Dear Friends,
This is the 8th week of the
2017 legislative session and many measures are moving forward in Olympia. On
Monday the Senate passed two of my bills with broad bipartisan support, and
even more could be approved in the next couple of days.
We will continue voting on
Senate bills through next Wednesday, March 8. Bills that haven’t moved forward
by then are considered off the table for this session. After that we will move
back to committee hearings where we will consider bills that passed the House
of Representatives.
Of course, any bill that is
necessary for one of our state budgets will remain alive.
As always, if there is anything
I can do for you as your state senator, please give me a call or send an
e-mail. I’d be happy to help however I can.
Sincerely,
Sharon Brown State Senator 8th District
Senate reaches fiscal cut-off as action moves to the
floor
On Monday, the first day set aside solely
for voting in the Senate chamber this year, the Senate approved two of my bills
that are aimed at addressing statewide problems but were brought to me by
Tri-Cities residents.
Substitute Senate Bill 5051,
which passed unanimously, would require DNR to provide at least 180 days’
written notice and include documentation regarding the termination in any
early-termination provision included in an agricultural or grazing state-land
lease. It also makes it clear that “early termination” provisions are not
required to be included in DNR leases.
By a vote of 48 to 1, the Senate also
passed Substitute Senate Bill 5560 – my
bill to create a special permit to sell wine through an auction and allow wine
tastings at the auction.
This is a regulatory streamlining bill. Currently
the state Liquor and Cannabis Board must cobble together all the permits that
are required for each winery participating in a charitable wine auction. This
requires hours of work on the part of the LCB. My bill would streamline the
process, so the permits can be completed in several days instead of several months.
Under the bill, the LCB would be
authorized to issue a special permit allowing a nonprofit organization to sell
wine through a private auction. The permit holder could conduct wine tastings
at the auction, as long as the wine offered for tasting is the same as that
being auctioned.
Both
bills now move to the House of Representatives for its consideration
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It’s always great to welcome visitors to the Capitol, but
never so much as when they are young people taking an interest in their
government. It’s even better when they are from Tri-Cities.
On Feb. 20, more than 150 Washington State University
students came to Olympia to push for higher education during the annual Coug
Day at the Capitol event.
Organized by the Associated Students of Washington State
University, the delegation included students from all WSU campuses — including about
25 from WSU Tri-Cities. (see picture above)
Also participating was a delegation of graduate students. I
was pleased to welcome representatives of the WSU Graduate and Professional
Student Association to my office. (see picture below)
Higher education has been a priority for our bipartisan Senate coalition since we became the majority in 2013. We will continue to make college affordability and access to college a priority moving forward.
Go Cougs!
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