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OLYMPIA–Most of you know well how many environmentalists, especially those on the west side of the Cascades, keep calling for the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams in southeastern Washington. For years the dam haters have argued the dams are to blame for dwindling salmon runs, which is endangering the future of orcas in Washington’s marine waters. A few months ago, Governor Inslee teamed up with one of our state’s U.S. senators, Patty Murray, in calling for yet another study that... 
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OLYMPIA–With the stroke of his pen, Gov. Jay Inslee gave final approval to a bill by Rep. Mary Dye that will allow a temporary judge to be appointed when there’s a vacancy in a single-judge courtroom. House Bill 1825 was among 39 House and Senate bills signed by the governor Thursday, exactly one week after the state Legislature adjourned it’s 60-day regular session for 2022. The measure requires the chief justice of the state Supreme Court to consult with the local legislative and executive authorities before removing or appointing a presiding...
OLYMPIA–The Washington Coalition for Open Government (WashCOG) filled a lawsuit against Washington and its Redistricting Commission over violating the Open Public Meeting Act. The organization agreed to settle, paying $137, 000 of which $500 per commissioner will be paid personally, and the state will use tax dollars to pay legal costs and fees for the plaintiffs, according to a March 8 Associated Press, article, “Washington state redistricting commission chair resigns”. Washington and its Redistricting Commission admit they violated the state...
OLYMPIA–Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs encourages Washingtonians to do their due diligence and conduct research on the charities or nonprofits to which they donate to support relief efforts in Ukraine. “Americans are a generous people. Whenever a tragedy or crisis occurs around the world, we express our compassion by donating to any number of honest, legitimate charities,” said Secretary Hobbs. “These charities have the resources and infrastructure to ensure the money we contribute directly supports their designated causes....
OLYMPIA–A lot happened in the final hours of session. One thing that may have gone under the radar was a ruling by Lt. Governor Denny Heck that creates the potential for significant anti-transparent legislative games to be played in conference committee reports in the waning days of session. Conference Committee reports are what happens when the House and Senate can’t agree on a bill and form a committee to work out the differences. Though this is supposed to be a public process, the fact is the majority party usually works out the final bil...
OLYMPIA–By the time you read this, the 2022 legislative session in Olympia will be in its final week. The 60 days allotted by Washington’s constitution end this Thursday (March 10). There is still plenty for my fellow lawmakers and me to do before we can finally adjourn and head for home. During this final week, the Senate and House will focus their time on working out differences on the state supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets each has adopted. As one of the neg...
OLYMPIA–Sorry to break the news, Washingtonians, but year three of living under emergency orders by the Governor will continue just as the last two years have–without meaningful legislative oversight. The House yesterday officially killed SB 5909. Though that bill as passed by the Senate was essentially fake reform, several amendments were introduced for the House floor debate to bring the policy back in line with what exists in the rest of the country by requiring affirmative legislative approval for emergency orders after a set period in tim...
POMEROY–The Port of Garfield County commissioners affirmed arrival of fiber optic supplies, approved monthly cell line charge and heard other business during the meeting March 1. The commissioners stated that the majority of supplies for the Pataha fiber for the home project have been received at their meeting on March 1. The project is still on its schedule to be completed in 2022. The Northeast Garfield County fiber project does not have a completion date yet, as the supplies have not been r...
OLYMPIA–If you are among the thousands of people in Washington state that use natural gas, including 1.2 million residences, 107,000 commercial buildings and 3,500 industrial buildings, this article is for you! After passing a new low-carbon fuel standard last year and a cap-and-trade system through the new Climate Commitment Act, Gov. Jay Inslee is now focused on the next step of his climate policies: Eliminating the state’s natural gas industry. The governor’s first major salvo came last...
OLYMPIA–The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) invites the public to submit written comment from Feb. 22 to April 11, 2022 on a proposed rule change and a new rule to address wolf-livestock conflict deterrence. In September 2020, Governor Jay Inslee directed WDFW to initiate rule making with the goal of instituting practices that would reduce the number of livestock killed or injured by wolves as well as the number of wolves lethally removed as a result of depredations of domestic animals. The proposed rule change, if adopted, w...
By Rep. Joe Schmick OLYMPIA–Late-night sessions on the House floor are a yearly expectation. Legislators propose and discuss the merits of amendments, debate the policy changes, and eventually vote on bills. However, nine-hour battles on one bill are rare. This is exactly what happed last week during a House floor session that finally ended at 6:30 the next morning. This unique effort was needed to try to stop one of the worst jobs, economy, and employer bills I’ve ever seen in my time in the state Legislature. House Bill 1837 will ove...
OLYMPIA–Sen. Mark Schoesler, Rep. Joe Schmick and Rep. Mary Dye are inviting citizens to join them Tuesday, Feb. 22, for a 9th District virtual town hall meeting. The eastern Washington lawmakers will provide an update of the 2022 legislative session and then take questions from participants. Citizens may also submit written questions during the registration process. During the town hall meeting, the 9th District legislative team will discuss several issues, including: • The Democrats’ mandatory long-term care insurance tax. • The state’s...
