This week I discuss the legislative session and the transportation proposal.
Tag Archives: Sen. Warnick
Enforcement officers for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife must currently bargain collectively for a master agreement with the governor’s office that may include provisions not requested by the agency. The Senate passed Senate Bill 5763, sponsored by Senator Judy Warnick, R – Moses Lake which allows enforcement officers to negotiate separately with the governor’s office.
“Those responsible for keeping millions of acres safe for our citizens have requested this change to allow more flexibility in their bargaining process,” Warnick said. “The current requirements aren’t meeting the need of this unique group of state employees and I believe this change will help in the long run to make the process more efficient and fair.”
The legislation allows for the enforcement officers to remain under the current bargaining structure of the Personnel System Reform Act of 2002. The bill now moves to the House for consideration.
Sen. Judy Warnick’s bill, Senate Bill 5529 which returns ownership of the 26 mile state-owned railroad tracks to Port of Royal Slope cleared the Senate. The legislation gives the port authority five years to contract an operator for the rail line and gives supplies from the recent rehabilitation projects paid for by the state Department of Transportation to the port.
“The community has been working to find a sustainable plan to operate the railroad and I’m glad that we can give ownership back,” Warnick, R- Moses Lake said. “This will be an opportunity to boost economic development and preserve businesses in the area.”
The port, overseen by three elected commissioners, passed a resolution in 2013 asking the Legislature to transfer ownership of the rail lines. The line is owned by the state Department of Transportation after being purchased in 1993. Upgrades to the rail lines permit the transport of goods.
“We greatly appreciate all the hard work Senator Warnick has put in to getting this legislation passed,” said Port of Royal Commissioner Alan Schrom. “We’re excited and looking forward to restoring safe, reliable, and sustainable rail service to Royal City!”
To 
meet the increasing popularity and demand for cottage foods, Sen. Judy Warnick, R- Moses Lake introduced Senate Bill 5603 which passed the Senate unanimously. The legislation increases the amount that kitchen to consumer vendors can make from $15,000 to $25,000.
“I am glad that we have been able to address the growing demand for cottage industries in our state,” said Warnick. “These are small, mostly family operations that are providing a service to their community and we should be supporting these entrepreneurs.”
Washington State allows for the sale of foods from home kitchens directly to consumers, licensed as cottage food by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Those small vendors only qualify if annual gross sales are below $15,000.
“This is a small change that could make a big impact by removing barriers for this growing industry. It gives the Department of Agriculture the ability to adjust the ceiling that these small business can make without needing future legislation.”
This past weekend, full operations resumed at all West Coast ports after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association finally came to an agreement Friday, Feb. 20, on a five-year labor contract. U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez had imposed a deadline on both entities to come to an agreement by Friday. Had they failed to do so, a shutdown could have occurred, which would have cost the U.S. economy an estimated $2 billion a day.
The ports are now working to clear the biggest cargo backlog they’ve seen since 2004, which port officials and logistics experts believe will take months to recover from.
Thirteenth District Reps. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake and Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, along with Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake wrote a letter to President Obama last month asking him to intervene in order to bring the labor dispute to an end. Rep. Dent also sponsored the bipartisan House Joint Memorial 4005 to request assistance from the federal government to minimize the impacts of the West Coast ports slowdown. Thirty-four cosponsors signed on to the bill, including Manweller.
“I am pleased the West Coast ports slowdown has been resolved after a nine-month labor standoff that cost our state tens of millions of dollars,” said Dent. “I thank my fellow 13th District lawmakers for standing with me and working to put pressure on the White House to intervene in the dispute, as well as for helping to open dialogue with local labor leaders to encourage a resolution to this serious issue. I do, however, wish a deal would’ve come much sooner.”
Many businesses in Washington state were hit hard by the slowdown. National Public Radio recently reported apple producers have lost out on millions of dollars in sales, and “some of the region’s beef producers are running low on freezer space, meaning they could end up just giving the meat away.”
“We have a number of ag producers and manufacturers in the 13th District who are relieved the port dispute has reached a resolution,” said Manweller. “It is unfortunate the president and federal government waited so long to get involved. We could have saved millions of dollars in product losses, saved jobs, and lessened the impact on consumers had we acted earlier.”
The West Coast ports are responsible for 43.5 percent of U.S. trade, and experts say the dispute will cost retailers an estimated $7 billion this year due to lost sales and higher shipping costs.
