Tag Archives: legislature

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The recent election showed that while the country veered red, Washington state turned bluer. Democrats will continue to hold all statewide elected positions and have slightly expanded their majorities in the Legislature.  Governor. Washington’s current attorney general, Bob Ferguson, will be our new governor after defeating Republican former Congressman Dave Reichert. ... Read More »

From the Spokesman-Review General election results show Democrats in Washington are on track to growing their already-strong majorities in the state Legislature. Heading into the election last week, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 29-20 in the Senate and 58-40 in the House. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is accepting applications for partial repayments to ag producers or transporters of ag products who paid carbon fees related to the state’s cap and trade program on fuel purchases. Qualifying purchases are between Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023. Funds will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications should be submitted at DOL’s ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The Legislature adjourned on the 60th day of the 2024 Legislative session on Thursday, March 7, at 5:50 p.m. In the final week of the legislative session, the Legislature adopted the supplemental operating, capital, and transportation budgets. The Legislature also continued to pass bills. In total, the legislature passed 381 bills ... Read More »

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 »

From the Columbia Basin Herald Budget writers in both the Senate and House have suggested allocating $30 million for refunding farmers impacted by the Climate Commitment Act. With the climate program, fuel used for agricultural purposes was supposed to be exempt. According to farmers and truckers in Eastern Washington, that proposal refund falls short. Read the rest of the article here. 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 »

From the Capital Press With the support of the Inslee administration, Senate and House Democratic budget-writers Monday proposed refunding $30 million in cap-and-trade fuel surcharges to farmers and trucking companies. Farmers who bought fewer than 1,000 gallons of fuel would be eligible for a $600 refund. Farmers who bought up to 4,000 gallons would get $2,300. Farmers who bought more ... 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 »

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 »