Landmark water rights bill passes Senate

By REBECCA COOK
The Associated Press
4/18/01 2:07 AM

OLYMPIA, WA (AP) -- A sweeping water rights bill that has been fought over for more than a decade survived one more fight to pass the Senate. The governor is expected to sign it into law.

The bill aims to speed up the arduous water rights permitting process. About 7,000 people are in line for water rights, and some have waited more than a decade.

"It means everything to agriculture," said Rep. Tim Sheldon, D-Hoodsport. "Without progress on water rights, not only agriculture but other industries have been just stymied in our state ... It's one of the most important issues of the session."

Sheldon joined Republicans in the Senate on Tuesday to vote down 27 amendments, some of which would have added money for implementing the bill. The Senate is split 25-24, with Democrats holding a one-vote majority.

Democratic senators voting for the amendments said the bill is useless without money.

"Without the money it's a hollow promise," said Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, who sponsored an amendment to spend $15 million to help farmers conserve water and to buy trust water rights. The amendment failed 25-24, with Sheldon joining Republicans to defeat it.

The bill, already passed by the House, changes a water rights system that Republicans and Democrats agree has been failing for years. The governor made water legislation a top priority this year. Among other things, House Bill 1832 does the following:

--Sets up two lines for water permits; one for new applications and one for transfers or changes to existing water rights. The goal is to let simple transfers be processed quickly. Of the 7,000 pending applications, about 1,800 involve changes.

--Allows local water conservancy boards, in addition to the Department of Ecology, to make decisions on changes to water rights.

--Allows family farm water rights to be transferred to other uses, such as municipal or residential.

--Adjusts the "use it or lose it" policy. Under current law, if you do not use your water within five years, you lose the right to it. This provides little incentive for conservation. The bill allows water users to relinquish some of their water without losing it forever.

Republicans teamed up with Sheldon to skip the normal process in which a bill is voted out of committee. Instead they brought it straight to the floor -- known as "rolling" the committee chairwoman, in this case Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Lacey. Then they voted down all attempts to amend the bill. Amending a bill means it returns to the House for concurrence, and Republicans insisted the water bill go straight to the governor.

"I flew to Yakima with the governor, I saw the trees lying on the ground, saw the devastation over there-- " said Senate Minority Leader Jim West, R-Spokane, appearing to choke up with tears.

"Forgive me," he said, regaining his composure. "People are hurting, and we're playing games. Let's stop it, damn it, and send this bill to the governor."

West's words incensed Majority Leader Sid Snyder, D-Long Beach, who found himself in the unwelcome position of being in the minority.

"I intend to vote for this bill, but that doesn't mean we can't put an amendment on it!" Snyder shouted. "I'm not trying to foul this bill up! ... I don't like accusations we're trying to kill this bill when we're trying to make it more acceptable."

Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient, said it was time to stop tinkering and pass the bill. A similar bill died in the last moments of the 2000 session.

"Its contents have been scrutinized," Morton said. "We have worked and worked this thing for 20 years. Now we've adopted it, let's put it into practice."

In the end, 16 Democrats voted against the bill, most disgruntled about the rejected amendments. Snyder voted for it.

"It is important," he said. "It is a fair bill. It would have been a much improved bill if they had accepted some of our amendments."

Fraser voted no, mainly because all her amendments had been rejected, although she had originally sponsored a companion bill in the Senate.

"I'm glad the bill passed, there are good things in it," she said. "I always knew it was going to pass. It's a mixed bag."

The water bill wasn't the only significant bill passed Tuesday. The House passed three bills, cosponsored by Rep. Gary Chandler, R-Moses Lake, and Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, who also cosponsored the water bill.

House Bill 1886 exempts animal medications from sales tax; HB 1906 exempts farm equipment from sales tax; and HB 2138 gives a tax break to dairy processors. All three tax breaks add up to less than $8 million in the budget, Chandler said.

"That's not a whole lot of money, but I'll take every break I possibly can," Chandler said. Papers in his Eastern Washington district are filled with ads for auctions as farmers are forced into bankruptcy.

"These packages are actually coming very, very late for some, but maybe they can help the next ones," Chandler said.

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