Sen. Matt Boehnke, Rep. April Connors, and Rep. Stephanie Barnard, will host a town hall meeting at The Arc of the Tri-Cities (1455 SE Fowler St. Richland, WA 99352) on Saturday, March 11, from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
The 8th District legislative team will answer questions and provide constituents with an update on the 2023 legislative session.
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Bills of Note Moving To Opposite ChambersAs the deadline approaches for the last day to consider bills in their house of origin we've seen several notable bills reach their final vote and pave the way for introduction in the opposite chamber for consideration. At this midpoint of the 105-day session Friday, February 24, 2023 was the final day to move bills out of fiscal committees and on to the floor. This session has garnered bipartisan support for workforce and education, with several bills meant to expand knowledge and access to statewide career training and development. Additional information is included below on specific measures within various topic areas. Workforce, Apprenticeships and EducationWide bipartisan support continues to be championed for workforce development in both chambers of the State Legislature. With wide support and application of three programs West of the Cascades and another three programs East of the Cascades SHB 1013 - Establishing Regional Apprenticeship Programs continues on to the Senate. If it moves forward, the bill would direct the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Educational Service Districts to establish Regional Apprenticeship Preparation Pilot Program with six program sites statewide. Senate Bill 5617 has passed the Senate and moved on to the House of Representatives allowing for greater equivalency of programs between school districts and skill centers, requiring any course equivalencies approved by OSPI to be honored by other participating school districts. The bill would also require schools to notify enrolled student's parents from 8th through 12th grade about what opportunities exist for students to meet credit-based graduation requirements through regional skill centers. EnergyHB 1216 has moved out of fiscal committees and is pending a floor vote by the February 8, 2023 deadline. The Clean Energy Siting bill considered in the House would create an Interagency Clean Energy Siting Coordinating Council chaired by the Department of Ecology and Department of Commerce. The proposed process identifies a more comprehensive process for siting of significant clean energy projects; however, the stalled companion Senate Bill and the introduced House Bill have eliminated language that would have required projects to demonstrate need and/or utility for the type and scale of the installation. Development and HousingEngrossed Substitute House Bill 1293 has passed the House of Representatives with minor opposition paving the way to exempt residential development from additional State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review under certain conditions where sited within an Urban Growth Area. This would largely apply to all housing development within City limits across the Tri-Cities, and exempt further environmental review where the proposed residential development is otherwise compliant with all existing development regulations, the City or County within the Urban Growth Area has previously had its comprehensive plan subjected to an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), such plan fully addresses transportation impacts, and the proposed development is located where there are not existing or anticipated transportation safety or operational deficiencies. TourismHouse Bill 1258 has already advanced to the Senate for consideration to increase funding to the Statewide Tourism Marketing Account and reducing requisite match requirements for eligible entities. This proposal increases the cap from $3M to $9M for revenues able to be accumulated on the tax of retail sales on lodging, car rentals and restaurants (without raising said tax), and reduces the match to access funding from 2-to-1 to 1-to-1.
Thank you to everyone who attended the relaunch of the Ask the Experts program on February 28 - both in-person and virtually. If you weren't able to attend, you can view the session on our YouTube channel. Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce Hires Miles Thomas as Government and Regional Affairs Director3/1/2023 The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce (TCRCC) has hired Miles Thomas, AICP, as the organization’s Government and Regional Affairs Director. In this position, Thomas will lead the Regional Chamber’s advocacy efforts, the myTRI 2030 Regional Vision Project, and much more.
