By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The Washington State Legislature has completed its eighth week of the short 60-day session as of March 3. There are four days left in the regular session. March 1 marked the second to last deadline of the 2024 Legislative Session — bills needed to have been approved by both the House ... Read More »
Two new growers, representing Benton and Spokane counties, have joined the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) state board. Markus Smith, Benton County Smith lives in Prosser with his wife, Kayla, and their nine-month old daughter, Adeline. “I’ve always been interested in representing the wheat industry. I grew up reading Wheat Life. With the total population of farmers dwindling, it ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Feb. 25 marked day 49 of the 60-day session. This past week was filled with committee hearings on bills from the opposite chamber and rollouts of the state’s supplemental operating, capital, and transportation budgets. Now that all the budget proposals have been released, the differences between the House and Senate proposals ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The Legislature has finished the sixth week of the 60-day legislative session. Feb. 13 marked a critical milestone — the deadline to pass bills out of the chamber where they originated. The House has passed 270 bills, and the Senate has passed 260 bills this session. Bills that did not make ... Read More »
At the 2023 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, Washington wheat growers welcomed Gil Crosby, a grower from Spokane County, as the secretary/treasurer for the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG). Crosby grew up on his family’s farm outside of Fairfield, Wash. After graduating from Liberty High School, he attended Washington State University and graduated from Eastern Washington University. In the 1990s, ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The Legislature recently passed the halfway point of the 60-day legislative session and the second major deadline — the fiscal committee cutoff. This means fiscal bills that were not voted out of their respective fiscal committees in the chamber (Senate or House) where they were introduced, are likely “dead” for the ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen, Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers We have completed the fourth week of session. Jan. 31 marked the first important cutoff date of the 2024 Legislative Session. Cutoff dates play a crucial role in the legislative process as any bills that have not made it out of a policy committee are considered “dead” and no longer eligible ... Read More »
Early Sunday morning, Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ Executive Director Michelle Hennings sat down for an interview with Fox News to stress how critical the dams are for the transportation of wheat and other products to export terminals in Portland. She made sure to stress that this is not just a local issue, but a national issue, as products from ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Sunday, Jan. 28, marked the 21st day of the legislative session. We have now completed three weeks of session and are more than a third of the way done. The number of new bills being introduced daily is dropping in volume as the first legislative deadline is fast approaching, and new ... Read More »
by Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers During the second week of the legislative session, the House of Representatives and Senate were busy holding public hearings, passing bills out of committee, and some floor action. New bills continue to be introduced. Over 1,100 new bills have been filed in both chambers combined this session. Less than two weeks remain ... Read More »
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