While writing a budget in Olympia that impacts every single Washingtonian and business, I spend a lot of time reviewing massive amounts of data and policies that go into making decisions in the Legislature. While it’d be easy to get lost in the numbers and analysis, it’s actually quite simple by always remembering the impact these decisions have on people at home: by thinking of Redmond.

Instead of addressing K-12 education as a line item, I think of students in the classrooms of Emily Dickinson Elementary School. A targeted investment will give struggling students the supplemental tutoring they need to improve in reading and get on a better academic track.

Instead of reviewing only dollar figures when upgrading our transportation system, I think of our friends and neighbors who sit in traffic just trying to get onto State Route 520. An investment in interchange improvements will get them to work faster and reduce accidents.

When analyzing tax policy that affects Redmond businesses small and large, established and new, I think of the discussions I have had with small business owners about their personal experience navigating government.

When sponsoring and passing last year’s Vulnerable Individuals Priorities (VIP) Act, instead of only reviewing federal matching grant policies, I remember the many Redmond families I have spoken with that needed assistance caring for their children with developmental disabilities.

Since I was first elected to the Legislature in 2010, I’ve had thousands of conversations with Redmond community members, Eastside King County residents and the entire state of Washington.

Thinking of Redmond as I make decisions on our community’s behalf in Olympia, is a perfect reminder of the real world opportunities and challenges we have in state government.

During the current legislative session, we’ll add more than $1 billion to K-12 education. Administrators will see the difference in total dollars, but by thinking of what that will mean to Redmond, students and teachers in the Lake Washington School District will see the true benefit.

Another main goal for the session is to again freeze tuition at state colleges and universities. Since becoming the lead Senate budget writer in 2013, I have worked to hold the line on tuition increases that ballooned out of control during the previous decade, creating a hidden tax on middle class students and families. By prioritizing education we were able to freeze tuition two years in a row for the first time since 1981. Accomplishing this was not simple and it will not be easy to do it again.

But then I think of the many Redmond students I’ve had the privilege to meet attending Lake Washington Institute of Technology, Cascadia Community College or the University of Washington, among other schools. Hearing their personal stories of increasing student debt and demand for skills in the job market makes it all that much more important to go to Olympia, advocate on their behalf, and think of Redmond.

Sen. Andy Hill, a longtime Redmond resident, represents Redmond, Duvall, Kirkland, Sammamish and Woodinville (45th Legislative District) in the Washington state Senate and serves as chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.