The Blog

Governor Chris Gregoire

09/10/08

A few weeks ago, I asked state employees to send suggestions on how we can save energy and taxpayer dollars and help Washington families.

Thanks to their thoughtful input, I’m pleased to launch a trial program based on a popular recommendation — moving to a 10-hour, four-day workweek to save energy.

It would be unwise to adopt this plan across the board without giving it a test run, so we plan to try it out with roughly 650 employees in carefully selected parts of state government.

I am also asking all state employees to take additional energy savings measures, including smart travel choices, limiting energy usage and reducing resource consumption. These common-sense measures suggested by employees will provide more energy and cost savings opportunities in our agencies.

I look forward to partnering with state agencies to find even more ways to reduce energy costs and spending as we continue to move our state forward.