19th District legislators to hold tele-town hall meeting

Tomorrow night residents of the 19^th Legislative District will have the chance to ask their legislative members questions without leaving their homes.

On the evening of Tuesday, April 17^th, Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, and Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, will take part in a telephone town hall meeting.  Residents of the district will receive a phone call at or around 6 p.m., asking if they would like to participate in the live event.  Those who do will have the chance to join thousands of their fellow constituents in directly asking the members questions or sharing concerns they have for the 19^th District and the state.

Constituents who do not receive a phone call may participate in the meeting simply by calling 1-877-229-8493 and entering the ID code (PIN) number 18646 when prompted.

And the Legislator of the Year Award from the Farm Bureau goes to…

Our very own Rep. Brian Blake!

The Washington Farm Bureau has been awarding this honor to one or more legislators every year since 1995. Their criteria are based on the lawmaker’s voting record and outstanding actions to help strengthen family farms.
 

This session Blake, chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, was chosen by the Bureau for championing funding of the Department of Agriculture and the Conservation Commissions-services critical to the continued success of Washington’s agricultural businesses.
 

We congratulate Rep. Brian Blake for this important recognition!

Read the press release here.

Legislative Committee heads to Okanogan

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee will hold a work session tomorrow, Sept. 29, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Okanogan County Courthouse.

“These are difficult economic times and our focus should be not only on creating new jobs, but also on protecting the ones we already have, especially in our core industries like tree fruit growing, mining and logging,” said Rep. Brian Blake, committee chairman and a former logger. “I’m looking forward to getting in-depth information on the current situation, as well as the present and future needs of these basic industries to ensure they continue being strong pillars in our economy.”

Citizens are welcome to attend the work session, but no public testimony will be taken during the meeting. However, written testimony to the committee will be accepted before and after the meeting.

Who: Committee members; invited guest presenters, including regional county commissioners; and the public.

What: House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee work session

When: Thursday, Sept. 29

Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Where: Okanogan County Courthouse, 123 Fifth Avenue North, Room 150, Okanogan

To read this blog post in Spanish, please go here.

Legal to buy and own, but not to use – how does that make sense?

If you have a firearm noise suppressor in a box collecting dust, soon you’ll be dusting it off and will get to use it if the governor signs a bill that passed the legislature this week.

This is a big deal for hunters and for folks who like to shoot targets in ranges because, under current law, it’s legal to purchase and own noise suppressors but it’s illegal to use them.

Huh?

“That’s like saying it is ok to buy a TV set but it’s illegal to turn it on,” said Rep. Brian Blake, who sponsored House Bill 1016.

“My bill simply brings coherence to the statute by making it legal to use suppressors that are duly registered in accordance with federal law,” said Blake.

The bill does absolutely nothing to weaken current requirements for purchasing a noise suppressor. Prospective buyers will still have to go through the background check, get approval from law enforcement, pay a $200 fee, and be registered with the National Firearms Act database.

Representatives of law enforcement agencies supported this bill because noise suppressors allow them to provide more training opportunities, are safer to use when breaking up meth labs, and help prevent hearing loss for police officers on the job. And neighbors of indoor and outdoor shooting ranges will also appreciate the decrease in noise.

Falcons in the Capitol?

It’s not every day that a group of citizens brings forth a bill that increases a fee they have to pay. It’s also not every day that words like falconry, red tail hawks, prey and mice are said in a legislative hearing. Both things happened in this afternoon’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing when SSB 6644 came up for consideration.

“The state is facing a crisis and we want to do our part by paying for the administration services that oversee our program,” said Geoff Hirschi, a member of the Washington Falconers Association, when he delivered his testimony.

Falconry is sport that has been around for a long time and is a partnership between a human and a falcon (a variety of different raptors are considered falcons), where the falcon hunts for the human. Falconry is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service but that service is will soon come to an end. This bill shifts falconry administration to the State under the Department of Fish and Wildlife and imposes a fee for this purpose. The bill includes provisions to allow out-of-state people to hunt in Washington, and to capture, under very strict conditions, raptors that may not exist in their state. SSB 6644 also clarifies trapping requirements.

The falconry community and the Department of Fish and Wildlife support this legislation fully.

Last month the Senate was lucky to have an actual live falcon when the bill was first heard. Due to time restrictions, the falconers were not encouraged to bring one of their birds of prey today, but here’s a recent picture of Rep. Brian Blake, chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, masterfully handling a falcon.

Woe is H2O

Oh, water. We like to drink it, flush it, clean with it, sprinkle it sparingly on our lawns, and even share it with our animal friends. We like it clean, we like it abundant, and we like it now.

Unfortunately, water supplies are being stretched and the resulting competition for diminishing supply is causing major conflicts. Especially in Eastern Washington where demand is exacerbated by agricultural and livestock operations.

The issue is complex and affects rural families, ranchers, tribes, and other interests. As described in this article, at heart of much of the discussion is a long-standing exemption that allows unlimited use of water for livestock. The state Department of Ecology worries the exemption is being abused by some dairy and feedlot operators who should be seeking a permit to draw up groundwater.

The Legislature took up the issue earlier this year though not much happened in the way of legislation.

What did happen was the formation of a new Stock Water Working Group, a committee made up of folks from the farming and enviro communities, state agencies, federal government and Native American tribes. State Reps. John McCoy and Brian Blake will serve on the group which is tasked with providing recommendations for the Legislature to consider next session.

McCoy says he's "committed to finding strategies for responsible and realistic water-conservation. " The committee has until December to come up with such strategies so stay tuned as discussions unfold.

And may we offer you a glass of water while you wait?