House Republicans’ Home | Our Solutions for Agriculture | House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
During the 2013 session, I’ll be providing updates for those interested in agriculture and natural resource issues. I hope you’ll share this e-mail with others that want to stay informed about actions the Legislature is taking that may affect growers, producers, manufacturers, ranchers and landowners in Washington.
Recent news related to agriculture:
Coming up in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, we’ll be holding hearings on several important pieces of legislation:
- Earlier today (Jan. 22), we discussed a proposal to effectively manage Yakima Basin water resources. I’m sponsoring House Bill 1196 to use an integrated approach to managing water. This is an important step in addressing our future water for residential and municipal needs, as well as being environmental stewards.
- Jan. 23 – A work session will be held on exempt wells and pesticide management, and a hearing will be held on creating a program to teach agriculture labor skills and safety.
- Jan. 24 – The public will have the chance weigh in on management of hatcheries and payments in lieu of property taxes (PILT) for counties.
- Jan. 31 – We’ll discuss several proposals:
- Addressing the cottage food industry (sponsored by Rep. Overstreet)
- Christmas tree licensing (sponsored by Rep. MacEwen)
- Under producing agriculture land
In the news, you may have read about a cow in Washington with possible tuberculosis. The good news is that it appears this was kept out of the food supply. Last year, I sponsored a bill that was passed into law to improve the response to livestock diseases such as this. The goal was to improve the state’s ability to identify and trace the source while protecting ranchers’ sensitive business and financial information. We’ll be following the issue and working with the state veterinarian, Dr. Leonard Eldridge, to ensure the system is working to keep our food safe.
My goals for agriculture are to ensure the vitality of the industry by crafting policies that are based on sound science and the best for the future of one of our state’s core industries.
I encourage you to contact me with your questions, concerns or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Bruce Chandler, R-Granger
15th Legislative DistrictE-mail: bruce.chandler@leg.wa.gov
Web site: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/chandler
427B Legislative Building – P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7960 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000
