Author Archives: Laudan

What to expect in the 2019 legislative session

Dec. 21, 2018

Greetings Friends,

It has been awhile since connecting with you due to election-year restrictions, but those have ended and I will be sending out more regular updates.

In my first newsletter, I want to take a moment to recognize the great people who call our district home.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, students in the University of Washington marching band were in a serious bus accident en route to Pullman for the Apple Cup game at WSU. Injured students were taken to hospitals in Quincy, Ephrata, and as far away as Othello and missed the game. The members of our community worked with school officials to check on students scattered at area hospitals to get them things like food and clothes in their time of need. Moses Lake hotels banded together to get them rooms, and the elementary school in George opened their doors for a potluck for the students. Businesses in the area and regular citizens showed the UW students what Eastern Washington values are all about. In fact, the WSU band learned the UW fight song the morning of the game since the students couldn’t make it. I want thank Lisa Karstetter and Sma Krauscheid for their leadership during that time. I’m so thankful to all of the first responders, many of whom are volunteers, and residents of our communities for stepping up in a big way.

Looking ahead to 2019

Things are starting to get busy as the 2019 legislative session approaches. I recently was re-elected by my Senate Republican colleagues to serve as the Caucus Vice Chair. In that role, I assist running our meetings as part of the leadership team. I will continue my role as the ranking member on the Senate’s water and agricultural committee.

Over the interim (the period between legislative sessions), I’ve been busy on a number of issues, including working with stakeholders on addressing affordable housing in rural parts of our state. Right now, the state’s housing investments are heavily concentrated in the Puget Sound area, but the reality is that the homelessness and housing affordability crisis is happening in our communities, too. I’m exploring ways so we can more efficiently and fairly distribute those tax dollars to build more affordable housing units in rural Washington, in addition to reforming the state’s outdated regulations that restrict housing supply.

I’ll be sure to send more updates on these policies soon.

This past week we’ve had a lot of news coming out of Olympia. A strong economy has meant the state is expected to take in record amounts of tax revenue, about $50 billion. That is much more than we expected when we approved the last budget in 2017. I firmly believe we can make any investments with the considerable resources you’ve already sent state government.

However, the Governor’s recently unveiled budget takes a starkly different approach. He is proposing an additional 20 percent increase in state spending paid for with an unconstitutional income tax, increased taxes on small businesses and property tax hikes. We need to take a critical look at how the state is spending your money. Newspapers around the state have been saying we don’t need new taxes to fund the real priorities of state government. Read a recent editorial by the Walla Walla Union Bulletin entitled, New taxes shouldn’t be first approach to state budget.

On that note, I want your feedback. Please take a moment to fill out this short survey on what you’d like me to focus on during the upcoming legislative session. Click here to be taken to the survey.

Water Update

As part of the Hirst negotiations, the legislative fix included creating task forces to look at specific water policies. One looks at a fix for cities that was a result of the the Foster court decision, and the other addresses the challenges faced by residents in Skagit County. We’ve held several meetings throughout the state to gain input from local residents on how to meet their water needs. I serve on both committees. You can get more information about that work at the following links.

Provide your input, and community opportunities

There has been a lot happening in our district since I last wrote to you. Here are a few items with deadlines approaching.

First, the Teanaway Community Forest is a treasure in our district. There are conversations under way regarding the forest’s management plan. You can review conservation efforts and goals by clicking here. In addition to the work of managing this resource, there is also an upcoming photography competition with prizes and opportunities to celebrate this great recreation spot. Please take a moment to read and share with anyone handy with a camera. Click here for more information.

Second, I serve on an advisory group related to high-speed travel in the Pacific Northwest. The group is met Dec. 10 in Portland, but is seeking input from residents for the study.

One of the key components is an ultra-high-speed transportation system aimed at reducing travel times between the Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. from more than eight hours to less than two hours. Such a project could help create an international hub for innovative partnerships, significant job creation, and enhanced entertainment activities.

They’d like your feedback to help evaluate this type of ultra high-speed travel and are interested in learning about your own travel patterns and how you think they might change in the future. Please take 15 minutes and share your ideas with the project team. To participate in the survey, follow the link found on the WSDOT website at: bit.ly/ultra-high-speed-study

High tech in Quincy

Earlier this month, I was at George Elementary watching students show off their computer skills. It was part of a nationwide event hosted by Hour of Code to foster student interest in computer science. You can read a short article about it by clicking here.

