Wage disagreement cited in vetoed CERB bill
Judy Warnick
OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed a bill sponsored by Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, that would have changed requirements for the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) that helps finance local governments' improvement projects for job creation.
Inslee took issue with the bill's removal of the requirement that all CERB-backed projects must result in jobs that pay more than the county's median wage. HB 1260 would have required only half of CERB's funding to go to projects that could pay more than median wage.
"As an ardent advocate for family-wage jobs, I believe this bill to be too aggressive a change. While I support the kind of flexibility that would take into account the intent of this bill, as just one or two large employers in an area could skew the median wage levels, we need to proceed with caution," Inslee wrote in a statement.
Warnick said the veto would affect local communities, such as Royal City.
"I would be willing to work with the governor to reintroduce 1260," she said.
Inslee said that he planned to introduce legislation next session that would allow median-wage flexibility for 25 percent of CERB's projects rather than 50 percent.
"I believe such a bill would be an appropriate balance between supporting family wage jobs across the state, and supporting projects in rural communities that may not be able to meet their county's median wage threshold," he wrote.
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