Author Archives: Laudan

Warnick vows to continue fight for rural Washington

Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, sponsor and lead negotiator on the Senate bill overturning the Supreme Court’s Hirst decision and restoring the right of rural property owners to drill household wells, offered the following statement Friday regarding House leaders’ refusal to act on the issue during the 2017 legislative session:

“While I am disappointed that the House leadership chose to leave families without a solution to their water needs, I am committed to continuing the dialogue to find a permanent solution for water availability.

“Access to water is a basic human right, and finding a solution to Hirst that allows families to build on their property with a reliable source of water is not only a necessity — it is a moral obligation for elected officials in this state.

“For weeks, I have been meeting with House Democrats to address their concerns. Our Senate Majority Coalition has put forth compromise solutions over the past several months that respect senior water rights, acknowledge the role tribes play in natural resource management and provide a realistic permanent fix.

“The House offered a proposal to temporarily delay implementation of the Hirst decision, but not only is this legally questionable, it fails to address the real issue – no bank will be willing to lend money on property where no guaranteed source of water is available.

“It is now up to Gov. Jay Inslee and House Democrats to show some leadership, begin negotiating in good faith and vote for a solution. The Senate unanimously approved a capital budget in March and sent a Hirst fix to the House four times. So far, House Democrats have refused to approve our bill or advance any legislation of their own. They have also failed to negotiate in good faith, moving the goal posts at every opportunity. To say the least, negotiations have been challenging, if not frustrating. However, I remain optimistic and ready to work toward a solution.”

Crucial rural water-rights issue holds up adjournment of 2017 legislative session

Washington’s 2017 legislative session enters its seventh record-breaking month as a water-rights issue critical to rural property owners becomes the central issue at the statehouse.

Lawmakers passed a budget June 30, averting a partial shutdown of state government – normally one of the final votes of any legislative session. But adjournment was delayed when the House failed to pass a bill overturning last fall’s Hirst decision from the state Supreme Court. That ruling makes it difficult, if not impossible, for property owners to obtain permits for new wells, and essentially creates a moratorium on rural development that could force one of the biggest reductions in rural property values the state has ever seen.

The Senate has held up passage of the state’s $4 billion capital budget, for public-works construction, until the House agrees to act.

The standoff has created an unprecedented situation as the Legislature’s third special session this year continues well into July. As of July 2, the 2017 session became the longest since the Washington Legislature adopted its current schedule in 1980. The previous record was 176 days in 2015. The Legislature’s current overtime session is scheduled to end by July 20, the 195^th day.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before, but the stakes have never been so high,” said Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, chair of the Senate Agriculture, Water and Rural Economic Development Committee. “Rural families will face bankruptcy and worse if this ruling is allowed to stand, and those who are not directly affected will see dramatic increases in their property taxes. Yet it has taken a threat to the capital budget to get the House to take notice.

“We’ve heard the governor claim it is ‘morally repugnant’ to hold up the capital budget. But what is repugnant is to cause misery and hardship for rural Washington over a matter of urban environmental ideology. Where the capital budget is concerned, Hirst comes first.”

Warnick’s Senate Bill 5239 would restore Washington water law as it existed before the Hirst ruling last October. It has passed the Senate four times this year, but the House has refused to vote on the measure or for any other Hirst fix.

The Hirst ruling overturned decades of water law that allowed property owners to drill small wells for household use, in rural areas and in suburban zones where connections to municipal water system are not possible. These small wells have so little impact on state water supply – less than 1 percent statewide – that they have traditionally been exempted from requirements for water rights permits. In those isolated cases where water supply is a concern, the state has proven capable of regulating.

But the court’s decision has statewide effect. It held that county planning departments may no longer rely on general advice from the Department of Ecology about water availability. Instead, they must evaluate each application for new water, one-by-one, to determine whether each individual household well will reduce the overall supply of water reserved for in-stream flows for fish. This means property owners who wish to drill wells now must pay for costly hydrological studies. Yet a favorable conclusion doesn’t mean water – counties maintain they lack the ability to evaluate the information they receive, and some already have stopped issuing permits while they wait for the Legislature to act.

Washington’s experience shows that when access to water is blocked, development is halted, rural property values plummet, and property taxes are shifted to land that already has been developed.

“Every Washington resident who can’t hook up to city water ought to be very, very worried,” said state Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch. “There really is no problem – most of these wells draw only a few hundred gallons a day, and nearly all of that is returned to the groundwater through septic systems and drainfields. What’s really going on is that the environmental crowd has been trying for years to restrict growth outside of urban areas. They’ve found the chokepoint – no water means no development. And their message to rural Washington is ‘we don’t care.’”

