MOSES LAKE - An apparent fraudulent petition in support of Senate Bill 6512, for changes to Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District (MLIRD) taxing and elections, is circulating around Moses Lake.

According to the petition, adoption of the bill would "end the MLIRD's policy of 'taxation without representation'" and stop large corporate interests and wealthy Moses Lake landowners from exerting "undue influence" on the district. The petition also states SB 6512 would "temporarily stop expensive and unproven large scale dredging of the lake by lowering the MLIRD's assessment, and would give the MLIRD an opportunity to consider more cost effective and targeted options to clean up Moses Lake."

The statement is followed by a list of 150 names, many of which appear to borrow surnames from well-known Moses Lake citizens. Only a small number of the names are found in telephone directories. No one on the list could be contacted to confirm if they signed the petition.

MLIRD director Ron Covey, who opposes the bill, noted the names are identical to those listed on a petition he and others recently received calling for his resignation either as president of the Grant County Economic Development Council or director at the MLIRD due to a perceived conflict of interest.

Covey said he tracked the source of that email back to a group listed as "Moses Lake Citizens," who distributed the message to Moses Lake residents via a web-based company in Tokyo that guarantees anonymity.

"Two weeks later here comes this petition in support of Senate Bill 6512 and it has the same exact names on it in the same order and everything," he said, adding MLIRD office personnel found none of the names are listed as Grant County property owners or district rate payers.

Hansen denied knowing the source of the petition and said he too believes all names on the list are false.

It's unclear exactly how many people received a copy of the petition, but an initial report suggesting it was distributed to state legislators appears to be false.

Communications officials in both the house and senate say no lawmakers have mentioned the petition in conversations about the bill. House Republicans communications director Sarah Stewart said District 13 Representatives Bill Hinkle and Judy Warnick have not seen the petition, although they have received messages referencing it.

Holmquist Newbry said while the petition was forwarded to her office, she doesn't give weight to any statements not containing verifiable, handwritten signatures.

"We've heard from people saying we want a public hearing, we do want a vote before our assessments go up any further, and those are the folks I'm listening to," she said, noting ESSB 6512 is backed both by the Washington Farm Bureau and the Washington State Water Resources Association, which represents the state's irrigation districts.

But some district property owners are uneasy about the bill, saying it's being moved through the Legislature too quickly and with too little input from those it will affect.

Covey said he for one felt ignored when he told Holmquist Newbry his concerns during a teleconference with MLIRD personnel last week.

"I tried to tell her that there are a number of irate rate payers in the area who feel that they've not been listened to, that this has just been ramrodded through over there like a freight train with no direction," he said. "She just wouldn't listen. It was falling on deaf ears."

"We've heard concerns, but mostly those are the folks who I don't think understood what's in the bill," Holmquist Newbry said, adding all bills have to be fast-tracked if they're to have any hope of passing before the end of the short, 60-day session.

She said she has been listening to concerns and moved to address them through an amendment prior to last week's vote. The amendment clarifies the MLIRD will have a public hearing and vote process put in place only on future rate increases after January 1, 2013.

"This has been an issue I've been hearing from ratepayers for years, that they wanted a larger voice in their assessments and to straighten out and make sure we have some accountability in the elections process," Holmquist Newbry said.

It's an issue she believes could affect the reputation of irrigation districts around the state, as well as the MLIRD.

"We've got to get this cleared up so that folks here in Olympia aren't going to look negatively on MLIRD," she said. "I don't want any opportunity for me to go in and get funding in the future to be affected by my colleagues who now have their eyebrows raised at potential lack of accountability in (MLIRD's) elections process or the assessment process."