Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This is the 48th day of the 60-day session. This week, budget proposals were released from the Senate and House Democrats. I’ll provide more information next week, but the good news is that the supplemental operating budget is very close to being adopted and the Legislature will likely complete its work on time.

I’m pleased the House capital budget proposal includes $2 million for emergency dam repairs on Moses Lake – I’m working to ensure the final version keeps this funding. I’m also working with local and state agencies to secure the remainder of the funding needed to complete this project. You can read more about it here.

Last week, Congressman Doc Hastings and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers paid a visit to Olympia. I was pleased to bring them into our caucus room to thank Doc for his 20 years of service as he plans to retire at the end of the year, and get an update from D.C. from both of them. See a photo of our meeting to the right.

Update on legislation

Two bills I’m working on to provide infrastructure and jobs in our smaller, rural communities are moving forward.

• House Bill 1484 would make adjustments to the Public Works Board to include public utility districts and water-sewer districts on the board and provide additional flexibility for special financial or emergency situations. The Board helps local communities finance critical infrastructure that protect public health, the environment and balanced growth with low-interest loans that are paid back to the state. The bill passed the House 92-5 and is now in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
• House Bill 1260 would restructure and modernize the Community Economic Revitalization Board by: improving the board’s flexibility in providing loans, ensuring representation from both western and eastern Washington, and helping the board prioritize funding according to the greatest needs and largest benefit. While the legislation originally included a bad component dealing with median wage requirements, I’m pleased the Senate removed this component in committee, because the rest of the legislation is important. The bill passed the House 56-39 (when it included the bad component) and is now in the Senate Rules Committee, where it could be scheduled for a vote by the entire Senate soon.

Grant County town hall meeting

I have heard from many of you who attended the town hall meeting about public safety issues in Grant County Wednesday night. I’m pleased to hear the community is engaged and looking for solutions together. Here in Olympia, I have introduced and supported several pieces of legislation to address gangs:

• House Bill 1729 would increase penalties for gang members who possess or commit crimes with firearms.
• House Bill 1730 would add drive-by shooting to the list of most serious offenses. (Basically it would make it eligible for one of the three “strikes”)
• House Bill 1731 would add unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree (committed one of the worst crimes) to “most serious offenses.” (Also making it eligible for one of the three “strikes”)
• House Bill 1732 would modify provisions relating to adjustments to standard sentences for offenders being sentenced for a criminal street gang-related offense.

Unfortunately, none of the bills received public hearings last year or this year. However, sometimes the best and most effective solutions don’t come from Olympia. I encourage community members to watch out for each other – to not be afraid to speak up when they see something, and to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to keep their streets safe.

Made in Washington vehicles will get tax incentives

I was pleased to hear today that the state Department of Revenue has decided it will allow BMW i3s – made with carbon fiber made entirely at Moses Lake’s SGL plant – to qualify for a sales tax deduction. You can click here to read more about the original concern myself and Rep. Matt Manweller had with the agency’s original interpretation of the law.

As always, I appreciate hearing from you. Please continue to contact my office with questions, comments or concerns. It’s an honor to serve you.

Sincerely,

Judy Warnick

E-mail: judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov
Web site: www.representativejudywarnick.com

Olympia Office (January-March)
427A Legislative Building – P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7932 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000

District Office (March-December)
326 South Cedar Street, Suite A
Moses Lake, WA 98837
(509) 766-6505

