February 13, 2020

Warnick legislation to improve state food supply clears Legislature

The state legislature has approved a bill sponsored by state Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake that would formalize a public-private partnership to improve the state’s food-supply system. Senate Bill 6091 outlines goals of the Washington Food Policy forum, to include support for small farms, increasing the availability of food grown...
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February 13, 2020

Nearing the half-way point

Greetings from Olympia, This past Friday the Senate had one of its first deadlines that we call the policy cutoff. It was the last day for bills that aren’t budgetary to receive a public hearing and move along the process. The Senate budget committee, Ways and Means, worked late into...
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February 11, 2020

Working to lower the costs of home ownership

Housing costs aren’t an issue only in urban western Washington, as extremely low vacancy rates also mean a short supply of affordable housing in many eastern Washington cities. State Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake has introduced legislation to boost affordable housing production east of the Cascade Mountains under a local...
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May 03, 2019

Warnick bill to boost funding for rural skill centers becomes law

The governor Wednesday signed legislation sponsored by Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, that will improve funding for rural skill centers. Senate Bill 5874, which was approved by the Legislature unanimously, requires direct funding of certain satellite skill centers in rural areas. The concept for the legislation was brought to Warnick’s...
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April 17, 2019

Warnick bill strengthens livestock identification program

The Washington State Legislature has approved a proposal by state Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, aimed at strengthening the state’s livestock identification program. Senate Bill 5959, approved with strong bipartisan support, now heads to the governor for his signature. “This is an invaluable program to the protection of the livestock...
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April 11, 2019

Standing up for domestic violence victims

Victims of domestic violence need to be protected and should have the ability to protect themselves. The Senate majority has pushed through legislation that would require law enforcement officers to confiscate legally owned firearms from victims and not return them for five days. Those are five vulnerable days that survivors...
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March 14, 2019

We can’t tax our way to prosperity

March 14, 2019 Greetings from Olympia, We have reached a significant deadline in the legislative process, and have spent the past week and a half working late into the night voting on bills before the cutoff this past Wednesday. This means that only bills that were approved by their respective chambers...
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February 19, 2019

Update from Olympia

Greetings from Olympia, I hope that you are faring well after this most recent spate of winter weather. The state Legislature’s work has been slowed considerably, even seeing the cancellation of business this past Monday. We are fast approaching a deadline, so now that operations are back to normal, there...
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January 22, 2019

Update from Olympia

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, The first week of the 2019 legislative session has been a whirlwind. This past Monday, I was sworn-in for another 4-year term. It is an honor to continue to serve you in the state Senate. On Tuesday, the governor outlined his priorities for the legislative session....
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