Washington State Rep. Sherry Appleton will serve as chair of the Council of State Governments West Public Safety Committee for the 2019-20 biennium.

CSG West is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that serves the legislatures of Washington, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, the Pacific islands of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.

“This is an unexpected privilege, one I’m grateful for,” said Appleton, a Democrat and 23rd District lawmaker.

“Working on effective ways to improve public safety is a thread that has run throughout my life in elected office, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of working with a diverse team of lawmakers to create innovative solutions that can be useful throughout the western third of the United States, and beyond,” she added.

As chair of the newly created committee, Appleton will lead a multi-state group of lawmakers charged with advising CSG West and its member states on public-safety issues ranging from law enforcement, crime prevention and corrections, to government preparedness for responding to public safety emergencies.

Appleton will begin drawing up the committee’s two-year agenda shortly, with the first face-to-face committee meeting scheduled for next summer, after the close of the 2019 Session of the Washington State Legislature.

The 2019 Session runs from 105 days and begins Jan. 14 in Olympia.

In the Legislature, Appleton is chairwoman of the House Committee on Local Government and is a member of the House Public Safety Committee.

Outside of her elected position, she is a board member of the Office of Public Defense.