OLYMPIA – As Washington State begins its 2025 legislative session today, Rep. Tom Dent, the 13th District's legislative representative, prepares to tackle a myriad of pressing issues while navigating the complexities of a newly transitioned administration.  

After over a decade of service, Dent said he remains focused on fostering relationships in the legislature, emphasizing bipartisan cooperation and addressing critical challenges affecting his constituents. His roadmap for the upcoming session, he said, is built on a foundation of collaboration and relationship-building. 

"Everything in the legislature is about relationships,” Dent said. “I plan on achievement through my relationships and working with folks who can help support whatever I want to accomplish, whatever that could be."  

Although he has yet to finalize all of his priorities, he expressed that he has several options on the table as of right now including agriculture, mental health and aviation.  

"I'm not exactly sure which ones I'm going to do ... I'm just kind of weighing my options right now," Dent said.  

One of the pivotal challenges for Dent will be adapting to a shifting political climate characterized by a new governor and significant changes in staff across various agencies.  

"The new governor is expected to have about 70% of the current governor's staff gone," he said.  

This transition, he believes, will greatly influence the efficacy of legislative initiatives moving forward.  

Dent said his commitment to agriculture is evident through his involvement in the transition team for the new governor, where he has sought to include agricultural stakeholders in policy discussions.  

"One of them will be the (Climate Commitment Act), agriculture was supposed to be exempt,” Dent said. “They're helping to fix that, so we don't have to go to rebate programs and things like that. We can just get agriculture exempt, as it was promised. So that's a priority to me. "  

Mental health is another critical issue on Dent’s agenda, particularly in rural Washington where suicide rates are alarmingly high. He is currently weighing whether to introduce legislation related to rural mental health and suicide prevention before a final report is released in June.  

"We do have a draft report we completed at the end of December, but the final report won't be until June,” Dent said. “I'm just weighing my options right now. Do I try to do something this year? Or should I wait till, you know, we get the final report done, because I need the report to kind of give credibility to what we're trying to change, right?” 

Equally important to Dent is his focus on aviation — a sector crucial to Washington's economy. Dent became a professional pilot in 1976 and has been involved in aviation policies for the state for years.  

“We do have issues with our air transportation in this state and we need to kind of fix that and decide where we're going to go and the stack is supposed to be as saturated as it is today,” Dent said. “We're going to have to make a decision — do we want air transportation in the state? Do we want air service or not? We are going to work on that bill. We're going to see what we can get done.” 

With a newly established community coordinating commission previously failing to generate support, Dent aims to reintroduce a more effective bill addressing these critical air transportation concerns. 

Throughout this legislative session, budget management will be another pressing focal point, especially given the anticipated budget shortfall. Dent expressed deep concern, pointing out the need for prioritization.  

“We have to have priorities. Are we short on money? No, we have a lot of it, but we don't have any priorities,” Dent said. “Therefore, when we show a budget shortfall – which is the revenue shortfall — that's what it is. Revenue forecasts say we're going to be short money. How do we fix that? Well, maybe we have to suck it up a little bit and take a real hard look at the budget and what we want and what we don't want.” 

Regarding his role as chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Dent highlighted the importance of cooperation and ensuring meaningful legislation.  

“If we're going to work on legislation, let's work on meaningful legislation that will make a difference to the people that (live in) Washington, not just stuff to do stuff,” Dent said. “I don't like necessarily doing stuff that's just stuff for the sake of a bill.” 

Dent's ethos revolves around transparent communication with constituents and a commitment to work across the political spectrum.  

"It's going to be a lot of just kind of coming together, working on our priority — seeing what's important to work on this year,” Dent said. “You can have the best bill in the whole world, but if you’re not working with people it is not going to pass. That's my goal right now. I want to get that committee to where it's working together, and we have communication with all the members on the committee.” 

Dent said that despite the challenges, the Washington Legislature has a chance at a productive session in 2025. 

"I am cautiously optimistic," Dent said about what he characterized as a pivotal session for his district and the state. 

    Thirteenth District Legislative Representative Tom Dent will be serving his 11th year in the legislature this year. Dent’s top priorities for the session, starting today, are agriculture, aviation and mental health. However, he said he wants to work with the new governor and leaders in the legislature before finalizing his goals for the 2025 legislative session.
  

    Thirteenth District Legislative Representative Tom Dent will continue to lead House Republicans on Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee. Dent has served on the committee since being elected in 2014.