And last but not least, Charter Communications is partnering with C-SPAN to bring you StudentCam. It is an annual student documentary competition, now in its 15^th year. C-SPAN is asking middle and high school students to create a 5-6-minute video documentary, challenging them to think critically about issues of national significance, related to the theme: “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AMERICAN? Choose a constitutional right, national characteristic, or historic event and explain how it defines the American experience.”

Please help spread the word about this year’s contest with students you know.

The C-SPAN Education Foundation awards 150 student and 53 teacher prizes, totaling $100,000 in cash. All student winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $250-$5,000, and teachers who are listed as faculty advisors will have a chance to win cash prizes as well. The deadline is Jan. 20, 2019 and winners will be announced in March.

Charter Communications will work with C-SPAN to host an event celebrating local winning students. We will let you know about any student winners and invite you to publicly congratulate these young scholars at that time.

This is a great educational opportunity for students in your community to engage in current events and politics.

For more information on the competition, visit www.studentcam.org.

Work with me in Olympia

During the legislative session, young people ages 14-17 can work with me as a Page. It’s a week-long program where students get a behind-the-scenes experience of state government. Click here for more information and how to apply.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with any concerns or ideas you may have. I look forward to connecting with you around the district. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Signature

Judy Warnick,

Your 13th District State Senator

13th District Legislators holding listening sessions in Lincoln Co.

Sen. Judy Warnick and Reps. Matt Manweller and Tom Dent will be holding informal meetings throughout Lincoln County to gain insights from constituents and discuss the recent 2018 legislative session. Below are locations and times for the tour on May 8. Lincoln Co. residents are encouraged to attend.

Odessa Library

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

21 E 1st Ave, Odessa

Davenport Commissioner’s Office

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

450 Logan Street, Davenport

Corner Cafe

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

100 N W Watson St, Creston, WA

Warnick animal inspection bill signed by governor

Gov. Inslee signed legislation sponsored by Sen. Judy Warnick in a ceremony Tuesday.

Senate Bill 6369 removes an exemption on veterinary inspections of animals brought into Washington state. Under current law, importers are exempt from an inspection if an animal is delivered to a feedlot, slaughter plant or livestock market within 12 hours, causing concern about food safety processes.

“My bill closes an exemption and will improve our state’s food safety,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “We are bringing state law into alignment to strengthen our ability to prevent infectious diseases and ensure healthy animals are coming to our state.”

It is already unlawful to import animals into Washington without obtaining a veterinary inspection to ensure animals meet the state’s health requirements. Warnick’s bill removes an exemption that weakens the state’s ability to meet animal disease traceability goals.

“I want to be sure our state is doing everything it can to protect our food supply,” added Warnick. “Making sure we know where animals are coming from and their health is critical. We’ve had instances where those using this exemption haven’t followed the rules and that puts us all at risk.”

The bill comes at the request of the state Department of Agriculture to align state and federal animal inspection rules. The United States Department of Agriculture made a similar change in 2013.

Warnick seed certification bill signed by Governor

Thursday, the governor signed Senate Bill 6278. The new law, introduced by Sen. Judy Warnick, will provide greater flexibility to the state Department of Agriculture regarding how it uses fees collected for certifying agricultural, vegetable and flower seeds.

“It is vital to our state’s agricultural industry that we have a robust seed certification program,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who recently served as the chair of the Senate’s agriculture-related committee. “Giving flexibility to the state Department of Agriculture in how they use these funds will ensure quality crops by allowing the agency to take a holistic approach.”

The legislation came at the request of industry organizations.

“This law will strengthen our state’s Seed Act, which is in place to ensure consistency and uniformity of seeds coming into our state,” added Warnick. “The goal is to protect consumers and facilitate interstate commerce.

“Having flexibility over funding is critical to making that happen.”

The law goes into effect 90 days from the bill signing, on June 20.

Governor signs Warnick bill giving boost to Washington’s agricultural fairs

Sen. Judy Warnick’s bill to update state law concerning agricultural fairs and youth shows was signed Tuesday by Gov. Jay Inslee. Senate Bill 6368 makes broad changes to fair funding access, flexibility of funds and administrative oversight. The new law, which received unanimous support in the Legislature, will take effect June 7.

“State laws concerning fairs and youth shows haven’t been updated in 50 years,” said Warnick, who is Republican leader on the Senate’s agriculture committee. “There have been a lot of changes in how fairs come together and what they do for communities across our state. They are an important economic-development tool for rural communities and my bill will help support those efforts far into the future.”

