Governor signs Warnick, Manweller bills

Governor signs Warnick, Manweller bills

Bills prime-sponsored by Reps. Judy Warnick and Matt Manweller were signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee today.

House Bill 1634 will allow solar, geothermal and biomass energy facilities to be treated the same as wind power facilities for taxing purposes.

“We have seen a significant amount of wind turbines in our region and around the state. This bill levels the playing field by treating new construction for solar, geothermal and biomass energy facilities the same as wind projects or construction,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “With the potential of development of other alternative energy sources, this law will help local governments pay for the impacts of these projects.”

“This will generate additional revenue for school buildings and other public projects without shifting any burden to homeowners,” said Manweller, R-Ellensburg.

House Bill 1417 makes numerous changes to the administration of irrigation districts.

“Water is the livelihood for many in our region. No matter what the snowpack is in the mountains, or if we are dealing with cracks in dams, the demand for water doesn’t decrease,” Manweller said. “Anything we can do to improve the flow of water, or even the administration of it, is helpful to all of us in the Thirteenth District, not just the irrigators.”

“This legislation makes a number of technical fixes to statutes that have been identified by irrigation districts in recent years as containing problems,” Warnick said. “Many of our irrigation statutes are outdated and need to be cleaned up. Many are common-sense requests that will improve the administration of these districts.”

The law will:

• increase dollar thresholds, increasing the number of days within which hearings must be held, and altering procedures for reviewing delinquent assessments and initiating foreclosure;
• authorize districts to approve and condition placement of hydroelectric generation facilities under certain circumstances; and 
• provide that contracts to indemnify against liability for damages caused by the federal government are not enforceable absent express authorization in state law.

Both laws go into effect June 12, 2014.

PHOTO: Gov. Jay Inslee signs House Bill 1417, prime-sponsored by Rep. Judy Warnick and co-sponsored by Rep. Matt Manweller. Photo credit: Washington State House of Representatives.

PHOTO: Gov. Jay Inslee signs House Bill 1634, prime-sponsored by Rep. Matt Manweller and Rep. Judy Warnick. Photo credit: Washington State House of Representatives.

For more information about Rep. Warnick, visit: www.representativejudywarnick.com.
For more information about Rep. Manweller, visit: www.representativemattmanweller.com.

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Rep. Warnick’s media:

Rep. Manweller’s media: