Wash. Dist. 14 legislators discuss priorities

King said he spent much of the year preparing an energy package with fellow State Sens. Shelly Short, R-Addy, and John Braun, R-Centralia, called “Power Washington,” which calls for a “more reasonable approach” to energy policy. “In this state, we just hear mandates and all these things, so we’ve been working on this plan, we’ve rolled it out,” King said.

The plan has seven main goals: Help people access different kinds of alternative vehicles, such as hybrids and hydrogen; preserve, improve, and expand Washington’s clean hydropower system; enable the capture of carbon and invest in our working forests and natural resources to maximize carbon absorption; slash high fuel prices for drivers; ensure that the transition to new energy technology is environmentally responsible; shore up our electric grid to keep providing affordable and reliable power; and keep energy costs low so people can be secure in their homes and businesses.

King said he is also sponsoring a bill that would allow the governor to enter into agreements with other states for the purpose of cross-jurisdictional delivery, coordination and enforcement of cannabis products and rules related to the industry.

“We all expect that the federal government’s going to legalize cannabis. And when they do, we have to be able to be competitive,” he said. “It’s an industry that a lot of people have put their money into and we need to do what we can to make sure they are successful, and can be competitive when this does go national.”

King, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, also noted his support of the construction of the new Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge and SR-14 underpass project near Bingen. He added that he is seeking funding to add bike and pedestrian travel lanes to the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks.

Mosbrucker, who chairs the House Committee on Public Safety, said she had a “front-row seat to the battle that tried to protect law enforcement” last year, and this year she is now focused on ensuring the legislature enacts a solution to the Blake decision, a state court decision that reversed felony charges on illegal drug possession.

“We’re hoping that that happens, some people aren’t. But we’ve got a crisis; we’ve got a big nexus between addiction, between mental illness and crime that we have to address,” Mosbrucker said. “At the same time, we don’t have infrastructure across the state of Washington to allow people to go to someone or to get the treatment.”

She added that the motivation behind enacting a solution to the Blake decision is not to criminalize addiction, but to make sure that those addicted to drugs can find treatment. She is co-sponsoring bills that would reestablish law enforcement’s authority to pursue people suspected of a crime using the reasonable suspicion standard instead of probable cause, and separately, would establish trauma-informed interviews with crime victims and witnesses.

She is also sponsoring a bill that would address rural issues with transportation.

In response to a question about whether Mosbrucker would apply for a capital budget from the state to fund the proposed White Salmon Valley Pool, she said that applications are due Feb. 17, and that the project had been recently funded through that program. “We look at who we funded recently and we try to spread that money out,” she said, adding that there are multiple sources of funding available, including USDA Rural Development.

Both Mosbrucker and King voiced their opposition to gun control measures, and said that because the Republican Party is in the minority, that they are coming up with strategies to block legislation, but at that moment did not know whether the Democratic Party will be submitting gun control legislation this year.