Activities of the Legislature affecting farmers and ranchers in Washington state

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April 13, 2007

In This Issue

• Key Right-to-Farm Bill Passes as Deadline Looms

• Critical Areas Ordinance Negotiations Continue 

• Hopes of Meaningful Health-Care Reform Dashed

• Action Alert: WSU Ag Initiative Funding in Jeopardy!

• Bills of Interest

• Information Resources

• Subscription Information

Key Right-to-Farm Bill Passes as Deadline Looms

With today's cutoff date for policy bills to pass out of the opposite chamber looming, both chambers of the Legislature have been working furiously to pass key legislation this week. 

One such measure is HB 1648, the right-to-farm bill. On Wednesday, April 11, the Senate unanimously passed the bill, moving it one step closer to improving protections for agricultural operations and activities.

The Senate-passed version of the bill is different from the one passed by the House. The differences between the amendments and the underlying bill were primarily stylistic, and the House is likely to concur with the Senate amendments. 

The driving force behind the legislation is an adverse ruling on the existing right-to-farm law by the state Court of Appeals, Division III. 

HB 1648 would make it clear that a change in agricultural products is still protected by the right-to-farm law.  

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Critical Areas Ordinance Negotiations Continue

Washington Farm Bureau continues to seek protection for farms that are threatened by overbearing and unnecessary new regulations and buffers under the Growth Management Act.

SB 5248 was drafted by Washington Farm Bureau and introduced by Sen. Brian Hatfield (D-Raymond). The bill, as passed by the Senate, would protect legally existing agricultural activities from new regulations under the Growth Management Act. An extensive list of existing laws would remain in place. 

One of the central goals of the GMA is to "maintain and enhance natural resource-based industries, including productive timber, agricultural, and fisheries industries" and "encourage the conservation of productive forest lands and productive agricultural lands, and discourage incompatible uses." 

Buffers that remove land from farming and drive farms out of business are certainly "incompatible uses" and do nothing to "maintain and enhance" agriculture, as directed by the eighth goal of the GMA. 

In its current form (as amended by the House Local Government Committee), SB 5248 provides a two-year "timeout" from new regulations while people talk about the issues at the Ruckelshaus Center. The center is intended to facilitate negotiations on public policy matters. 

Farm Bureau had pushed for a permanent "exemption" from new regulations until legislative leadership made it clear on the 95th day of the session that a vote would not be allowed on the outright exemption.

Our focus now is securing as long of a timeout as possible, as directed by the Washington Farm Bureau Board of Directors. This will allow enough time to establish facts, find new voluntary programs, bring proposals back to the Legislature, and implement them on the ground. Our goal is to achieve permanent protection through this effort.

Farm Bureau believes that a longer timeout is needed to provide both immediate relief and certainty to farmers. Also, a longer timeout is necessary to demonstrate the success of voluntary programs and show that new regulations are not needed.

Two years is simply not enough time to do this.

We will continue meeting with the parties involved to seek legislation that would provide certainty to farmers and opportunities to craft programs that enhance agriculture and the environment at the same time.

Tribal interests and others are now advocating a nine-month timeout from new regulations. Some of those advocates want to immediately get back to the opportunity to force more regulations on farms. Others want to hasten the crisis, arguing that a sudden loss of farm operations will illustrate the problem more clearly.

Farm Bureau is not willing to sacrifice farms and farmers to make a point. A longer timeout would allow us time to create options that will protect all farmers.

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Hopes of Meaningful Health-Care Reform Dashed

Washington's small businesses and other health insurance purchasers were dealt a one-two punch Thursday by Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate.

On what were essentially party-line votes, the House rejected efforts to restore language to E2SSB 5930, the Blue Ribbon Commission bill sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines), that would have made important improvements to the private health insurance market. In the form that passed the Senate unanimously, the bill enjoyed strong support from the state's business community. However, the House Health Care & Wellness Committee stripped key provisions from the bill, leaving little or nothing in it to lower costs or to implement the commission's recommendation to "give individuals and families more choice in selecting private insurance plans that work for them." The bill passed the House 61-34.

Farm Bureau appreciates the leadership and unwavering support of Rep. Mark Ericks (D-Bothell) who, along with most of the Republican Caucus, stood with the business community to the bitter end.

Not to be outdone, the Senate Democrat majority thwarted a bipartisan effort to amend the latest incarnation of E2SHB 1569, the so-called "connector" bill sponsored by Rep. Eileen Cody (D-Seattle). In a legislative equivalent to a shell game, the actual content of this bill was unclear up to the point of consideration by the Senate. Democratic leadership gave conflicting indications about what version would actually be debated by that body. We are reviewing the final Senate-passed language. At this point it appears that Association Health Plans are still being targeted for study to determine whether to absorb them into a new state-run "partnership." The Senate approved the bill 28-20.

Farm Bureau thanks the Senate Republican Caucus and Sens. Mary Margaret Haugen (D-Camano Island), Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens), and Tim Sheldon (D-Potlatch) for their opposition to the bill.

Since both bills were amended by the opposing chamber, each must be sent back to its chamber of origin for a concurrence vote. Washington Farm Bureau urges both the House and Senate to reject concurrence.

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Action Alert: WSU Ag Initiative Funding in Jeopardy

Your assistance is needed! Call the governor and legislators today!

The Washington State House and Senate have passed their operating budget proposals for the next biennium. The fate of the WSU Industry-Based Unified Agriculture Initiative remains uncertain. 

The House operating budget included $9.5 million for the Unified Ag Initiative; however, the Senate operating budget only included $2.8 million. 

The Senate not only failed to fund any of the faculty and support positions included in the Initiative, but it also eliminated proposed operating funds for four research and extension centers (a portion of the request that was fully funded in the governor’s budget).

Time is of the essence. The conference committee process to reconcile the two budgets is now underway. 

It is critical that supporters of the initiative contact Senate and House leaders to express support for the Industry-Based Unified Agriculture Initiative and request that the budget conferees support the House-approved funding level of $9.5 million.

To contact your legislators, please visit the Legislative Action Center at www.wsfb.com. 

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Bills of Interest

The following is a list the bills we are currently tracking.

• In the Bill column, E = Engrossed (i.e., amendments have been adopted), S (preceding HB or SB) = Substitute bill, HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, JM = Joint Memorial, JR = Joint Resolution.

• In the Position column, S = Support, M = Monitor, N = Neutral, C = Concerns, O = Oppose.  

• In the Lobbyist column, C = Patrick Connor, F = Dan Fazio, S = John Stuhlmiller, W = Dan Wood.

• Bold indicates a priority bill. 

Health Care  

 Labor and Employment  

Land Use  

Other  

Taxes and Budget

Water, Energy, and Environment  

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Information Resources

Washington Farm Bureau: www.wsfb.com 
Legislative Information: www.leg.wa.gov 
Governor's Bill Actions: www.governor.wa.gov 
Legislative Hotline: (800) 562-6000

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Subscription Information

To subscribe or unsubscribe to LegisLetter by e-mail, contact Scott Dilley at sdilley@wsfb.com. 

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