Author Archives: brianzylstra

Sen. King statement on Inslee’s call to ban new gas-powered vehicles by 2035

Sen. Curtis King, ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee and R-Yakima, issued this statement following Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement last week that he will impose a rule banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, meaning that only new all-electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles can be sold in Washington by that year.

“Governor Inslee’s gas-powered vehicle prohibition will hurt Washingtonians, especially those who can least afford it. Electric vehicles are more expensive – and that will not change by 2035.

“I do not support bans like this one – we do not know if the benefits will be greater than the expense. There is still much to learn about the long-term environmental impacts of many aspects of electric vehicles. We must look at EV manufacturing, required infrastructure, road impacts and battery disposal options before forcing every Washingtonian to drive an electric vehicle. I do support incentivizing hybrid vehicles, along with funding research of emerging technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cell energy.

“Our highest priority should be to ensure the stability of our state’s electrical grid. If all cars were all electric and we do all the other things our governor suggests, like breaching our dams and abolishing natural gas, we will not have enough electrical power.

“Washington state is fortunate to be able to reduce our carbon footprint with immense working forests and clean hydropower. This is an exciting time to utilize our natural resources, make reasonable decisions, and plan responsibly for the future. Our citizens deserve thoughtful solutions that are Washington-based and utilize the unique features of our great state. We don’t need harsh and unreasonable mandates.”

King serves the 14^th Legislative District.

King receives recognition for his record of bipartisan leadership

During its annual Cascade Conference in Leavenworth, the Mainstream Republicans of Washington announced that state Sen. Curtis King is this year’s recipient of the organization’s Mitchell-Hill Award.

The award, which was given to King for his ability to work in the Legislature in a bipartisan manner, is named after two former Republican legislators, 30^th District Rep. Maryann Mitchell and 45^th District Sen. Andy Hill.

“Curtis King has demonstrated Mainstream Republican values throughout his tenure in the Senate. In a time of polarization and rigid partisan politics, he has worked in a bipartisan fashion with civility to craft and pass major transportation projects and budgets. Senator King is very deserving of this award,” said former Secretary of State Sam Reed, one of the organization’s leaders.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award,” said King, R-Yakima. “I’m especially honored because one of the Republicans the award is named after is Andy Hill, whom I had the privilege and pleasure of serving with in the Senate before he passed away a few years ago. I try hard to work in a bipartisan manner when times call for it and doing so allows me to get more accomplished for the people of our district and the state.”

King is the ranking Republican member on both the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee and Senate Transportation Committee. He was elected as the 14^th Legislative District state senator in 2007 and has been re-elected as the district’s senator in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

14th District legislators pleased to see local projects in final state capital budget

The 14th District team of Sen. Curtis King and Rep. Gina Mosbrucker and Rep. Chris Corry are applauding the new two-year state supplemental capital budget approved by the Legislature this week for including many projects located in their district.

“I am very pleased with the level of funding that has been provided to the projects in our district that are included in the capital budget. These projects will help our district for years to come. Representatives Corry and Mosbrucker and I met during the session to make sure these projects were in the capital budget. It was good teamwork,” said King, R-Yakima.

“I appreciate the project requests we received, and I am honored to help bring this funding home to our district,” said Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale. “It’s a very diverse list of local projects that will receive capital budget funding, from a behavioral health/substance abuse facility, a new animal shelter, bridge repair, cold storage for a food bank, a new community swimming pool, and more, all of which are important to our area. I am grateful to my seatmates, Senator King and Representative Corry, in this collaborative effort to create jobs, improve infrastructure, and strengthen our communities throughout the 14th District.”

“It was a pleasure working with Senator Curtis King and Representative Gina Mosbrucker to ensure that 14^th District projects made it across the finish line and into this capital budget,” said Corry, R-Yakima. “Our district did well in Olympia’s capital budget process. The capital budget, a largely bipartisan spending plan, invests taxpayer dollars on local infrastructure. These projects will serve our communities, individuals and working families for generations to come.”

