With the state’s facing a $9 billion shortfall, lawmakers are considering dramatic cuts in Washington’s public schools, colleges and universities, public health, care for the frail elderly and those with disabilities, and the state’s correctional facilities.

In mid-March, Senate Democrats held town halls around the state to get perspectives from outside Olympia. These town halls were incredibly well-attended. Many of you are worried, and have a lot of questions, and you want to know what your lawmakers are doing to get our state back on track.

With public awareness and concern about Washington’s state budget situation at an all-time high, I want to keep this dialogue going.

That’s why I’ve created an online town hall for you to let me know the issues that matter most to you in these tough economic times. We face an unprecedented budget problem in our state, and I believe having an ongoing conversation with you is only fair. With your input, lawmakers like me can put the best solutions forward and turn our situation around.

The online town hall will allow you to ask questions about the state’s budget situation, and vote on the questions others have already submitted that you think are most important. Each day, I’ll answer the most popular questions on this blog, and in video that I’ll post online next week.

This is a cutting-edge tool that will allow every family in Washington to use the internet to have their questions heard in Olympia, and I’m excited to offer it to you.

So what do you want to know about our state budget crisis? Just go to http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/questions/ and ask me.