Van De Wege day of firsts marked by natural resource bills

February 5, 2007

OLYMPIA – In his fifth week in the Legislature, Van De Wege today marked two firsts. His first floor speech on legislation helping public safety workers on our state lands led to its final passage, also his first bill voted out of the House.

After the passage of his first bill (HB 1124), Van De Wege’s (D-Sequim) second bill, dealing with timber values (HB 1185), also received final House approval.

“Coming into this session I wanted to work on issues critical to my district and these are two much-needed natural resource bills I was glad to sponsor,” Van De Wege said.

HB 1124 allows public safety employees in the Department of Natural Resources to enroll in an existing retirement system made available to other state employees also serving in public safety roles.

Before winning unanimous approval for his first bill, legislators feigned concern over the proposal. One member, Rep. Geoff Simpson, offered a tongue-in-cheek speech opposing the bill and about 30 members sought to worry Van De Wege by voting no before switching to yes votes before the count was locked 95-0 in favor.

After the vote was closed, Van De Wege’s 24th District seatmate, Rep. Lynn Kessler (D-Hoquiam), led the House chamber in a round of congratulatory applause.

“Each day I learn more about how the House works and today was no different,” Van De Wege said. “As good as it felt to get this first one through, there are many more on issues like education and health care that I want to see taken care of too.”

HB 1185 is a maintenance bill for a program calculating timber value, allowing the Department of Revenue to continue collecting information and generating reports which would end in July.

Both pieces of legislation now await direction from the Senate where it must be approved before Gov. Gregoire can sign them into law.

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Staff contact: Andrew Dziedzic (360) 786-7218

Bill information:

HB 1124: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1124&year=2007

HB 1185: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1185&year=2007

Radio and TV News Directors: To obtain broadcast-quality audio on this issue, or to arrange for TV or radio interviews, please contact Caucus Broadcast Coordinator Dan Frizzell at ^{frizzell.dan@leg.wa.gov or 360.786.7208.}