“How did my state lawmakers vote in Olympia?” Readers of the Chinook Observer would like to know

Lawmakers rushed to pass hundreds of pieces of legislation this week ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for advancing most bills passed by the opposite chamber. Most bills passed unanimously or with large bi-partisan majorities. Notable bills that were passed this week include:

Senate Bill 5057, Concerning hazardous materials transportation. Passed the House on April 14, 2015 by a vote of 58-40.

This bill was passed by the Senate in March with a 26-23 vote. It would change regulations covering overland and over-water oil transportation, including requirements for railroads to submit oil spill response plans to the state Department of Ecology. The bill, as passed by the House, would also double the Oil Spill Administration tax on vessel transportation from four cents to eights cents per barrel and expand the scope of the tax to include railroads and pipelines

19 Rep. Brian Blake (Longview) (D) Y

19 Rep. Dean Takko (Longview) (D) Y

House Bill 1449, Concerning oil transportation safety. Passed the Senate on April 15, 2015 by a vote of 28-21.

This bill also deals with oil transportation safety and was amended by the Senate to restore some of the provisions contained in its version, Senate Bill 5057, that were changed by the House. This included an exemption to the barrel tax for oil pipelines, and a provision to boost safety by requiring up to two railroad workers in the rear of trains carrying 20 cars or more of hazardous cargo.

19 Sen. Brian Hatfield (Raymond) (D) Y

House Bill 1115, Enacting the capital construction budget for 2015-17. Passed the Senate on April 14, 2015 by a vote of 39-10.

This bill, passed by the House on April 2, authorizes $3.77 billion in new capital projects for the 2015-17 fiscal biennium, of which $2.16 billion are financed with state general obligation Bonds. The Senate made adjustments to various appropriations and increased total bond appropriations are increased by $13.2 million. Appropriations from model toxic control account appropriations were reduced by $40.8 million. The House must now agree to the Senate amendments, before it is sent to the governor.

19 Sen. Brian Hatfield (Raymond) (D) Y

Senate Bill 5052, Establishing the marijuana patient protection act. Passed the House on April 10, 2015 by a vote of 60-36.

This bill would reconcile medical marijuana with the more stringent regulations for recreational marijuana. It would require licensed marijuana retailers to obtain a medical marijuana endorsement to sell medical-grade marijuana to qualifying patients and designated providers. It would also require qualifying patients and designated providers to be entered into the Medical Marijuana Authorization Database and to obtain a recognition card for additional amounts of marijuana products and arrest protection. The Senate agreed to House amendments to the bill, which is on its way to the governor.

19 Rep. Brian Blake (Longview) (D) N

19 Rep. Dean Takko (Longview) (D) Y

House Bill 2136, Enacting comprehensive marijuana market regulations and taxation reforms. Passed the House on April 10, 2015 by a vote of 67-28.

This bill renames the LiquorControl Board to the Liquor and Cannabis Board and eliminates the 25 percent producer and processor taxes. It raises the retailer tax from 25 to 30 percent and specifies that the taxes are imposed on the buyer. Sales tax exemptions are provided for qualifying patients and providers of medical marijuana. The bill also provides for distribution of marijuana tax revenues to local jurisdictions, based on population and retail sales, with an annual cap of $20 million. The Senate passed a similar bill, Senate Bill 6062 earlier this month by a vote of 26-22.

19 Rep. Brian Blake (Longview) (D) N

19 Rep. Dean Takko (Longview) (D) Y

SOURCE: WashingtonVotes.org is a project of the Washington Policy Center. Please visit www.WashingtonVotes.org and check out our new Olympia news service, Washingtonvotes.org News, which is featured on the home page. We’re also on Facebook and Twitter, at washingtonvotes.org.

Y = Yes, N = No, E = Excused, X = Not Voting