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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