 On Wednesday, U.S. Representatives Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers stopped by for a visit with Senate Republicans. They represent Central and Eastern Washington in Washington D.C., and it's always great when they can visit with us in Olympia. Congresswoman McMorris-Rodgers also helped us celebrate a record number of Republican women in the Senate.
Dead or Alive: Which bills survived the legislative cutoff?
As of today, we are two-thirds the way through the 60-day legislative session. On Tuesday we finished voting on bills originating in the Senate. Those bills have now moved to the House of Representatives. Officially, we’ve reached the point where only bills that have passed one chamber, or those considered necessary to implement the budget (NTIB), can continue to advance. All other bills are considered dead for the session. Of course, no bill is ever truly dead as long as the Legislature is in session.
It was a busy first half of this legislative session, with the Senate committees advancing more than 560 pieces of Senate legislation – 184 of which were passed and sent on to the House of Representatives for its consideration.
We are now back in our assigned committees – Ag, Water & Rural Economic Development; Energy, Environment & Telecommunications; Early Learning & K-12 Education; and Transportation committees for me – hearing public testimony on approved bills from the House.
Below I list my bills that are still “alive,” including two that are NTIB but not yet approved by the full Senate.
Please also take a few minutes and watch my latest video update.
Thank you for the great honor of serving as your state Senator. My door is always open to you and I hope you will stop by, call, or email with any questions, concerns, or ideas that you may have.
 Video update on bills at the two-thirds point in session
 Legislation Update
Listed below you will find a list of my bills that have been approved by the Senate or are technically still alive because they contain a monetary component. You can click on the bill number for more information.
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Senate Bill 6515 -- This bill, which is official known as the Reinvest in Washington Jobs Act, would create a pilot program to provide incentives for investments in Washington state job creation and economic development. The program would be established in five manufacturing facilities, two of which would be in Eastern Washington.
Although this bill has not been voted on by the full Senate, it is still alive as there is a budget component to the bill, and it is a key component of our jobs agenda. As you know, the idea for this bill originated with Mayor Steve Young of Kennewick and reflects the economic development work of a lot of our brightest minds in the Tri-Cities.
This week, I had the opportunity to discuss my plan with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. It was great to be able to brag a little on the Tri-Cities and some of the exciting work we are doing to bring jobs to the region.
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Senate Bill 6045 is my bill promoting job creation by improving the transparency and predictability of state agency permitting and review processes. This bill passed the Senate 43-3 back on Feb. 5, and is scheduled for a public hearing and executive session in the House Committee on Government Operations & Elections at 10:00 AM on Tuesday.
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Senate Bill 6058 is my bill to permit incremental hydroelectricity produced by efficiency improvements to count as renewable under the state’s clean energy mandates. Making this change will help make energy more affordable and help our employers have more resources they can use to put Washingtonians back to work. The measure passed in the Senate on Feb. 14 with a vote of 28-20. The bill is now in the House of Representatives, where it received a public hearing in the House Committee on Technology & Economic Development. On Feb. 20, I was happy to be able to testify on the bill, along with a number of folks from the Tri-Cities, representing utilities and ratepayers.
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Senate Bill 6442, which was inspired by Richland’s Growler Guys, would allow cider to be sold in a growler, just like beer or wine. It passed the Senate 45-4 on Feb. 13, and is scheduled for a hearing in the House Government Accountability & Oversight committee on Monday, Feb. 24 at 1:30 PM.
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SB 6057 would provide tax credits for hiring individuals with developmental disabilities. This bill has not had a full vote of the Senate yet, but is necessary to implement the budget and, therefore, still alive this session.
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Senate Bill 6059, which passed the Senate unanimously on Feb. 14, was suggested by former Senator Jerome Delvin. It would allow counties to recover the costs for scanning public records. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Government Operations & Elections at 10:00 AM on Tuesday.
On Feb. 19 and 20, the
2014 Washington State Council of Fire
Fighters annual Legislative Conference brought a number of our local
firefighters to Olympia.
The WSCFF was founded
on September 1, 1939, and represents 130 affiliated local fire fighter unions
and more than 6900 affiliated members of the International Association of Fire
Fighters (IAFF) within the state.
The WSCFF’s mission is
to provide the best possible working conditions, the safest work environment,
and the fairest wages and benefits to fulfill the needs of the men and women in
this profession.
It’s always a joy to
spend time with these heroes, hearing their concerns and their perspectives on
legislation impacting them.
 On Thursday, members of the Benton Rural Electric Association joined me in testifying before a House committee on Senate Bill 6058 – my measure to make incremental hydropower a renewable resource. The Benton REA is a not-for-profit electric cooperative, owned by the ratepayers they serve. I really appreciated the guys coming all the way from the Tri-Cities to help fight for their ratepayers.
Reps. Brad Klippert, Larry Haler and I invite you to attend an upcoming town hall meeting this Saturday, Feb. 22. These events will be hosted at three separate locations – Richland, West Richland, and Kennewick.
Following an overview about the current 2014 legislative session, you are encouraged to ask questions, make comments, and voice your concerns about measures before the Legislature and issues affecting the 8th District.
The 8th District town meetings will be held at the following locations and times:
Richland City Hall/Council Chamber
505 Swift Blvd., Richland, WA 99352
8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
West Richland Library
3803 W. Van Giesen, West Richland, WA 99353
10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Kennewick City Hall Council Chambers
210 W. 6th Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336
1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
If you are unable to attend, I still want to hear from you. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact my office. Remember: I work for you and hearing from you is the best way for me to do my job. As always, it remains my honor to serve you in the Washington State Senate.
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
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