Environmental groups and Indian tribes are keeping up the pressure on the Democrat-controlled House to leave the ruling in place. Attempts at compromise failed when House leaders insisted on imposing hefty “mitigation” fees on new applications for water, reflecting their assumption that water usage creates harm. Meanwhile, the Senate proposal is supported by business groups and property rights organizations, and by individual property owners, many of whom testified during hearings this year that they will lose their life’s savings if the Legislature does not act.

“There probably has never been a better illustration of this state’s urban-versus-rural split, and this issue is really a test of loyalties for those Democrats who represent rural districts,” Sheldon said. “Will they vote with their party or for the people they represent? It’s unfortunate that we have had to withhold our votes for the capital budget in the Senate until this problem is resolved. Holding up the capital budget seems to have gotten Seattle’s attention. I just hope it helps bring urban Washington to its senses.”

Senate sends Hirst-fix legislation to House for third time

The chair of the Senate’s water-related committee, Sen. Judy Warnick, has been working to fix the fallout caused by the Hirst decision issued by the state Supreme Court in late 2016. Senate Bill 5239, which has received bipartisan support in the upper chamber but stalled in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, would provide a needed fix for rural communities. The legislation was approved again Tuesday by a vote of 28 to 20 and now goes to the House for consideration.

“During the two special sessions, my legislation has been the only solution on the table,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “I have made a concerted effort to hear stakeholders out and understand their concerns, but I have been clear that we need a solution to this problem this year. Families cannot wait.”

The court’s actions turned decades of water law on its head by requiring expensive and duplicative studies before a property owner can obtain a permit for a small, household well. Warnick has been meeting with stakeholders in hopes of finding a solution for rural families.

“I am hopeful that my counterparts in the House will take our conversations seriously and provide useful input to find a fix,” Warnick added. “This is the third time we have passed this legislation because it is a priority. From my talks, I feel that the House will come up with a reasonable and workable approach based on my bill.”

The state Legislature is nearing the end of a second overtime session to reach an agreement on a new two-year operating budget. Senate leadership has been supportive of fixing the Hirst situation, bringing up Warnick’s proposal for a vote three times this year. The current special session is scheduled to conclude June 21.

Fact of Fiction? Get the real story on education funding

June 14, 2017

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Greetings Friends and Neighbors,

The Legislature’s second special session continues with concerted efforts to find a bipartisan solution to our state’s education-funding needs. Budget negotiators are hard at work in Olympia, striving for compromises that will benefit our state’s 1 million schoolchildren. That is not an easy task. Those of us in the Senate majority have been consistent in our belief that the current funding system is broken, creating inequities in the quality of a student’s education. That is why we propose updating the system to put students first, guaranteeing at least $12,500 per student, with additional resources to meet their individual needs. You can read more about our plan here: www.fullyfundeducation.org.

While budget negotiators are at the Capitol seeking common ground, I have been in our legislative district meeting with stakeholders on education. I recently met with teachers in Moses Lake to discuss the Senate’s approach. While listening to their concerns, I was reminded how vast amounts of disinformation are being promoted by special-interest groups. You may have heard or read ads attacking the Senate’s Education Equality Act – ads that were recently debunked by the Tacoma News Tribune, which recently featured a story putting the specifics in perspective.

Our plan is not perfect, and we recognize that. Like me, other members of the Senate majority have been spending time with educators and school-district leaders in their communities to gain insights about how we can further improve our proposal. At the same time, we’re setting the record straight when it comes to the hype by advocates in Olympia.

The fact is that we all want a great education for our students, but we have reasonable disagreements about how to accomplish that end. Our proposal focuses on the state’s constitutional obligation to pay for basic education. With the nearly $3 billion in additional revenue coming to the state, we have proposed an approach that continues the top priority we’ve put on education. The House spending plan, in contrast, requires about $8 billion in additional taxes, yet still invests less money in schools than we are proposing. I believe that we should not necessarily continue to just put more money into the same system and expect different results – especially if “more money” means historic tax increases.

Fact-Check

tax impact

Here is an overview and link to the fact-check that the Tacoma News Tribune did about the ads against our education-reform proposal.

Claim 1: The Senate Republican budget “doesn’t increase funding” for the state’s public schools.

The facts: The school-funding plan put out by Senate Republicans would increase money for public schools by a minimum of $871 million over the next two years, according to an analysis by the state Office of Financial Management. That’s after taking into account how much the plan would reduce local school-district property taxes, which is a key element of the Republican plan.

Claim 2: “The Senate Republican budget slashes funding for special education.”

The facts: According to the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, keeping up with the rising cost of special-education services in Washington would cost the state about $965 million in the 2018-19 school year.

The Senate budget plan would surpass that number, putting about $1.1 billion into special-education services that year, according to OSPI. The GOP budget plan also would provide more than the state needs to maintain special-education services each of the next two school years, according to OSPI’s analysis.