Here are the 14th District local and community projects funded in the supplemental capital budget:

Northwest Harvest food bank in Yakima – $3.2 million
Comprehensive Health Care’s Goldendale facility – $1.03 million
Martin Luther King Jr. Park Community Pool in Yakima – $1 million
Klickitat County Animal Shelter in Goldendale – $670,000
Klickitat Wildlife Area Simcoe Fencing – $450,000
Rock Creek Bridge replacement – $400,000
Steep Creek Bridge replacement – $400,000
Town of Naches Mobile Stage – $250,000
YR-26 Jones Bridge replacement – $150,000
Yakima Valley Trolleys Bucket Truck in Yakima – $70,000
Naches rearing pond – $50,000
Yakima County Fire District 12 in Yakima – $10,000

The capital budget also provides $232,000 in funding for development of the YMCA Yakima Park, which is located in Yakima, but found in the 15th District.

The 2022 supplemental capital budget funds the construction and maintenance of state buildings, public schools, higher education facilities, public lands, parks and other assets throughout Washington.

The House voted 98-0 to pass the final version of the capital budget (Senate Bill 5651) Tuesday night. The Senate approved it 49-0 on Wednesday. The capital budget now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee for consideration.

The 60-day legislative session is scheduled to end today.

Statement from Republican transportation leaders on the agreement reached by the Legislature on the Move Ahead Washington transportation package

Sen. Curtis King, ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee, and Rep. Andrew Barkis, ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, issued this statement regarding the Legislature’s agreement on the 2022 supplemental transportation budget (Senate Bill 5689) and the Move Ahead Washington transportation package (Senate Bill 5974 and Senate Bill 5975).

“Unfortunately, the partisan transportation package from the majority will punish drivers throughout Washington with higher fees and taxes,” said King, R-Yakima. “It isn’t right to make our citizens pay more to own a car. The higher taxes and fees passed today by the majority party, on top of measures they’ve passed in recent years, will make it much more costly to drive. Most people in our state are already struggling with inflation, and now gas prices are rising daily. The legislation passed today will make things worse. I’m disappointed that for the first time in our history, a completely partisan transportation package has been passed with zero input from 20 Washington state legislative districts. Our citizens need relief and deserve better.”

“It’s disingenuous for the majority party to imply this package isn’t going to raise the cost of living on every Washingtonian. Besides the new taxes and fees that are included, a large portion of the intended revenue comes from the Climate Commitment Act passed in 2021. One integral component of the CCA is cap-and-trade, which goes into effect later this year. This will raise the price of gas at the pump even higher than we’re experiencing right now. Washingtonians are still recovering from the pandemic, inflation is at a 40-year high, and gas prices are already at one of the highest rates we’ve seen. This is the wrong time to be pushing this package forward,” said Barkis, R-Olympia. “Republicans from both chambers had solutions that wouldn’t raise taxes and fees on anyone or anything. Given the historic revenue the state is experiencing, we could’ve built a bipartisan package that provided relief to the taxpayers. With existing revenue, we could’ve funded new innovations for our transportation system, while keeping our promise to complete projects already on the books. I’m extremely disappointed the process was partisan and does not reflect the true transportation needs of every corner of our state. Washingtonians deserve real solutions from their transportation leaders and tax dollars.”

Today, both chambers are set to vote on the agreed upon supplemental transportation budget and the Move Ahead Washington transportation package.

The 2022 legislative session is scheduled to adjourn Thursday, March 10.

King unveils state transportation-funding plan free of tax or fee increases

Sen. Curtis King, the Republican leader on the Senate Transportation Committee, today unveiled a plan to make nearly $23 billion in transportation investments statewide without any tax or fee increases.

“There are important transportation needs throughout Washington that need to be addressed soon,” said King, R-Yakima. “This proposal funds many of those, including new highway projects, maintenance and preservation projects, fish-barrier removal, ferries, transit, rail and other modes. Best of all, this plan does not include any tax or fee increases, so people across our state who are struggling with inflation won’t have to pay more to have a better transportation system.”

Details of King’s $23 billion transportation funding proposal can be viewed here.

The plan uses many of the same funding sources in the package released by Democratic transportation leaders a few weeks ago, including:

$5.4 billion expected from the Climate Commitment Act;
$3.4 billion from the federal government’s new surface transportation reauthorization; and
a $2 billion one-time transfer from the state operating budget.

The key difference between King’s proposal and the Democrats’ plan is how his plan would shift half of the state sales-tax revenue from car and truck sales in Washington, starting in 2023. This shift in vehicle sales-tax revenue is expected to generate $12.188 billion over the 16-year span of the package.

“In the past few years, some of my Senate Republican colleagues and I have advocated for using some of the tax money from vehicle sales for our highway needs, and the case for that approach is stronger than ever now. There is a connection between tax revenue from vehicle sales and transportation, so it makes sense to use that money to address transportation needs in our state,” said King.

