Tag Archives: Sen. Mark Schoesler

Schoesler joins in celebrating new water-delivery system near Warden

An event yesterday celebrating a new water-delivery system at the EL 47.5 pump station, located several miles from Warden, attracted several officials, including 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler.

“This new water-delivery system is a key part of ongoing efforts to provide needed irrigation water for agriculture without relying on the Odessa aquifer, which is dangerously low,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “I was pleased to join others in celebrating the new addition to this needed irrigation system for the region.

“As farmers in the Columbia Basin and elsewhere know, you can’t grow crops without water. The serious possibility of not having enough water to irrigate crops would not only be devastating for this part of the state, but it would cause a huge hit to Washington’s economy, which relies on agricultural exports.”

Schoesler was among several speakers at the event. Other speakers included Duaine Anderson, board president of the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District; Mark Maynard, Ephrata field office manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Tom Tebb, director of the Columbia River for the state Department of Ecology; and Derek Sandison, director of the state Department of Agriculture.

The new two-year state capital budget recently approved by the Legislature includes $21 million in funding for the Odessa groundwater replacement program. This program will help provide irrigation water for the part of the Columbia Basin that has relied on the Odessa aquifer, which is being depleted slowly but surely.

According to the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, the new water-delivery system will reduce the depletion of the Odessa aquifer’s groundwater by up to 73 million gallons a day. Go here to learn more about the new 47.5 delivery system.

CAPTION: Sen. Mark Schoesler speaks during a windy ceremony celebrating a new water-delivery system at the EL 47.5 pump station near Warden.

Governor signs Schoesler bill offering property-tax relief for residents rebuilding homes ruined by wildfires

Gov. Jay Inslee has signed bipartisan legislation sponsored by 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler that will provide temporary property-tax relief for Malden-area residents and other Washingtonians who are rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by wildfires last September.

Under Senate Bill 5454, Washington residents who lost a home to wildfire between Sept. 1 and Sept. 19, 2020, will be exempt from paying property taxes on the full value of the original structure for three years, if the home is being rebuilt or physically improved.

The Senate passed the measure 49-0 on March 9. The House approved it 97-1 on April 11.

Nearly 300 homes, including more than 120 residences in or near the Whitman County towns of Malden and Pine City, were destroyed by wildfires that burned different parts of Washington last September.

“I’m pleased this bill has been signed into law because it will help those people across the state who lost their homes in the terrible wildfires last Labor Day,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, whose district includes Whitman County. “These homeowners lost practically everything, and families and individuals have struggled to recover. Some of them didn’t have homeowner insurance. This bill offers them some temporary tax relief to help ease their financial burden as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives.”

Schoesler thanked the bipartisan group of senators who co-sponsored the bill, including Sens. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick; David Frockt, D-Seattle; Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside; Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley; Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island; Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim; Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley; Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake; and Jeff Wilson, R-Longview.

According to a Spokane news report, 121 homes, eight commercial properties and 94 other structures were destroyed by the Labor Day wildfire in or near Malden and Pine City.

Statewide, 298 homes were lost in the September wildfires. In all, more than 700 structures were lost. More than 600,000 acres burned in Washington during the two weeks after Labor Day.

 

Senate approves ‘high-cost fuel standard’ bill

The Senate tonight narrowly passed a bill that would create a “high-cost fuel standard” in Washington.

 House Bill 1091, approved 27-20, returns to the House of Representatives for concurrence, or agreement, with a Senate amendment to the proposal.

“This bill is the latest attempt by Governor Inslee to cram what he calls a ‘low-carbon’ fuel standard down Washingtonians’ throats,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “There certainly is no guarantee this bill would improve the climate, but we can be guaranteed that fuel costs will skyrocket once this bill becomes law. Worse yet, it will act like a very expensive gas tax, but without any benefit to our roads.”

Schoesler said the Puget Sound Area Clean Air agency estimates costs of a similar localized LCFS program in 2019 would increase 57 cents per gallon for gasoline and rise 63 cents a gallon for diesel.

