Sen. Rolfes has been recommended to chair the Washington state Senate Environment & Growth Management Committee for the upcoming 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions.

"Our environment is more than the beauty of the Puget Sound or the big skies of Eastern Washington; it's a critical part of our economic future," said Rolfes. "Washington must remain a place where people want to live and companies want to locate, and that means protecting our environmental health. I'm honored to chair the committee, and I'm committed to working with my colleagues and the public to protect our quality of life."

Rolfes, who in November was elected by the 23rd District to her first full term in the Senate, will also serve on the Transportation and Pre-K-12 Education Committees.

She has previously served as the vice chair of the House Ecology and the Senate Environment Committees and has a strong interest in the clean-up and protection of Hood Canal and Puget Sound waters. In 2011, she led the effort to protect state waters from catastrophic oil spill risks and she has been a leading proponent of removing derelict fishing gear from the sound.