DAYTON–Columbia Pulp, LLC will idle operations as of February 18, 2022, an action that will affect approximately 80 employees who work primarily in its headquarters in Dayton and its plant located at Lyons Ferry in northern Columbia County. "Being a first-of-its-kind application with this type of technology has not been without challenges," said Terry Ryan, Columbia Pulp's Interim CEO. "And while this is normal for a company at the forefront in developing a product like this, to continue on w...
WASHINGTON–Gov. Jay Inslee stated indoor mask mandates will end February 18, 2022 during a press release February 9, 2022. He acknowledged the viral condition of COVID-19 has changed leading the State into a transition period. In addition, there is no need for the Nation Guard. “We are here today to talk about our emerging transition in the ongoing efforts of COVID,” said Inslee. “Here is what I know during this period of time. We have not changed, but the virus has changed. So now we are entering a transition period, and we are here to talk...
By Sen. Mark Schoesler OLYMPIA–I’m very disappointed, even disgusted, with the Democrats’ transportation funding plan that recently was unleashed on the Legislature. Let me count the ways. In my nearly 30 years as a legislator, it has been common for the chairs of the legislative transportation committees to welcome input from their counterparts on the opposite side when creating state transportation budgets or funding plans. Unfortunately, bipartisanship on transportation apparently is not happening this year, as Democratic trans...
OLYMPIA–In its final vote Feb. 11, the Washington State Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 5054, a measure aimed at strengthening the state’s felony-DUI law and reducing the pain and suffering faced by victims of impaired drivers. The 48-0 vote sent the proposal to the House of Representatives for the fourth year in a row. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, would extend the “look-back” in DUI cases, allowing courts to consider convictions over the previous 15 years during sentencing. Washington makes the fourth DUI convict...
POMEROY–The Pomeroy School District (PSD) board approved a Healthy Relationships curriculum called “Principles of Effective Prevention Programs” as the new sexual health education on January 27. The PSD coordinated with Quality Behavioral Health to provide the school with a program to help educate students of all ages about “sexting” and preventing sexual assault. The program meets the guidelines set forth by the State of Washington. Senate Bill 5395 states “Passed by the legislature...
POMEROY–The Port of Garfield County Commissioners approved a price proposal of $10,490 for the Port building fire alarm system repair, and were advised of vandalism at the Pataha Creek RV Park during the February 1, 2022 meeting. The Port accepted a price proposal from Johnson Controls to replace parts of the fire alarm system in Port building. The repairs needed are replacing the valve, the air maintenance control valve, the air maintenance device, and the riser. The estimated work required i...
POMEROY–The Garfield County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) approved Homeland Security Emergency Management Services Contract SCM-2115, and signs audit amendment at the February 7 meeting. The SCM-115 contract replaces the previous contract and provides the Garfield County Emergency Management Department with $17,160 for a year’s service. The amount is very close to last year’s contract. The BOCC also signed an amendment to the estimate for the ongoing audit that adds $4,800 to the price. The audi...
By Rep. Mary Dye It was heartbreaking when the Nooksack River submerged Whatcom County farming communities, swept livestock away and decimated dairies, farmland and homes. Equally sad was when heavy rains overflowed the Chehalis River and nearby tributaries, sending water through homes and property. Gov. Jay Inslee opened his Dec. 13 climate policy press conference by voicing concerns about the flooding, wildfires that have destroyed forests and filled the skies with smoke, drought that has caused reduction of wheat crops and damage to grapes...
POMEROY–The Garfield County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) received updates on ongoing projects and heard new project proposals at their meeting on January 31. County Engineer Grant Morgan reported that the designing phase for the new sprinkler system for the Garfield County Fairgrounds the commissioners discussed last summer is nearing completion. The project will soon be ready to go out for bid. Engineer Morgan also reported that an ordinance to regulate the building of tiny homes has been refe...
OLYMPIA–Large-scale bills with huge impacts for all Washingtonians are usually best conceived, perfected, and implemented when many opinions, experiences, and priorities are brought to the table here. I think back to the legislative fixes to the McCleary decision that dealt with education funding and the Hirst decision that dealt with water availability and water rights. No matter what you thought of these legislative fixes, the fact is, they were worked on by legislators, stakeholders, and legislative staff with various backgrounds, i...
If the state legislature adopts both a CO2 cap-and-trade system and a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS)–as the budget proposed by State Senate Democrats indicates–it would add about 20 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas in 2023. That would increase to between 41 and 50 cents per gallon, using current projections, in 2028. For diesel, those numbers are even higher. Those are on top of one of the highest state gas taxes in the country. The LCFS and cap-and-trade are included in the State Sen...
POMEROY–The Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved Resolutions 2022-03, 2022-04, 2022-05, 2022-06 and appointed a new board chairman. The commissioners approved resolutions to address inter-fund loans. Resolution 2022-03 forgives the loans made from the Current Expense fund to the Solid Waste Management, Fair, and Mental Health Building funds. The total amount forgiven is $26,200. Resolution 2022-04 calls in a loan made from the Current Expense fund to the Mental Health f...
POMEROY–The Pomeroy City Council swore Susie Bowles into her re-elected term as councilwoman, and support for HB 1333, at their meeting on January 18. Jack Peasley of South East Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA) came before the council to express SEWEDA’s support for Washington State House Bill 1333. The bill is an extension to the local sales and use tax for public facilities in rural counties, and would extend the expiration of the tax to 2054. The tax is .09 percent of the...