The updates to state law create a more equitable funding process for the 64 agricultural fairs and youth shows held across Washington. In addition, the new law condenses term lengths on the state’s fair commission, and ensures that fairs won’t lose funding as a result of a natural disaster.

“There are some quirks in state law concerning fairs,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “This reform will keep fairs viable and give the state Department of Agriculture more flexibility in how it manages the fair fund.”

The state treasurer is required by law to transfer money to the fair fund, which is administered by the Department of Agriculture. That amount has dwindled in years past and permitted expenses have been limited. Under Warnick’s legislation, the fund will receive $2 million per year to support the expanded definition of fairs.

The Legislature adjourned, Sine Die

March 12, 2018

Greetings from Olympia,

The 2018 legislative session concluded on time, March 8. The short sessions are an opportunity to develop what’s referred to as a supplemental budget. The state budgets on two-year cycles, called a biennial budget, which we adopted last year and takes us through 2019. The supplemental budget is supposed to be an opportunity to make some minor adjustments and tweaks to the budget to meet any emergent needs. However, the majority Democrats had some other ideas. With over $2 billion in unexpected revenue, there was a strong push to spend those resources on growing government.

Early on, we approved a solution for the flawed Hirst decision to allow rural property owners to drill a well. That was a holdover from the 2017 legislative session. If you recall, the state was without a capital budget for a year as we worked through a solution. It was a hard-fought victory for rural Washington that required significant investments through the state’s construction budget to pay for water-related projects. That issue was one of the biggest challenges of my legislative career, but one that my colleagues and I believed had to be addressed, and one that urban legislators paid little attention to. You can read more about the resolution of Hirst by clicking here.

Education and the budget

Although the state Supreme Court agreed that the education funding plan that was approved last year will fulfill our McCleary obligations, they were unhappy with the timeline. They’ve decided that the state should put in about an extra billion dollars one year earlier. Our strong economy and surprise revenue growth have meant we can make that investment on time.

That said, one-party control in Olympia has meant very different budgets for our state. While Republicans resisted urges to raise or create new taxes, the same can’t be said for my colleagues across the aisle. With significant unexpected revenue, I believe that we should have returned that money to the taxpayers in the form of property tax relief.

Many are concerned, and rightly so, about the spike in this year’s property tax bills to fund education. I understand the frustration. The plan that was adopted last year included a prolonged phase-in at the behest of legislative Democrats, which resulted in an overlap and temporary increase in property taxes.

The good news is that we limited how much local dollars can be levied, and the result is more funding to schools, and over 70 percent of property owners will see a net decrease in the property taxes in 2019.

We voted on an education bill in the Senate and tried to adopt an amendment to provide $1 billion in property tax relief, but the majority Democrats voted against it. And again, other proposals diverted $700 million from the voter-approved Rainy Day Fund to direct that money to growing government while providing meager property-tax relief in the year when we don’t need it!

The latest budget approved by the majority continues to put special interests and government growth ahead of struggling citizens. I did not vote for the final supplemental budget as the gimmicks and taxes were unnecessary and sets what the state Treasurer called “a dangerous precedent.”

Investing in our community

In addition to the operating budget, we also approved this year’s supplemental transportation and capital budgets. These provide needed investments in local community projects, as well as improvements to our district’s transportation system. Here are some of the transportation projects that are funded in our district:

Park & Ride improvement at I-90 and Golf Course Road – $21,000
Columbia Basin Railroad Projects – $785,000
County Road Bridge Replacement Study for OGWRP – $100,000
Port of Moses Lake Hangar Expansion Planning & Design – $200,000

You can view the complete list here.

Projects in the supplemental capital budget include:

Roslyn Community and Cultural Center – $523,000
Damman School in Ellensburg – $1.27 million
Fair Safety and Access for Ellensburg and Grant County – $600,000

Click here to see a full list of projects in our district.

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.

Signature

Judy Warnick,

Your State Senator

Join me tonight for a telephone town hall!

Reps. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, and Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, and I are holding an hour-long telephone town hall this evening, Monday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m.

The program is similar to a call-in radio show in which people may call and ask questions over the telephone.

To participate, call (509) 404-3047 during the event. If you would like to ask a question during the call, you can press the star (*) key on your telephone keypad.

For more information about the telephone town hall, residents can contact my office at (360) 786-7624.

I look forward to speaking with you!

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.

Signature

Judy Warnick,

Your State Senator

Update from Olympia – Feb. 14, 2018

February 14, 2018

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Greetings from Olympia,

The short, 60-day, legislative session is now more than halfway over. We are spending much of this week working late into the evening voting on bills that originated in the Senate. That work must be completed by Feb. 14 at 5 p.m.