• Minimum wage increase – Gov. Inslee first proposed increasing the minimum wage in his State of the State address, and House Democrats introduced House Bill 2672. The legislation would increase the minimum wage by almost $3 an hour, making it $12 an hour. Status: The bill did not pass the House before cutoff, but because it is currently in the House Appropriations Committee, it could be deemed “necessary to implement the budget” and be passed up until the last day of session March 13. My stance: I don’t support it – Washington already has the highest minimum wage in the country at $9.32 an hour. We need more jobs, not less.
• Gun initiatives – There were two initiatives submitted to the Legislature – one is pro-2nd Amendment rights, the other would essentially create mandatory background checks. The Legislature can either make changes to these for the ballot, or leave them as-is for the ballot. Status: Public hearings were held in the House and Senate, with great attendance from the public. The initiatives have not moved from there. It is widely assumed they will be left alone for the voters to decide on both. My stance: Let them go straight to the ballot so the people can decide once and for all. If the initiatives were to come up for a vote, I would support the 2nd Amendment and your right to keep and bear arms. I would oppose the universal background checks.
• More authority for Dept. of Ecology – House Bill 2347 would give the Department of Ecology broad authority to establish measures to “reduce the risk” of oil spills from vessels. Status: Passed the House 57-37. My stance: I voted “no” – I don’t like giving any agency such broad authority without accountability from the public.
• Voting Rights Act – House Bill 1413 would essentially allow any minority candidate who does not win in a local election district like a school, fire or PUD district to sue the county elections authority and lead to district boundaries being re-drawn to favor a protected class and influence the outcome of an election. Status: Passed the House 53-43. My stance: I voted “no” – I believe this could be seen as a form of reverse discrimination, and that the best candidates should win elections – regardless of race, class or creed.
• Student privacy – House Bill 2133 would require the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to conduct a thorough study of how students in Washington state are having their personally identifiable information released without their approval or knowledge. Status: Received a public hearing, but did not move forward. My stance: If given the chance, I would have voted “yes” on this proposal in the House Education Committee. I’m concerned about how all of our personal information is used and shared by the government – especially students.
• Re-enacting the Rural County Tax Incentive Program. House Bill 2204 would diversify the rural economy by granting a deferral and waiver of certain taxes to businesses who locate in one of 31 rural counties and who engage in manufacturing, computer related services, or research and development. Status: Received a public hearing, but did not move forward. My stance: If this had come before the full House for a vote, I would have voted “yes.” I even co-sponsored this legislation, because it would help our rural counties bring in more employers and jobs.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you are surrounded by love today.

Thanks to those of you who participated on our 13th District telephone town hall last night. I was pleased to see so many on the call with great questions for us! At one point, we had about 502 people on the call at one time, and more than 60 people had questions for us. If we weren’t able to get to your question, and you left us a voicemail at the end, one of us will be calling you back. While we’re in Olympia, this is the best way for us to reach out to the most people and hear from you about what you’re concerned about. I appreciate those of you who took the time to participate.

We asked a few survey questions of callers – here are the results:

Last year the Legislature set aside an additional $1 billion for targeted education outcomes. The Supreme Court has recently ordered the Legislature to put more money into education right away. Do you agree with the Supreme Court?

1) No – we need to see outcomes before putting more money into education: 54%

2) Yes – we need more education funding this year: 25%

3) No – it’s a supplemental budget year: 21%

The governor has again proposed ending tax incentives, like those used to encourage manufacturing jobs, data center construction, etc. Do you agree with Gov. Inslee that the state should end tax incentives, even if they are proven to create jobs?

1) No: 80%

2) Yes: 20%

Watch my video update

In this week’s video, I discuss plans if there is a drought, why I signed on to a bill dealing with electric cars, an Olympic athlete from our area, and more – click here or on the image below to watch:

Update on legislation

We have been spending a great deal of time voting on the House floor considering dozens of bills at a time. Check out this Web page which stays updated with the latest status on the more high-profile bills of the session.

House Bill 1634, which would allow solar, geothermal and biomass energy facilities to be treated the same as wind power facilities for taxing purposes, passed the House 80-14.

House Bill 2103’s companion, Senate Bill 5972, is moving forward in the Senate and could be voted on any time. These bills are identical and would require responsible parties pay for a reasonable standard of compensation for the land after a wildfire, but would exempt from negligence intangible qualities of the land. We are working through some challenges with environmental groups on this legislation.

House Bill 2674 would provide more convenience for you by allowing more licensing sub-agents to process vehicle quick titles. It could come up for a vote by the full House any time.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns. It’s an honor to serve you.

Sincerely,

Judy Warnick

E-mail: judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov
Web site: www.representativejudywarnick.com

Olympia Office (January-March)
427A Legislative Building – P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7932 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000

District Office (March-December)
326 South Cedar Street, Suite A
Moses Lake, WA 98837
(509) 766-6505

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I encourage you to watch my latest video update where I discuss what I’ve been up to this last week, as well as information about the opposing firearm initiatives heard this week in the House:

Update on Obamacare

Many of you have contacted my office concerned about the implementation of Obamacare in our state. I share your concerns, especially after reading the news and hearing about website glitches, tax-credit mistakes, thousands of calls going unanswered at the state Health Benefit Exchange, cancellation notices, and sticker shock for Washingtonians. Obamacare has not been all that it was promised to be – though many of us were skeptical from the start.

