The Senate Energy and Environment Committee comes east for a June 17 hearing on possible legislation to control oil trains. Leaders of the House and Senate Joint Transportation Committees will talk about freight and regional transportation priorities the same day, then do two-day bus tour through Eastern Washington to talk about rail projects.

The oil train hearing starts at 10:30 a.m. at Spokane City Hall and the transportation hearing at 1 p.m. at the Convention Center. The bus tour’s tentative schedule starts bright and early June 18, and includes Spokane and Spokane Valley, the international airport, Airway Heights, Rosalia, Pullman, Colfax and Ritzville.

Legislators are fond of saying they like to get out, meet with the people and hear what they have to say. It’s possible that after the bus tour, members of the Transpo Committee will be looking more kindly on proposals to allow remote testimony for hearings via teleconferencing, videoconferencing or the Internet.

Not only would it save Eastern Washington constituents from having to make that long trip through a mountain pass during the winter to give them a piece of their minds during the session, it could cut down on some odysseys between sessions.

Of course they’d miss some of the perks of being out and about in person, like the tours of grain elevators planned for the Transpo bus tours.

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