Click here to read more , unbiased fact-checks on claims made by special-interest groups.

It is an honor to serve as your state Senator. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your state government. Please watch your email, as I look forward to providing you with regular updates throughout the session.

Signature

Judy Warnick,

13th District Senator

Contact Me

Olympia Office:

103 Irv Newhouse Bldg.

P.O. Box 40410

Olympia, WA 98504

Olympia Phone:

360.786.7624

District Phone:

509.766.6505

E-mail:

Judith.Warnick@leg.wa.gov

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Warnick legislation signed; will increase protections for state’s cattle industry

The governor signed Sen. Judy Warnick’s legislation Friday that requires air-quality rules to treat cattle feedlots the same as other agricultural operations. Senate Bill 5196 extends the exemption to feedlots while establishing a process and guidelines for addressing activities that may be detrimental to the environment.

“Other agricultural activities are exempt from these kinds of regulations, so this adjustment to state law makes sense,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who chairs the Senate Agriculture, Water, Trade and Economic Development Committee.

“The state is still ensuring best practices to keep our environment clean and providing a transparent process when a violation occurs, but this compromise legislation balances the rights of our cattle producers with environmental concerns.”

Cattle operations still must adhere to state Department of Ecology rules regarding dust control. However, under the new law, violations must be clearly documented with evidence, setting a higher bar than current practice.

“We have cattle operations all around our state, and sometimes in arid areas cattle movements can be dusty,” said Warnick. “We know that impacts are temporary, but this law clarifies what should be done when a serious violation occurs and how to deal with them. The new law creates a good balance and protections for our well-meaning cattle-industry partners.”

The legislation received strong bipartisan support in the Legislature. The new law goes into effect July 22.

Governor signs Warnick agritourism legislation

Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation sponsored by Sen. Judy Warnick to limit liability for agricultural businesses that open their operations to the public for agritourism activities. Senate Bill 5808 received near-unanimous approval in the Legislature.

“The new law gives needed clarity to our ag-producers when they open their operations to the public,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake, chair of the Senate agriculture committee. “Farms can now be better protected when they share the valuable work they do with their neighbors in a fun and safe environment.”

Kittitas County, in Warnick’s district, is home to at least 15 such agritourism operations. Twenty other states have similar laws aimed at clarifying and limiting liability for agritourism, which provides millions of dollars to the local economies in Washington.

“We needed this clarification to help family farms be more economically viable, engage with broader audiences, and have some protections when they are acting responsibly,” Warnick added.

The new law goes into effect July 22.

In first vote of the special session, Senate approves Hirst-fix legislation again

Vote gives Democrat-controlled House second chance to help rural families without water

While work on education-funding reform and a new state operating budget continues during the Legislature’s special session, the Senate today took up and passed Senate Bill 5239, known as the Hirst fix, to bring needed access to water for rural households.

Sponsored by Sen. Judy Warnick, chair of the Senate committee on water, the legislation was approved with a bipartisan Senate vote during the 2017 regular session. However, the Democrat-controlled House failed to hold a vote on its own legislation to address the Hirst problem, nor did it approve SB 5239 despite support from rural property owners, associations and local governments for the Senate legislation.

“I stated repeatedly throughout the regular session that the Hirst issue needed to be addressed,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “The House failed and now that we are in a special session we must approve this bill. The situation around our state is getting worse and time is running out. I recently heard from a farmer who cannot build housing for farmworkers because of this ruling. No good reason has been articulated by the House majority as to why this bill won’t go forward. If it were brought to the House floor for a vote, I am confident it would pass with bipartisan support.”

The Washington Supreme Court’s Hirst decision determined that counties are now required to conduct their own tests for water availability — independent of the Department of Ecology — before issuing building permits. Before the October 2016 ruling, counties could rely on Ecology water data when making such decisions.

Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, and a co-sponsor of the Hirst-fix bill, said the ruling amounts to a war on rural Washington, and that is far past time for the House to help provide a solution.

“Most counties don’t have the resources to do the extensive testing mandated by the Hirst ruling, and the testing required is too expensive for the average homeowner,” said Honeyford. “This has effectively brought all forms of building and development across Washington to a screeching halt, and families are suffering as a result.”

Honeyford pointed to Zach Nutting, a Whatcom County resident who testified before the Senate water committee that his dream of building a home for his family was destroyed by the Hirst decision. Domestic water use at issue represents less than 1 percent of water usage in Washington State.

“After the ruling, Whatcom County rescinded the permission for Mr. Nutting to drill his private well, and he has been stuck in developmental limbo ever since,” said Honeyford. “This has left him and his family technically homeless as he tries to navigate the tangle of red tape brought on by the ruling. The House must act now to provide families like the Nuttings with a lifeline.”

Warnick echoed that sentiment.

