the mid-50s. We are still evaluating based on the same criteria that we did in 1957. And what we are seeking to do is modernize the skills exam, taking an evidence-based approach and replacing the subjective scoring with an objective competency-based evaluation."
