Legislative Commentary

More than once in this column I’ve mentioned the eternal optimism I have, being a dryland wheat farmer, and how that spills over to my work as a state legislator.

But I don’t remember Olympia testing my optimism like it has this year – and particularly this month.

Ten days ago I would have said we had a good shot at concluding the 2017 legislative session on a positive note. Then good old-fashioned politics threw a wrench into things.

That’s why I am home on the farm, with harvest under way, with the Legislature still lacking a solution to the residential-water situation caused by the Hirst court case.

Lewis County’s largest newspaper did a good job of explaining why this year’s session has already set another record for length.

“Ever since Republicans took control of the Senate with the Majority Coalition Caucus, Democrats have struggled to succeed in a legislative world where their ideas and proposals are no longer rubber-stamped by a one-party government.

“At the same time, Gov. Jay Inslee has proven himself unable or unwilling to act as an efficient negotiator from the governor’s mansion.”

I’m still optimistic that legislators will come to terms on a Hirst fix and, after that’s signed by the governor, a new capital budget for 2017-19. Our side is still engaged, because we understand the importance of the investments that are at stake.

The sooner my Democratic colleagues in the House and our state’s chief executive join us in putting people ahead of special interests, the sooner we can nail down the agreements that were out of reach earlier this month.

‘The Legislature needs to solve this problem now’

I had hoped July 20, being the final day of the Legislature’s third overtime of 2017, would finally see the House take its first vote on a remedy for the Hirst ruling.

As the day went on, House Republicans found themselves in a position to force a vote.

The majority Democrats responded by simply walking out of the House chamber.

By going home they avoided having to say publicly, through a recorded vote, where they stand on allowing wells to be installed for home construction in the many parts of Washington where water systems don’t exist.

They also avoided irritating the powerful special interests that view wells as a threat, even though all the residential wells in Washington combined account for less than 1 percent of the state’s water consumption.

In all my years as a legislator, I’ve never seen a majority side abandon ship like the House Democrats did that evening. Fortunately, the Spokane daily newspaper understands why a Hirst solution can’t wait:

“An overwhelming majority of lawmakers want to see these projects and others go forward, but Senate Republicans have a point: The Legislature needs to solve this problem now, because it will be too easy for urban-centric lawmakers to ignore it in the future.”

The Everett newspaper, in contrast, offers a misleading analysis of the same situation:

“The Republicans’ desire to protect the rights of private property owners is justified, but so is the concern that many Democrats expressed in protecting existing water rights held by municipalities, tribes and farmers and the need to assure adequate stream flows to protect salmon runs.”

I say “misleading” because a report from the Association of Washington Cities and another from the Washington State Association of Counties make it pretty clear whose position they favor: the Senate’s.

And the Washington State Farm Bureau has been in our corner the whole time, supporting the approach from my Grant County colleague, Senator Judy Warnick.

The county and city associations both raise the issue that tribal governments or the state Department of Ecology could gain a new level of authority through a Hirst remedy – basically, veto power over certain water-related decisions.

So there’s more at risk here than a family’s ability to buy land and put a house on it. As the state association of counties put it, “the Senate would not agree to give away a state authority or obligation to another entity or sovereign government.”

Despite the House’s disappointing behavior, Senator Warnick is still talking with one of the House members who also is out front on Hirst. We’re not throwing in the towel on finding a fix.

Support your local fair!

Every two years, when we prepare a new state budget, it falls to the Senate to push for fair funding to be part of the final spending plan. This year was no different – the House budget proposal left it out, and we made sure it got in and stayed put until the final budget vote June 30.

The only county and community fairs going for the next week or so are west of the Cascades. But as we get deeper into August, the distance to a fair shortens. First it’s Yakima, then Grant County; the Benton-Franklin Fair kicks off Aug. 22, and my hometown Wheat Land Communities’ Fair gets under way Aug. 31.

Going to a fair doesn’t just celebrate our agricultural heritage, and support the folks involved – it also gives me stronger attendance figures to mention when the next budget debate comes around!