By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Feb. 16 marked the 35th day of the legislative session. There is less than a week to go until the first big deadline for policymakers. Feb. 21 is the deadline for when all bills must have advanced out of their policy committee, or else they are likely dead for the session. ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers We have completed the fourth week of the 2025 Washington State Legislative Session. Feb. 8 marked day 27 of the 105-day session. Committee hearings were the prime focus this week, but there was some floor action as well. We are less than two weeks away from our first major deadline — ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Friday, Jan. 30, was day 21 of the 105-day legislative session. There are 84 days to go. The third week brought another hectic week for the Washington State Legislature. The flurry of new bill introductions has not slowed, and as of Jan. 31, 1,442 bills in total have dropped. The focus ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The 2025 Legislative Session kicked off on Jan. 13, 2025. As this is a “long session” year, the session is expected to last 105 days, ending on Sunday, April 27, 2025. There are a lot of new faces in Olympia. This is the first time in 12 years that Washington state has a new governor ... Read More »
From fox13seattle.com For years, Washington State has been losing two farms per day, and the impact of the Climate Commitment Act is making it even harder for some to survive. The Washington Farm Bureau says the Climate Commitment Act, which passed in 2021, is now disproportionately impacting small farms. If the system worked as intended, farmers wouldn’t have been negatively ... Read More »
WAWG Past President Andy Juris, a farmer from Klickitat County, and Michele Kiesz, a farmer from Adams County, testified before the Washington State House Environment & Energy Committee this week in support of House Bill 1188, which requires local government and tribal approval of wind and solar siting recommendations by the energy facility site evaluation council. Juris told the committee ... Read More »
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 »
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