Rep. Warnick's Feb. 14 e-mail update

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,