(Olympia, WA)  --  Washington state Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman Andy Hill is dead at age 54, after a recurring battle with lung cancer.  Hill, who was a Republican from Redmond, worked for Microsoft as a group manager before he was elected to the Senate in 2010.  The "Seattle Times" reports Hill was originally diagnosed with cancer in 2009, even though he said he never smoked.  Governor Jay Inslee calls Hill a "strong champion for education and a compassionate advocate for people with disabilities."