King’s plan includes funding in several transportation areas:

$6 billion for maintenance and preservation projects in the state.
$4.16 billion for new highway projects, including $1.2 billion for replacing the Interstate 5/Columbia River Bridge between Vancouver and Portland, $640 million for State Route 18 widening, $300 million for the U.S. Highway 2 trestle project, $244 million for I-5 high-occupancy vehicle lanes, $210 million for the I-5 Nisqually Delta project, $240 million for a U.S. Highway 12 project between Pasco and Walla Walla, and $180 million for a new Hood River Bridge over the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon.
$1.8 billion toward existing highway projects, including $460 million for Interstate 405 corridor construction, $520 million for a State Route 520 project, $155 million for an Interstate 90 project at Snoqualmie Pass, and $434 million for the SR-167/SR-509 Puget Sound Gateway project.
$2.435 billion for fish-barrier removal projects.
$150 million for freight rail projects.

Under King’s plan, the $5.4 billion in Climate Commitment Act funding would be used to pay for additional multimodal funding, including the construction of five new hybrid-electric ferry vessels. The plan also includes, from other sources:

$500 million for transit programs and projects.
$440 million for ferries.
$190 million for “active transportation projects,” including $100 million for “safe routes to schools” projects and $90 million for a bicycle and pedestrian grant program.

King unveiled his transportation funding plan during a virtual news conference today. He was joined by Senate Republican Leader John Braun of Centralia. The news conference can be viewed here.

Sen. Curtis King’s Olympia Update – Join us at 14th District Virtual Town Hall February 19

In this update, I cover the first few weeks of the 2022 legislative session and preview the 14th District virtual town hall on February 19. You can read the entire e-newsletter here.

Unconscionable: WSDOT refuses help to clear snow from roads in Kittitas County

Central Washington Sens. Judy Warnick and Curtis King issued this statement regarding the state Department of Transportation’s refusal to let Kittitas County road crews help clear snow on state highways in the county after a major snowstorm last week:

“We are shocked and very disappointed that the state Department of Transportation refused Kittitas County’s offer to help clear snow off key highways because county employees are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The state, especially the governor, is putting political ideology and an inflexible desire to enforce vaccine mandates above public safety. This is wrong and foolish.

“A snowplow has just one person in the vehicle, so it shouldn’t matter whether the snowplow driver is vaccinated. Most people rightly are more concerned that our highways and roads are kept clear of snow this winter than the vaccination status of snowplow drivers and other winter road crew employees, who typically work in isolation.

“After the snowstorm hit last week, Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 97 through Kittitas County were closed for three days, making travel nearly impossible for county residents and others relying on these highways, keeping people from attending medical appointments or other important meetings on the west side of the Cascades, and delaying freight deliveries. WSDOT’s winter road crews have been working around the clock to try to keep our highways clear, but they are very understaffed – and exhausted – due to job losses caused by Governor Inslee’s COVID vaccine mandates. Kittitas County generously offered to have its road crews help clear the snow, but WSDOT leaders refused. And then WSDOT hired a private contractor to help clear highways in the county. Is WSDOT requiring that contractor to be vaccinated?

“We feared the vaccine mandate would hurt drivers and truckers this winter. Sadly, our fears have been realized. This is on the governor, not those WSDOT workers who lost their jobs.”

Warnick, R-Moses Lake, serves the 13^th Legislative District, which includes Kittitas County. King, R-Yakima, serves the 14^th Legislative District and is ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee.

King was interviewed about this issue today on KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show.

The Senate Transportation Committee is scheduled to hold a work session today at 4 p.m. on the state of transportation in Washington. WSDOT officials, including state Transportation Secretary Roger Millar, are expected to attend. King says he will ask WSDOT pointed questions about its refusal to accept Kittitas County’s offer to help plow highways in that county. The committee meeting can be viewed here.

King receives awards for work on business, agricultural issues

Sen. Curtis King has been honored this week by two statewide associations for his legislative work on business and agricultural issues.

King, the ranking Republican member on both the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee and Senate Transportation Committee, received the Association of Washington Business’ 2021 Legislator of the Year award during AWB’s annual meeting in Tacoma Thursday night.

“It’s such a great honor to receive this award from the Association of Washington Business,” said King, R-Yakima. “In the past few years, new or higher taxes, along with mandates and new regulations, have been placed on the backs of businesses and families across our state. I’ve fought hard to protect businesses and employees from punishing taxes and I will continue to do that in the future.”