Thomas brings more than a decade of experience in community and economic development to his new position. Within the Tri-Cities, Thomas has extensive policy advocacy and project planning experience through Economic Development roles in City and Port governance. His work has contributed to collaboratively funding workforce development and reskilling programs at Washington State University Tri-Cities, designation and promotion of federal Opportunity Zones, and expanding access to local business development and assistance programs. “We’re thrilled to add Miles to the Regional Chamber team,” said TCRCC President and CEO Lori Mattson, IOM. “Miles’ experience in bringing private and public partnerships to fruition, building strong community and business relationships, and working to augment public policy that supports and inspires entrepreneurship make him the ideal Government and Regional Affairs Director for the Tri-City Regional Chamber.” Thomas currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Tri-Cities Diversity and Inclusion Council and Sagebrush Montessori School in addition to committee roles for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and Washington State Small Business Development Center Advisory Board. He is an alumnus of the University of Illinois and holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. Thomas can be reached at 509.940.4004 or [email protected]. Austin Regimbal, the Marketing & Communications Director at the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, was among the 19 chamber executives to graduate February 15 from Academy, a professional development program presented by the Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.).
Academy is an interactive 3-day (three-year) training program on chamber management essentials designed for today’s chamber executives and staff professionals. “We congratulate all of the graduates and their chambers for having the vision to invest in professional development,” said W.A.C.E. President Dave Kilby. During the three-year Academy program, graduates participated in 18 three-hour classes and must successfully complete additional independent study outside of the classroom. W.A.C.E is an association of chamber of commerce executives and staff professionals designed to promote and enhance professional development. With over 800 members from twenty-one Western states and Canada, W.A.C.E. is the largest state or regional association of chamber of commerce executives in the United States. Congratulations to Vision Mortgage on being named the Tri-City Regional Chamber's Member of the Month for February 2023.
Vision Mortgage joined the Chamber shortly after opening their business over two decades ago. Vision Mortgage is a family and veteran-run business that understands the importance of supporting other small, locally owned businesses. Members of the Vision Mortgage team can be regularly found volunteering at Regional Chamber events. Congratulations to Michael, Gina, and Mitchell Alvarez and the entire Vision Mortgage team on being named the Regional Chamber's Member of the Month. Thank you to everyone who came to the State of the Economy Membership Luncheon on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. It was a pleasure to hear from our guest speaker - Dr. Steve Lerch, Executive Director & Chief Economist for the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. Congratulations to Prime Dental Pasco on their ribbon cutting on Wednesday, February 8. Check out their new location at 6005 Burden Blvd. Thank you to everyone who joined us for Business After Hours at Guardian Angel Homes on February 9. It was great connecting with so many members! Recent Action of Note • HB 1258: Proposed to raise cap on allocation of sales tax dedicated to tourism reinvestment and reduce non-state match to fund utilization. Click here for more information on the bill Last week, Representative Ryu spoke on House Bill 1258 – which focuses on remedying impacts to the tourism industry over the last few years and the merits of raising the cap for retail sales tax dedicated to reinvestment in state tourism activities. In addition to raising the cap allocated from sales tax on tourism activities to the state tourism marketing agency, it would also reduce the 2-to-1 non state fund match on expenditures to 1-to-1. Notable testimony included the quoted $9.5B in economic impact to state and local economies from Washington Wine, and its contributions to tourism. This bill heads to executive session on Wednesday February 8th. Click here to submit public comment Bills to Watch
• HB 1584: Proposed to add ‘Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technology’ to State Energy Strategy considerations for cleaner energy sources. Click here for more information on the bill Testimony will be heard this afternoon (2/7) at 4 p.m. on HB 1584, sponsored by 8th district Representative Stephanie Barnard, regarding the addition of advanced nuclear reactor technology to the State Energy Strategy. 2/7/23 Scheduled for Public Hearing in House Energy and Environment at 4 p.m.; opportunity to comment - Click here to submit public comment • HB 1505: Proposed to create a state alternative jet fuels working group to assess feasibility of manufacturing in Washington and proposing a tax credit for manufacturing meeting certain thresholds. Click here for more information on the bill HB 1505 will also be heard this afternoon (2/7) at 4 p.m. by the House Committee on Environment and Energy regarding the formation of an alternative jet fuels workgroup, and consideration on an Occupation Tax and Public Utility District Tax credit for producers manufacturing minimum quantities of alternative jet fuel and encouraging location of said facilities in counties with populations less than 650,000. 2/7/23 Scheduled for Public Hearing in House Energy and Environment at 4 p.m.; opportunity to comment - Click here to submit public comment |
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