Majority Coalition Caucus

Majority Coalition Caucus of the State of Washington
Senate leader Mark Schoesler
House leader None
Colors Purple, Red
Seats in the Upper House
24 / 49

The Majority Coalition Caucus (MCC) was a caucus formed on December 10, 2012, by all 23 Republican members of the Washington State Senate and two Democratic senators. Its membership constituted a majority of the chamber's 49 members, allowing it to take control of the Senate from the Democratic caucus whose members had previously formed a majority. The MCC, operating much like a coalition government, offered an equal number of committee leadership positions to Republicans and Democrats. Senate Democrats accepted only three of the nine positions offered them. The Republicans strengthened their position by gaining one seat in the 2013 election, but lost its majority following a special election in November 2017. The coalition has 23 Republicans and one self-identified Democratic senator, Tim Sheldon. On November 15, 2017 the Majority Coalition Caucus returned to being the state Senate Republican Caucus.[1]

Formation and organization

In the November 2012 elections, Republicans gained one seat in the Washington State Senate, reducing the Democratic majority to 26 out of 49 seats. On December 10, 2012, two Democratic state senators, Tim Sheldon and Rodney Tom, announced they would caucus with the Republicans to create a Republican Majority Caucus with 25 of 49 seats.[2][3]

The MCC has the power to appoint the chairpersons and members of the twelve policy and three fiscal committees that play a leading role in considering and advancing legislation, much like U.S. Senate committees. The MCC proposed six Republican chairs and six Democratic chairs, and co-chairs drawn from both parties for the remaining committees.

Senate Democrats rejected offers to chair or co-chair any committees offered them except three: Steve Hobbs chaired the Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee, Brian Hatfield chaired the Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development Committee, and Tracey Eide co-chaired the Transportation Committee with Curtis King.[4]

The MCC's two Democratic members were given leadership positions: Rodney Tom was Senate Majority Leader, Tim Sheldon (MCC) was the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate. Republican Mark Schoesler headed the Senate Republican Caucus, which continued to operate even while all its members belong as well to the MCC.[2][5]

The election of Republican Jan Angel in 2013 to the Senate gave the MCC 26 of the 49 seats. Rodney Tom characterized this as an "exponential" increase in the coalition's leverage.[6]

Composition

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total
Coalition Non-coalition
Republican Democratic Vacant
End of 2013-15 Session 24 2 23 49 0
Beginning of 2015-17 Session 25 1 23 49 0
2017 Session 24 1 24 49 0
2018 Session 23 1 25 49 0
Current voting share 49% 51%

Majority Coalition Caucus-Led Committees

Committee Makeup Chair Ranking Member
Accountability & Reform3 MCC / 2 DMark MilosciaPramila Jayapal
Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development3 MCC / 2 DJudy WarnickBrian Hatfield
Commerce & Labor4 MCC / 3 DMichael BaumgartnerBob Hasegawa
Early Learning & K-12 Education5 MCC / 4 DSteve LitzowRosemary McAuliffe
Energy, Environment & Telecommunications5 MCC / 4 DDoug EricksenJohn McCoy
Financial Institutions & Insurance5 MCC / 4 DDon BentonMark Mullet
Government Operations & State Security4 MCC / 3 DPam RoachMarko Liias
Health Care8 MCC / 5 DRandi BeckerDavid Frockt
Higher Education4 MCC / 3 DBarbara BaileyJeanne Kohl-Welles
Human Services, Mental Health & Housing3 MCC / 2 DSteve O'BanJeannie Darneille
Law & Justice4 MCC / 3 DMike PaddenJamie Pedersen
Natural Resources & Parks4 MCC / 3 DKirk PearsonBrian Hatfield
Rules11 MCC / 7 DBrad OwenPam Roach
Trade & Economic Development4 MCC / 3 DSharon BrownMaralyn Chase
Transportation9 MCC / 6 DCurtis KingSteve Hobbs
Ways & Means13 MCC / 10 DAndy HillJames Hargrove

List of MCC members

District Senator Party Residence First elected
2Randi BeckerRepublicanEatonville2008
4Mike PaddenRepublicanSpokane Valley2011†
6Michael BaumgartnerRepublicanSpokane2010
7Brian DanselRepublicanRepublic2013†
8Sharon BrownRepublicanKennewick2013*
9Mark SchoeslerRepublicanRitzville2004
10Barbara BaileyRepublicanOak Harbor2012
12Linda Evans ParletteRepublicanWenatchee2000
13Judy WarnickRepublicanMoses Lake2014
14Curtis KingRepublicanYakima2007†
15Jim HoneyfordRepublicanSunnyside1998
16Mike HewittRepublicanWalla Walla2000
17Don BentonRepublicanVancouver1996
18Ann RiversRepublicanLa Center2012
20John BraunRepublicanCentralia2012
25Bruce DammeierRepublicanPuyallup2012
26Jan AngelRepublicanPort Orchard2013†
28Steve O'BanRepublicanTacoma2013*
30Mark MilosciaRepublicanFederal Way2014
31Pam RoachRepublicanSumner1990
35Tim SheldonDemocratic (MCC)Potlatch1996
39Kirk PearsonRepublicanMonroe2012
41Steve LitzowRepublicanMercer Island2010†
42Doug EricksenRepublicanFerndale2010
45Andy HillRepublicanRedmond2010
47Joe FainRepublicanAuburn2010
  • Originally appointed
†Originally Elected in Special Election

Responses

Most local media initially responded with cautious optimism to the announced coalition,[7] though the Spokesman-Review responded with skepticism.[8] Democratic leaders denounced the MCC as "the exact opposite of collaboration" and denied that it was bi-partisan.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "MCC returns to the Senate Republican Caucus". Twitter. November 15, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Tom, Rodney; Schoesler, Mark (December 16, 2012). "Op-ed: State Senate's new Majority Coalition Caucus will govern across party lines". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Washington State Senate: Republicans Claim Majority After Democrats Defect". HuffPost. December 11, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Legislature: Power play puts Senate in GOP hands". Seattletimes.com. January 14, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Op-ed: 2013-14 Policy Committee Structure" (PDF). Senate Republicans. December 10, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  6. ↑ Jordan Schrader (November 7, 2013). "With Jan Angel's victory, state Senate majority will grow". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  7. ↑ Thanh Tan (December 13, 2012). "Editorial Round-Up: Washington newspapers cautiously optimistic about Senate's new Majority Coalition Caucus". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  8. ↑ Jim Camden (December 16, 2012). "Spin Control: Coalition majority might not be so great". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  9. ↑ Ed Murray and Karen Fraser (December 13, 2012). "Op-ed: Don't call the state Senate's Majority Coalition Caucus bipartisan". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.