Tag Archives: rural Washington

Schoesler to serve on Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee

Sen. Mark Schoesler will return to the Senate committee that addresses agricultural issues when the Legislature’s 2025 session begins next month.

The 9th District senator today learned he has been appointed to the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

Schoesler, a fifth-generation farmer who grows wheat, barley and fall peas and raises cattle, is pleased about coming back to the ag panel. For many years, his Senate leadership responsibilities prevented him from serving on that committee. Schoesler stepped down as Senate Republican leader in November 2020 after eight years.

“In addition to being a longtime farmer, I represent and serve a district that relies on agriculture,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “Ag remains an important part of our region’s economy. I understand the challenges that farmers and ranchers face. I look forward to again offering an ag-friendly voice on this committee when session starts.”

Schoesler will continue his long streak of serving on the Senate Ways and Means Committee when the Legislature convenes Jan. 13 for 105 days. The 2025 session will mark the 21st straight year Schoesler has been a member of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee since joining the Senate in 2005.

“I take great pride and responsibility in serving on the Ways and Means Committee and I’m pleased to continue doing so,” said Schoesler. “Tax and spending issues have always been among my highest priorities as a legislator. As a Ways and Means member, I watch out for families and businesses in my district and our state by working to keep taxes and spending in check.”

Schoesler will again be the Ways and Means Committee’s lead Republican on the capital budget, which helps fund construction projects for state government buildings, state parks and colleges and universities.

“In this role, I work with my fellow Republicans and lead Democrats on the committee to produce a list of worthwhile projects to include in the state capital budget for the next two years, including those impacting local school districts and higher education institutions like WSU and Eastern,” said Schoesler, whose district includes the Pullman-based Washington State University and Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

Schoesler also will continue serving on the recently renamed Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. He says he will continue advocating for regulatory reform and other issues that will benefit Washington’s job creators and working families.

“My years of experience in the business of farming have helped me understand regulatory issues, which along with workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance are among the key topics this committee addresses. I know how overzealous regulations imposed by government agencies can be as hard on employers as taxes,” said Schoesler.

Schoesler said the Labor and Commerce Committee should focus on shrinking and simplifying Washington’s vast, complex regulatory system.

“Washington’s regulatory code has over 196,000 separate regulations, which is more than all but five states have. That should tell you there is serious need for reform – and this committee is the place to start,” added Schoesler.

Schoesler represents the 9th Legislative District, which covers all or part of Adams, Asotin, Franklin, Garfield, Spokane and Whitman counties.

Schoesler encourages people to access COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide

State Sen. Mark Schoesler wants residents of the 9th Legislative District and other rural parts of Washington to know the U.S. Department of Agriculture has created a guide with links to various federal agencies and programs that rural areas may need during the COVID-19 situation.

People may access the COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide by going to https://www.rd.usda.gov/sites/default/files/USDA_COVID-19_Fed_Rural_Resource_Guide.pdf.

“This online guide by the USDA includes links for businesses, consumers, families, agriculture, nonprofits and tribes about technical assistance, financial assistance and general state and local government resources,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “The guide covers a wide range of resources that can help so many of us here in our district and other rural areas of our state. These are tough times for so many of us, so I encourage people to take a look at the guide and see how it can help them.”

Columbia Basin Development League presents Schoesler with award

State Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, has received an award from the Columbia Basin Development League for his longtime legislative efforts on behalf of communities and irrigators in the basin area.

The organization presented Schoesler with its Perseverance Award Tuesday during its 55th annual meeting, held in Moses Lake.

“The league chose Senator Schoesler to receive the Perseverance Award for demonstrating the ability to fight for his constituents and the region, no matter the odds,” said Vicky Scharlau, the CBDL’s executive director. “We appreciate the longstanding commitment Senator Schoesler has provided to his district, especially irrigators and communities desperate for a reliable source of water.”

“I’m very honored to receive this award,” said Schoesler. “For the Columbia Basin to not only survive but thrive, it needs enough water for both communities and an agriculture industry that provides many jobs. That’s why I’ve devoted so much time and energy to finding ways to help this area meet its water needs. With the help of many individuals and organizations like the CBDL, we’ve accomplished quite a bit, but there is more to do.”

Schoesler is the sixth recipient of the award, which was created by the CBDL in 2011. He joins other recent recipients, including former 4th District U.S. Rep. “Doc” Hastings and state Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sandison, who formerly served as director of the state Department of Ecology’s Office of Columbia River.

The Columbia Basin Development League is a nonprofit organization that has supported the Bureau of Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project and its future development since 1964.

Schoesler represents the 9th Legislative District, which covers all or part of Adams, Asotin, Franklin, Garfield, Spokane and Whitman counties.

Schoesler: Democrat tax increase will hurt rural Washington, key state industry

Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler blasted the Senate’s approval tonight of a bill that would raise fuel costs through a higher tax on one of the state’s leading industries and be particularly hard on rural Washington.

Substitute Senate Bill 5993 was passed virtually along party lines, 27-22. It now goes to the House for consideration.

During his floor speech opposing the bill, Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said he was voting against a war on rural Washington, higher taxes and oil refineries, an industry that provides family-wage jobs to many workers.

“This increase in the hazardous-substance tax is just the first of several massive tax increases planned by the Senate majority, even though the proponents say it’s ‘only’ $133 million in new taxes. Only $133 million,” said Schoesler. “It’s a continuation of the war on rural Washington. These refineries are primarily located in rural areas, with salaries that nothing else in those areas will match. The people who use heating oil don’t live in hip urban neighborhoods. They tend to live in small towns that you and many others have never heard of. They drive their cars long distances. They will be punished. Agriculture will be punished. This is part of a war on rural Washington that needs to stop.”    

Schoesler said the bill would pull $475 million out of the state economy over the next two years, with little of this additional money going to toxic cleanups.

“It will hurt high-wage, blue-collar jobs in the oil industry, which in turn will have a ripple effect on local economies,” said Schoesler. “This proposal will result in higher fuel prices, which will especially hurt commuters and those who have to drive long distances. It will be like another gas tax on drivers without any benefit to roads. And it basically will allow the hazardous-substance tax to be indexed for inflation by growing upward. It’s just another way to squeeze more tax money out of Washingtonians under the guise of trying to clean up toxic substances.”       

Of the $475 million in tax revenue on petroleum products that would be generated under SSB 5993 for the 2019-21 biennium, only $106 million – or 25 percent – would go to the state capital budget for toxic cleanup. Meanwhile, $255 million would go to the state operating budget.  Of the revenue collected from the tax on petroleum products, only 15 percent would be devoted to stormwater-cleanup programs.   

“In a session full of terrible bills passed by the Democratic majority in the Senate, this one is among the worst,” said Schoesler. “This bill offers a false promise. It is less about actually helping with toxic cleanups and more about pumping more money into the state’s operating and transportation budgets.  It’s a step backward for actually cleaning up toxic sites in Washington.”

Republicans introduced several amendments to soften the proposal’s negative impacts, but majority Democrats defeated all of them. One amendment, offered by 42nd District Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, would have removed the annual inflationary growth factor from the tax rate.

Another amendment, sponsored by 13th District Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, sought to preserve an exemption for crop protection products, many of which are stored in Franklin County. Schoesler was especially disappointed by its defeat. “By rejecting that amendment, the majority eliminated a very useful and friendly exemption that served Franklin County and producers with safe crop production products across the state.”  

The state model toxics control program is administered by the state Department of Ecology to ensure that most sites where hazardous substances were released are cleaned up. MCTA is funded by the hazardous-substance tax. About 95 percent of the revenue comes from the HST on petroleum products.