Some in the majority party have made note of the significant number of bills introduced and passed as a measure of success. However, the types of bills that we have been addressing are cause for real concern. We spent the latter part of last week trying to debate a bill that creates a special deal for one of the state’s unions in an effort to circumvent workers’ constitutional rights. The Senate Republicans obtained a confidential memo from the head of the union to the Governor specifically discussing how they could write a bill to prevent workers from exercising their rights to join or not join the union.

Don’t get me wrong, unions serve a valuable purpose, but I am skeptical when their motives are so plainly contrary to the rights of workers and this legislation. Senate Bill 6199 was jammed through the Senate in the dead of night. That’s right, a bill that closes off necessary transparency was debated at 1 a.m. The majority party refused to allow any amendments to ensure workers are protected and that the state has proper oversight over these closed-door negotiations. Here is a link to a recent article on the legislation.

Higher costs to heat your home and fill your gas tank

One of the other issues facing the Legislature is the desire by Democrats to raise taxes. Late last week they introduced an all-encompassing tax bill, which includes things like a sugar tax. There is also a great deal of pressure by the media and the Governor to pass an energy tax, which would increase the cost of gas at the pump by over 20 cents and increase costs for natural gas and electricity. The Governor was recently in our district meeting with industry and utilities to promote his proposal. I met with him and heard some of those discussions, but I am not convinced that his approach is right for our district or state, especially when our hard-working farmers would be unfairly impacted while hauling their products to market.

The reality is that it is just another tax. If you are concerned about climate, this bill won’t do anything to address that. The state’s largest polluters have been able to garner exemptions from the tax, and in some cases can increase costs for consumers while still getting a tax break. Working families and minority communities will get hit with higher prices for everything and it won’t reduce the state’s carbon emissions. Washington is already one of the greenest states in the country, our economy is growing, but implementing this tax will be a burden on our community.

Visit Washington!

Over the weekend, a bill that I have been working on for several years finally cleared the Senate. Senate Bill 5251 creates a public-private partnership to boost our state’s tourism. We are the only state in the nation without a coordinated tourism plan after the state’s tourism office was closed in 2011. Under this proposal, industry leaders have come together to partner with government to promote Washington as a destination. While Seattle has been able to market itself in other states, many of our smaller and rural communities struggle to draw vital tourism dollars. Tourism affects more than hotels, restaurants and destinations. It benefits retailers, outdoor recreation, state parks, ports and cities – and ultimately the taxpayers of Washington. More than $1.8 billion in local and state tax revenue is generated directly from tourism. It’s one of the largest employers of women and minorities and is responsible for more than 177,100 jobs.

Juvenile Justice Reform

Late Monday evening the Senate approved a measure, Senate Bill 6160 that makes changes to how our court systems deals with juvenile offenders. While I was not a sponsor of the legislation, I worked with the sponsor to accept an amendment that provides for a sentencing enhancement for crimes committed by offenders affiliated with gangs. I have been working on the issue of gang violence in our community for a number of years and I felt it was important to add this sentencing criteria in the discussion of juvenile justice reform.

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.

Signature

Judy Warnick,

Your State Senator

Senate passes legislation to boost tourism statewide

Bipartisan legislation establishing a new statewide Tourism Marketing Authority (WTMA) passed the Washington state Senate Saturday.

The bill would direct the group to develop and implement a tourism-marketing plan to drive tourism dollars to all parts of the state.

“The natural and diverse beauty found in every corner of Washington, from Wahkiakum to Pend Oreille, is unrivaled,” said Sen. Dean Takko, D-Longview and sponsor of Senate Bill 5251. “The economic boom in the Puget Sound continues to bring in new residents and visitors from around our country and the world. This legislation will encourage our new neighbors, and many more, to explore the wonders of our state, all the while bringing much-needed dollars into rural communities.”

Washington state closed its tourism office in 2011 to cut costs during the Great Recession. Currently, Washington is the only state in the country without a coordinate tourism program.

“Our state has so much to offer when it comes to tourism opportunities,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “Tourism done this way is an export that benefits local communities directly. It benefits small retailers, outdoor recreation, state parks, and ultimately the taxpayers of Washington. This is an innovative way for the private sector and government to collaborate and bring needed investment to all areas of our state.”

The WTMA would be funded by directing 0.2 percent of retail sales taxes collected on lodgings, car rentals, and restaurants.

SB 5251 passed out of the Senate on a unanimous vote and now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.