“Between the sharp increase in fuel prices caused by this bill and the ‘cap and tax’ bill that the Senate passed earlier tonight, it’s going to be a total shock for drivers when they fill up at the pump once these bills are implemented,” said Schoesler. “If you need to drive long distances for work or other reasons, this one-two punch courtesy of the Democrats is going to hit your wallet hard. This bill punishes people who can least afford it, and it will hurt agriculture in our state by imposing extra costs on farmers. This bill will put our economy at risk. People should think of Governor Inslee when they pay more at the pump because he’s the one who wanted it all along.”

The proposal would direct the Department of Ecology to adopt rules aimed at achieving a 20% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from fuel by 2035.

Under HB 1091, refiners would be required to blend gas and diesel with advanced biofuels to reduce the carbon content of fuel. Only a 2-4%reduction in emissions can be accomplished this way, and this is only a small part of the program. Most of the program (80-90 percent) is about creating a “credit market” managed by Ecology, requiring refiners to pay for government-approved carbon-reduction programs. Costs likely would be passed on to consumers. At least half the money would go to programs to promote electric cars.

Governor signs Schoesler’s rural-ambulance bill into law

A bill prime-sponsored by Sen. Mark Schoesler making it easier for two tiny Whitman County towns to continue providing joint ambulance service was signed today by Gov. Jay Inslee.

A 2017 state law allows rural ambulance-service providers to overcome personnel shortages by allowing ambulance drivers who don’t have first aid or medical training. It inadvertently left out ambulance services shared by two or more municipalities.

“This bill will allow the continued operations of shared ambulance services so communities like Farmington and Garfield don’t have to turn to other providers farther away, simply because the driver of the ambulance isn’t trained in first aid,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville.

Schoesler’s proposal, Senate Bill 5198, permits ambulance services established by an association comprising two or more municipalities in a rural area to use a driver without any medical or first-aid training.

“This bill and the state law it updates both work because when an ambulance carries a patient to a hospital, the driver really doesn’t have a role in caring for the patient,” said Schoesler. “The EMTs in the back really are the persons in charge. The driver simply needs to be at least 18, pass a background check, and possess a valid driver’s license with no restrictions. This is a common-sense bill that uses the co-op principle to meet the needs of rural communities. Having it become law is a victory for Farmington and Garfield.”

Schoesler says agricultural groups oppose ‘cap-and-tax’ bill, contrary to claims by Democrat senator

No one should believe claims that the state’s agricultural industry backs a Democratic senator’s “cap-and-tax” bill, considering how disastrous the proposal would be to this key part of Washington’s economy, says 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler.

Schoesler cited a recent story in the Capital Press agriculture publication in which reporter Don Jenkins quoted officials with the Washington Farm Bureau, Northwest Agricultural Cooperative Council and Washington’s Cattlemen’s Association. All countered Sen. Reuven Carlyle’s recent claim that the state’s agricultural industry is an “enthusiastic supporter” of the cap-and-tax proposal, Senate Bill 5126.

“When you have officials from these important ag groups all saying this claim by Senator Carlyle is false, it really makes you shake your head,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, who runs a wheat farm and is a fifth-generation farmer. “As someone who serves an agricultural district, I’ve been in touch with a wide section of people in this sector. At best, they are apprehensive about this proposal. At worst, they are flat-out against it. People need to remember that farmers and growers are price takers, not price setters. If this bill becomes law, it will drive up food prices, which is bad news for consumers, especially those on a small income.”

Senate Bill 5126 has been placed on the Senate’s voting calendar after being approved along party lines by the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee, Senate Ways and Means Committee and Senate Rules Committee.

“When Senator Carlyle claimed in Ways and Means that his bill has support from agriculture, he followed it with a mention of reforestation. Trees are definitely an important rotational crop in Washington, but if the good senator from Seattle doesn’t know our agricultural sector is about much more than forestry, I’d encourage him to leave the city and pay a visit to the farms that grow our food and are so important to trade in our state,” Schoesler said.

