Mulliken session highlighted by roads, water

Sen. characterizes water plan beginnings as 'monumental'

COLUMBIA BASIN — A landmark water storage plan and the movement on a number of transportation projects were among the highlights of the recently completed legislative session for 13th District state Sen. Joyce Mulliken.

"It was a great year to be a farmer in eastern Washington," said the Moses Lake Republican, who noted a number of bills passed for farmers in the 60-day session.

One of the proposals to help with water storage that Mulliken said is the beginning of a "monumental" happening. The water resource management plan focuses on both conservation and the building of new reservoirs, and passed the senate unanimously in February. The Senate later passed a $200 million bond measure that allows for a new Columbia River Basin water supply development account, which was signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire last week.

"The things I worked on were exciting for the district," Mulliken said, mentioning the water bill and others which highlighted her session.

The legislation for the Odessa aquifer is another piece Mulliken co-sponsored and was introduced by Ritzville Sen. Mark Schoesler; it allows farmers in the Odessa

Sub-Area a "time out" from relinquishment of water rights.

Another bill, HB 2424, was passed to exempt diesel fuel to be farmers for non-highway purposes. The bill was similar to a bill Mulliken sponsored in the senate, and also includes exemptions on the taxes for agricultural application of aircraft fuel.

Mulliken spent most of her efforts on transportation, and said the 13th District had a number of capital project highlights. She said transportation needs came through because of local community leaders who relayed their transportation needs. The supplemental construction budget included $400,000 for infrastructure improvements at the Port of Quincy, $2.5 million in financing for an oil seed crushing facility at the Port of Warden and funding for road improvements at the Port of Ephrata.

Since the session ended, Mulliken has said there are a few transportation projects the state will be asking for help on funding with from the federal government; one of which is repairs on Snoqualmie Pass, and the other the widening of Highway 17 to four lanes from Ephrata south to Highway 395.

"I'll be working on the transportation, see projects through," Mulliken said, noting she wants to make sure not only the current phase happens, but the phases after that as well.

On other fronts, two bills passed the Legislature, Mulliken mentioned, will allow limited alternatives for the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. Another bill was adopted to provide energy assistance to low-income families.

In other areas, she said, there were some disappointments, including the passage of the supplemental operating budget. Mulliken said the Legislature is headed down the path of passing very expensive Legislation, to pay for the problems issued this year.

"We had an opportunity," Mulliken said. "We didn't fully fund the pension system that we neglected last year."

Mulliken decried the state's final $584 million supplemental operating budget as including too much spending and setting up more obligation. The next two-year budget cycle will force legislators into either raising taxes or cutting services Mulliken feels shouldn't have been added.

Mulliken said she was disappointed by the passage of legislation she didn't think was necessary and voted against, which prohibits discrimination based upon sexual orientation. She noted this summer she will be working with groups on the initiative aimed at strengthening the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, and would send the act to the voters.

She will also be working with the Property Fairness Coalition, formed out of the Washington Farm Bureau, on an initiative which would allow farmers to be compensated if their land is damaged by a government's decision.

In the coming months, Mulliken said two of the committees she serves on will be coming to the 13th District to hold public meetings. She is also looking to bring a list of speakers to the Moses Lake Noon Rotary, including Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed for discussions this spring. Mulliken is up for re-election this fall, and said in between those activities there will be a bit of campaigning.

"Overall I felt like my work was effective," Mulliken said, adding that she felt she was treated fairly by the majority Democratic party. She noted she had four of her own bills passed onto the governor's desk.

"I work the issues, and when the issue is right, it happens," Mulliken said. "My job is to shepherd it and make it happen."