Senate approves Hirst bill for second time
OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill sponsored by District 13 Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, was voted through the Senate for the second time on Tuesday in a 28-18 vote.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO
Legislature gearing up for Hirst bill negotiations
OLYMPIA — The end of the regular session left several state-wide issues unresolved, including the controversial Supreme Court decision commonly known as Hirst.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO
Lawmakers react to session overtime
OLYMPIA — Local legislators said they were not surprised the session ran over its allotted number of days and will continue working on their priorities from District 13 and Olympia.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO
District 13 lawmakers' bills signed into law
OLYMPIA — Several bills sponsored by local legislators were signed by the governor this week as the legislature wraps up the regular session which could be completed as soon as this Friday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO
George Industrial Park slated to receive state funding
GEORGE — An industrial park in George is slated to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds from the state’s proposed capital budgets for water and road improvements which local officials believe could stimulate year-round economic growth for the area.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Legislature crafts internet privacy bills
Washington has joined several other states in proposing internet privacy protection bills after Congress blocked FCC regulations barring internet providers from selling their customers personal data.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Bill to reassess military credit makes cut-off in House
A bill to reassess the way military service credit for state retirement plans is awarded to veterans who have been deployed narrowly made cut-off in the Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
State House honors Buffalo Soldiers
OLYMPIA — The House of Representatives honored the Buffalo Soldiers, an African-American cavalry unit known for their valor based in the west after the Civil War, in a resolution on March 22.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Senate passes capital budget
OLYMPIA — District 13 is slated to receive new funding for buildings at Big Bend Community College and Central Washington University.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
DOC early release bill voted out of committee
A bill to reform the Department of Corrections, drafted in response to the early release of around 3,000 prisoners over the last 13 years due to computer miscalculations, was voted unanimously out of the Public Safety committee on Wednesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
House Dems' budget to include new taxes, spending
The House Democrats have released their budget proposal, which includes increased spending in education and social services as well as several new taxes.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Bill to create water slide exemption heard in House
OLYMPIA — A bill to exempt bouncy houses, inflatable water slides and dunk tanks from water recreation permit law was heard by the Senate .
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
State senate introduces transportation budget
The transportation budget, which includes funding for new public transit, the Port of Moses Lake rail project and improvements for I-90 in District 13, was voted out of the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Senate committee releases budget proposal
The Senate released its operating budget for the 2017-19 biennium with an increased spending of $1.8 billion on education and significant changes in early learning, family services and health care.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Bill to create new Department for Child Services passes House
The house passed a bipartisan bill to separate services DSHS provides for children, such as early learning, juvenile services and child welfare programs, into a new state agency.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Lawmakers consider bills to change election deadlines
The legislature is considering bipartisan bills to change the date of the presidential primary and reduce deadlines for voter registration.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Senate approves gubernatorial campaign contributions bill
The Senate passed a measure on party lines which would prevent unions that collectively bargain with the governor for state salaries from making gubernatorial campaign contributions.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Bill to double number of wine tasting rooms OK'ed by Senate
MOSES LAKE — A bill doubling the number of tasting rooms a winery can operate passed the Senate this week.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Agritourism bill passes through Senate
A bill to protect agriculture tourism businesses from liability in case of injury was approved by the Senate in a 42-6 vote.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Democrats' education plan boosts local schools
OLYMPIA — The House Democrats’ education plan, if passed, could bring an additional $1,200 to local school districts, with the biggest increase in Wahluke School District.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Bill to charge for electronic public records passes House
OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill which would give counties the authority to charge for electronic public records and deny mass public record requests passed the House with a 75 to 22 vote on Friday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Bill to solve Hirst clears Senate
OLYMPIA — A bill aimed at solving the controversial Hirst decision, which has slowed down or halted the issuing of building permits for counties around the state, was voted out of the Senate 28 to 21 on Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Bill would create aviation-themed license plate
OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill to create a special license plate to fund aviation development in Washington passed the House 94 to 4.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Bill to provide alerts in other languages passes Senate
OLYMPIA — A bill that would require public notices to be provided in languages other than English passed the senate unanimously on Monday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Republican plan could increase school funding
OLYMPIA — Under the Senate Republicans’ new plan to fund education, many school districts will see their overall funding per student increase, but administrators are worried other provisions in the bill could negatively affect them, or not provide for some students.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Bill to promote safe gun storage passes through committee
OLYMPIA — A bill which would make adults liable for their firearms being accessed by children, passed the House Judiciary committee on Thursday with seven “yes” votes and six “no” votes.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
2 possible Hirst fixes narrowly pass first committee
OLYMPIA — Two bills designed to solve issues created by the Hirst decision narrowly passed through the Agriculture and Natural Resources committee Thursday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Language bills would help break down barriers
OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill to create a grant for a dual-language program for K-12 students and train and recruit bilingual teachers was heard in Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education on Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Grant County area residents lobby for potatoes
Several lobbyists from the Grant County area traveled to Olympia Wednesday to raise awareness of potatoes.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Hirst-triggered water bills come before House Ag committee
Two competing bills designed to solve issues created by the Hirst decision came before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Family of Frontier shooting victim speak at Capitol
Nyla Fritz, sister of one of the victims of the Frontier middle school shooting in Moses Lake, said she did not understand how after 21 years, the topic of safe gun storage is still up for debate.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Airport grant bill passes House unanimously
OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill which triples the size of aviation grants for airports was passed unanimously by the House on Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Elk management bill passes through House ag committee
OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill regulating elk population and wildlife property damage sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent was passed by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee during executive session.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Manweller testifies on anonymous reporting bill
OLYMPIA — Rep. Matt Manweller appeared before a committee on Monday to testify on his bill which creates an anonymous reporting systems for students who are concerned about threats or unsafe situations.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Bill aims to promote tourism through board
OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill by Rep. Cary Condotta to create a state tourism board and marketing campaign passed through the Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee unanimously on Thursday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Testimony begins on Hirst decision bills
OLYMPIA — Two bills, which are aimed at solving well water and building permit issues caused by a controversial Washington State Supreme last year, were testified on in a committee Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Bill would simplify State Supreme Court ruling on building permits
OLYMPIA — A bill aimed at detangling a complicated court ruling that put the choice of whether or not to allow well-dependent building in county government hands and potentially halting development in many rural counties has a hearing on Tuesday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Proposed bills address state need grant funds, free speech
OLYMPIA — Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, introduced two new higher education bills this week.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Bill would gather firefighting help faster
OLYMPIA — Rep. Tom Dent presented his bill to assemble state firefighting resources faster in a Public Safety Committee hearing on Thursday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
Snoqualmie conditions make travel difficult
The National Weather Service warns of hazardous conditions over the next few days, barring many legislators in Olympia from returning to their districts.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
State lawmakers talk marijuana regulations, suspensions
OLYMPIA - Members of the Commerce and Gaming committee heard testimony Tuesday from lobbyists, concerned citizens and shop owners for several marijuana bills.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
Warnick promoted to caucus vice chair
OLYMPIA - Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, was promoted to vice chair of the Senate majority caucus on Monday.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