“Senator King is a strong advocate and champion for rebuilding our state’s infrastructure and works hard to solve problems in the spirit of bipartisanship,” said AWB President Kris Johnson. “Washington is the most trade driven state in the country, and his work to connect employers, employees and our exports with the world is critical to our future success.”

AWB is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association and includes nearly 7,000 members representing 700,000 employees.

King and 18^th District state Rep. Larry Hoff, R-Vancouver, were presented with the Washington Farm Bureau’s 2021 Legislator of the Year awards during its annual meeting Wednesday night in Yakima. It is the second consecutive year King has received this award from the Washington Farm Bureau, which is the state’s largest general agricultural organization.

“I’m very honored and humbled to be recognized by the Farm Bureau for the second straight year,” said King, who serves the 14th Legislative District. “Agriculture plays a major role not only in my district but throughout eastern Washington and our entire state. Agriculture and food processing provide 164,000 jobs in our state and are key parts of Washington’s economy.”

“Rep. Hoff and Sen. King were instrumental in protecting farmers and ranchers from the unfair consequences of the WA Supreme Court’s DeRuyter decision,” said Washington Farm Bureau President Mike LaPlant in a Farm Bureau news release last September. “During the 2021 legislative session, the relentless work and dedication of these individuals created the opportunity for a more thoughtful, workable bill to be passed that dealt with ag overtime and retroactive compensation. For that, we are sincerely grateful.”

“Both of these legislators went above and beyond for their constituents, and for all of us involved in agriculture,” LaPlant said. “We are honored to award our Legislator of the Year award to Rep. Larry Hoff and Sen. Curtis King.”

(CAPTION: Sen. Curtis King accepts the Association of Washington Business’ 2021 Legislator of the Year award during AWB’s annual meeting in Tacoma Thursday night.)

King says job losses from vaccine mandate will harm public safety, transportation

Amid news that nearly 1,900 state employees have been fired or left their jobs in opposition to Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, state Sen. Curtis King says he is concerned that the state’s transportation system and public safety will suffer in ways that will impact people in his district and throughout Washington.

“We’re already seeing the effects of the governor’s overreaching vaccine mandate on the state ferry system, as the reduction in ferry workers has caused many runs to be canceled and now appear to have just been slashed,” said King, R-Yakima. “Commuters and others who rely on the ferries are being punished because of Jay Inslee’s heavy-handed approach to the pandemic. For example, the San Juan morning runs have been cut from five to two, the times being 4:15 a.m. and 10:35 a.m.”

King said the mandate-related firing of 127 Washington State Patrol employees, including 67 troopers, six sergeants and one captain, is terrible news for those who use the state’s highways.

“Our state troopers do an outstanding job of maintaining safety on our highways and helping motorists and truck drivers when they have an accident or have problems with their vehicles. They save lives,” said King, ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee.

“I saw the video of the trooper based in Yakima who signed off knowing he was about to be fired. The loss of all of these officers, as well as the dispatchers who were fired, will be felt by those motorists who need help on our highways. If and when a motorist is stuck on the side of a freeway or involved in an accident and there is no trooper around to help them, the blame should be placed on the governor.”

King, whose 14^th Legislative District includes the Columbia River Gorge and Satus Pass north of Goldendale, has heard that the vast majority of the employees at the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Goldendale maintenance facility have lost their jobs due to the vaccine mandate.

“If there aren’t enough WSDOT maintenance workers to keep Satus Pass and other mountain passes and vulnerable sections of highways open and clear of ice and snow during winter, it will make driving through the mountains extremely dangerous. This could have a very negative impact on drivers and freight hauling throughout Washington this winter, and it could hurt our economy at a time where there are already major supply-chain concerns. Not to mention the safety element and the potential loss of lives,” said King.

Monday was the deadline for most state employees, all school employees and many health-care workers to be fully vaccinated under Inslee’s mandate. King is fully vaccinated and he encourages those who can to be fully vaccinated, but he does not agree with Inslee’s vaccine mandate.

“The governor’s vaccine mandate has already punished the workers who lost their jobs, and it will soon hurt the many of us who rely on the services that were provided by these workers. Governor Inslee is to blame here. He has gone too far with his mandate policy that is leaving many without a job while weakening public safety and transportation across our state. It could have and should have been handled so much differently. He should have given people options. It didn’t have to be this way.”