“The effects on our state’s economy and our community are significant and I’m very pleased the parties have found a solution,” said Warnick. “I’m disappointed the federal government didn’t recognize the seriousness of the port slowdown sooner given that our state is so trade dependent. Although the state is limited in what it can do regarding the labor dispute, we need to focus our efforts now on rebuilding the areas of our economy negatively affected by the months-long dispute that hurt families, jobs and our state’s economy.”
February 24, 2015 |
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IN THIS ISSUE
Contact MeOlympia Office:103 Irv Newhouse Bldg. P.O. Box 40410 Olympia, WA 98504 Olympia Phone:360.786.7624 E-mail:Website:Click Here to Visit my Website Video UpdateThis session I am working on different ways to connect with people in my district. Every other week I sit down and discuss issues in the Legislature. Please click here to see my latest video update from Olympia. Su GobiernoEs un honor servirles como su senadora. Estamos en la septima semana de la sesión legislativa del 2015 y estoy trabajando para representar sus prioridades al invertir en la educación, mantener los impuestos bajos y mejorar la economía para incrementar las oportunidades de trabajo en nuestra comunidad. Este año tenemos que hacer el nuevo presupuesto para los siguientes dos años. Afortunadamente tenemos $3 billones de dólares más del presupuesto anterior y creo que debemos utilizarlos de manera responsable. Por lo tanto, la conversación para aumentar impuestos debería ser nuestra última opción. Esta sesión legislativa será un reto, pero estoy lista para colaborar con mis colegas del senado para llegar a una solución colectiva. Your GovernmentIt is an honor to serve as your senator. We are in the seventh week of the 2015 legislative session and I am working to represent your priorities like investing in education, keeping taxes low and bettering the economy to encourage job opportunities in our community. This year we have to make a new budget for the next two years. Thankfully we have $3 billion more than in our last budget and I believe we should utilize those dollars responsibly. Raising taxes should be our last option. This session will be a challenge but I am ready to work with my colleagues in the Senate to bring collaborative solutions. Combating Gang InvolvementI signed on to a bill that would find creative ways to address gang problems in our communities. The bill makes changes to prevailing wage requirements set by the Department of Labor and Industries. This bill would allow for an exemption on public works projects for youth centers and programs that are geared toward gang prevention. Please click here to read a story on the bill. |
With thousands of jobs and billions of dollars on the line for Washington state, lawmakers representing the 13th District say the time for the president to act is now.
The three lawmakers signed a letter to President Obama this week, asking him to intervene in the West Coast port labor dispute. In the letter, Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg and Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, cite the “devastating effect” the slowdown is having on Washington state employers, employees and the state’s economic stability.
The slowdown is currently costing U.S. agriculture millions of dollars, as representatives from the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union have not come to an agreement on a new contract for dockworkers.
“If a resolution is not reached quickly, not only will the national economy suffer, [but] our state’s operating budget could be well short of the tax collections expected from our trade and manufacturing sectors,” wrote the lawmakers.
Washington is the most trade-dependent state in the nation, and exports $15.1 billion annually in food and agriculture products through Puget Sound ports.
“We need immediate action if we are to salvage what remains of our market share for trade around the globe and to ensure our manufacturers can continue to produce high-demand products.”
To read the lawmakers’ complete letter, click here.
Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, has introduced three pieces of legislation aimed at preserving and clarifying the use of agricultural lands in the context of the state’s shoreline-management and growth-management laws. All three received public hearings Tuesday before the Senate Agriculture, Water and Rural Economic Development Committee.
“Agricultural land cannot be created. It can be developed but it’s hard to get it back,” Warnick told the committee, which she chairs. “I wanted to start a discussion about how land use affects our farmers and looking at options to preserve these vital lands.”
Under the Growth Management Act of 1990 and Shoreline Management Act of 1971, local jurisdictions are required to adopt master plans relating to land use and development. Although preservation of agricultural land is a goal of the GMA much land designated as agricultural land is subject to conflicting rules.
Warnick’s bills are:
- Senate Bill 5168, which would clarify the definition of “agricultural land” and protect current and future agricultural use from wetland conversion, fish habitat creation or inundation.
- Senate Bill 5169, which would focus on preventing the conversion of agricultural land to wetland or fish habitat or making it subject to tidal inundation.
- Senate Bill 5170 – Clarifies the definition of “agricultural land” under the SMA and protects agricultural land.
“Conservation of our state’s natural resources is important and no one knows that more than our farmers,” Warnick said. “The GMA and SMA take into account the importance of preserving agricultural land but there are still challenges. We need a healthy debate on this issue but we also need to ensure a valuable resource like agricultural land is preserved.”