“The House is stalling meanwhile people’s lives are being turned upside down,” said Warnick. “It’s incredible. The governor apparently doesn’t know what the problem is, the House leadership won’t let the Senate’s reasonable solution come to the floor for a vote, and the pleas of rural communities continue to be ignored. We need a Hirst fix and we need it now.”

Honeyford, the Senate’s capital-budget chair, said he will use his role as a chief architect of the capital spending plan to encourage House Democrats to take action on Hirst.

“Before we can negotiate a final capital budget, we need a Hirst fix,” said Honeyford. “If approved by the House, our bill would effectively reverse the disastrous impacts Hirst has had on rural development. I want to see families continue to make their homes in the countryside of our beautiful state, and to do that, they must have access to reliable sources of water.”

The Senate approved SB 5239 again with a bipartisan vote of 28 to 18. The bill now heads back to the House for its consideration.

“I hope the House does the right thing for our struggling rural communities around the state,” Warnick added.

My interview on KSVR in Mount Vernon discussing

I discussed the ongoing issues regarding a fix for rural landowners who are unable to get access to water from wells due to a recent Supreme Court decision.

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The end of the regular session

April 24, 2017

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Greetings Friends and Neighbors,

The 2017 legislative session ended over the weekend and today marks the beginning of a special session. Although the Senate has approved a balanced and funded budget, we have been waiting for the House Democrats to come to the table with an actual, complete budget proposal. They have a spending wish list, but have failed to pass the necessary $8 billion in tax increases to pay for it. With the state expecting $3 billion more in revenue through a combination of stable tax rates and increased economic activity, leaders of the House majority should be negotiating within the resources the state actually has. Instead, it appears that they are forcing the Legislature into another so-called “special” session.

Inaction is not new for the House. There have been several pressing issues facing the Legislature this year that they have failed to act on.

Despite bipartisan support and heart-wrenching stories from people around the state, the Democrat-controlled House did nothing to bring relief to families in need of water from small, household wells. My legislation, Senate Bill 5239, would have reversed the Supreme Court’s shortsighted Hirst decision, which has placed rural communities in jeopardy by prohibiting the installation of domestic wells without costly studies.

The chair of the Senate’s Capital Budget recently sat down for an interview with the state’s public-access channel to discuss his work, and made it clear that rural communities must have a Hirst fix before any movement on the budget. You can watch that interview here.

Helping small business, energy consumers and more!

This legislative session I had several bills make their way to the Governor’s desk and become law. Just the other day, Senate Bill 53 bill signing 43 was signed which made changes to state law concerning car-impound notifications. Read more…

Senate Bill 5808, signed this past Monday, creates protections for agritourism businesses. These are often small farms that open their operations to the public such as Christmas-tree farms and pumpkin patches. These operations represent an increasingly popular and viable revenue stream for our agricultural producers. Read more…

On Wednesday the governor signed another one of my bills, Senate Bill 5261 that was sponsored in the House by my seatmate, Rep. Tom Dent. The new law would enable irrigation districts to enter into public-private partnerships for new energy infrastructure, including hydroelectric projects. This is a good piece of bipartisan legislation that is going to create jobs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our irrigation-district systems. Read more…

My Video Update

This time of year is busy as we are working on the Senate floor approving bills that have made their way through the final stages of the legislative process. During a break in the action, I took an opportunity to make this video update discussing the legislative session. Please click here to watch.

Afraid of Taxes

The Senate didn’t need new taxes to balance our new 2017-19 budget proposal, which will fund education and other critical state services. We relied on the considerable amount of additional new revenue – about $3 billion more – expected to come into the state treasury through the combination of stable tax rates and increased economic activity.

The House spending proposal, in contrast, is predicated on $8 billion in taxes. It can’t be considered a real budget because the House majority is unwilling to vote for the new taxes necessary to implement their proposal.

In an effort to get past posturing by the House majority and initiate serious negotiations toward a new state budget, our Senate majority introduced the same tax increases that the House and governor support in their spending plans. We wanted to bring them to a vote and see if there really is an appetite for raising taxes among any Democrat lawmakers in Olympia. As we expected, the Senate’s minority Democrats did everything they could to stave off votes on increasing taxes. You can watch the proceedings here.

I’m pleased the Senate minority agreed with our position that new taxes are not necessary. Whether their Democrat colleagues in the House will now come to the table and negotiate during the upcoming special session remains to be seen.

Honoring our Police

We received news yesterday that police officers were shot in the line of duty in Seattle. Thankfully, it appears that their injuries were not life threatening. My cousin, who serves in the State Patrol, visited us in Olympia, and the news was a stark reminder of the danger our law enforcement faces to keep us all safe. The Senate took a moment of silence as the events happened to keep those officers, their families and all police in our thoughts and prayers.