While the governor has touted the great success of our state’s Health Benefit Exchange, he is basing this success on raw numbers on enrollments – most of these are for people getting on Medicaid. The deeper numbers tell a different story. It was originally estimated that 130,000 people would enroll in a non-Medicaid plan by Jan. 1. However, just 73,098 people have enrolled in such plans. Of those, just 23 percent purchased a full-price health plan that will not be subsidized by taxpayers. These are alarming numbers for a system that was meant to reduce costs for all based on a large number of healthy, full-paying individuals enrolling in non-Medicaid plans.

Though this is something put on us by the federal government, our state is still responsible for how things are carried out here. That’s why I’m supporting two measures here at the state Legislature to allow Washington residents to purchase health plans across state lines. Though our state Insurance Commissioner will not allow residents to keep their previous plans, these bills would provide more choice and freedom for residents to find more affordable plans that meet their needs.

Voice your comments about land acquisitions

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is inviting public comment through tomorrow, Jan. 31 on current proposals to acquire land for fish and wildlife habitat and public recreation. Thirteen proposed land acquisitions, identified by the department as priorities for potential future funding, are currently available for review. To review the proposed acquisitions and submit your comments, visit WDFW’s website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/acquisitions/.

Keeping an eye on the drought situation

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, our state is currently in a moderate drought. We are more fortunate than our neighbors to the south, Oregon and California, who are facing severe and extreme drought. However, if we don’t get more snowpack and rainfall, this could have serious consequences for junior water right holders across our state. You can keep an eye on the drought through the USDA’s drought monitor online here. I serve on a special Legislative Workgroup on Water Supply During Drought that meets when our state is in a drought, to determine what actions to take and keep tabs on how water restrictions are taking place. Fortunately, we have not met since 2010. I am hopeful we will not have to meet this year and that the weather will provide us with the water we need, especially in Central and Eastern Washington.

As always, I appreciate hearing from the people back home. Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments and concerns. It’s an honor to serve as your state representative.

Sincerely,

Judy Warnick

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This is the second week of session, and already things are moving fast in this short session.

Education

With the Supreme Court’s recent order to the Legislature that it is still not adequately funding education, there has been much discussion about the topic and the court’s balance of powers with the Legislature. I believe education funding is of paramount importance – that’s why I supported last year’s budget that included $1 billion in additional funding for education.

However, we need to ensure we are very strategic with how we fund education so we are not simply sending more money to schools and not expecting results with your hard-earned tax dollars. In a supplemental budget year, we should only be making minor adjustments to the budget – not making major policy decisions.

Watch this video where I describe my most influential teacher growing up:

Flexibility for rural school districts

This week in the House Education Committee, we heard a bill to provide flexibility for small, rural school districts. House Bill 1492 would allow (not require) just five school districts in the state to apply for a waiver to the state’s 180-day requirement for schools. This would help rural districts, with the support of the community, to save money and adjust to sports schedules. Unfortunately, opponents to the bill are blowing the provisions of the bill out of proportion. Currently, two school districts in Southwest Washington are using these waivers – the students’ test scores are good, and the community has embraced the new schedules.

Teleforum – please note phone number has changed

Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry will be joining myself and Rep. Matt Manweller for our telephone town hall on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. The phone number for you to join the live event has changed – please call (877) 229-8493, then enter pin number 112393. Press star(*) 3 to ask one of us a question. I look forward to talking with you.

Recovery for fire damages

There is a concerning trend around the country where those negligent for wildfires are being sued for far above fair market value of the land destroyed. I’m co-sponsoring House Bill 2103 to require responsible parties pay for a reasonable standard of compensation for the land. National appraisal standards would apply, which includes looking at the value of timber, habitat, water resources and recreation – but intangible qualities of the land would not apply and allow people to sue for far more than a piece of land could be sold or condemned. This will help prevent lawsuit abuse by third-party groups against private landowners. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing today.

I appreciate hearing from you while I’m in Olympia. Please contact me anytime with questions, comments or concerns. It’s an honor to serve you.

Sincerely,

Judy Warnick