“The fact that this bill never went to the Senate Transportation Committee, despite the enormous effect it could have on the cost of fuel, clearly indicates Democratic leaders don’t care much about the negative effect it will have on drivers, and on companies that rely on our roads to ship products and goods,” said Schoesler.

People who wish to comment to Democratic leaders on a particular bill can call the toll-free Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and share their thoughts.

The 2021 legislative session is scheduled to end April 25.

Schoesler opposes Senate panel’s passage of ‘climate commitment’ bill

A Democrat-sponsored “carbon cap and tax” bill passed tonight by the Senate Ways and Means Committee would punish Washington citizens and companies, argues 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler.

The Ways and Means Committee voted 13-10 to pass Senate Bill 5126. Schoesler, a member of the panel, voted against the proposal.

“This is another bill that would punish people and companies, without any proof of even helping the climate,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “The bill is called the Climate Commitment Act, but I’m afraid the only thing it will commit Washingtonians to is handing over more of their hard-earned money for an environmental plan that won’t work.”

Schoesler said many residents in his legislative district would not qualify for any of the exemptions from the proposed tax.

“This cap-and-tax bill offers several types of exemptions, except for rural communities, middle-class families or individuals, and small businesses. This is a very unfair, inconsiderate and inconsistent bill to people in the 9th District and other rural districts in our state,” said Schoesler.

Under this bill, the state would set statewide emissions limits. Companies could purchase a “permit to emit” at an auction run by the Department of Ecology. The proposal calls for allowable emissions to decline each year.

“If this bill becomes law, it will tax people to the tune of $500 million just to have a permit to emit,” said Schoesler, “and judging by the 75-page fiscal note for this bill, this ‘cap and tax’ bill is extremely complicated, which is never a good thing for taxpayers.”

Schoesler said when the Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing on the bill, one opponent testified that a 2019 analysis found carbon emissions from oil and gas have actually increased since a cap-and-trade policy began in California.

Senate Bill 5126 now goes to the Senate Rules Committee for further consideration.

Senate passes Schoesler bill offering property-tax relief for residents rebuilding homes ruined by wildfires

The Senate today unanimously approved bipartisan legislation sponsored by 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler that would provide property-tax relief for Malden-area residents and other Washingtonians who are rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by wildfires last September.

Under Senate Bill 5454, passed 49-0, Washington residents who lost a home to wildfire between Sept. 1 and Sept. 19, 2020, would be exempt from paying property taxes on the full value of the original structure for three years, if the home is being rebuilt or physically improved.

Nearly 300 homes, including more than 120 residences in or near the Whitman County towns of Malden and Pine City, were destroyed by wildfires torching different parts of Washington last September.

“The terrible wildfires last Labor Day destroyed many homes in Malden, Pine City and other communities throughout our state,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, whose district includes Whitman County. “These homeowners lost practically everything, and it’s been a struggle for these families and individuals to recover. Some of them didn’t have homeowner insurance. This bill is just a way to offer a little bit of relief by helping ease their financial burden as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives.”

Two leading Democrat senators, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Christine Rolfes and Senate Majority Floor Leader Marko Liias, also spoke in favor of the bill during floor debate.

Before passing the bill, the Senate approved a floor amendment by Schoesler that he developed with the state Department of Revenue. The amendment:

  • Expands the exemption to single-family dwellings damaged by any type of natural disaster occurring on or after August 31, 2020, that has been reduced in value by more than 20 percent.
  • Limits the exemption to persons who owned the property at the time that it was reduced in value by a natural disaster.
  • Ends the exemption on June 30, 2026.
  • Requires the value of the improvements to be considered as new construction.
  • Gives the Department of Revenue rulemaking authority for purposes of administering the new property tax exemption.
  • Adds definitions for “improvement” and “qualifying single-family dwelling.”
  • Makes other technical and administrative changes.

Senate Bill 5454 now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

According to a Spokane news report, 121 homes, eight commercial properties and 94 other structures were destroyed by the Labor Day wildfire in or near Malden and Pine City.

Statewide, 298 homes were lost in the September wildfires. In all, more than 700 structures were lost. More than 600,000 acres burned in Washington during the two weeks after Labor Day.