Author Archives: brianzylstra

King receives award for work on agricultural issues

Sen. Curtis King has been honored by the Washington Farm Bureau for his work on agricultural issues.

King, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee, was named the agricultural organization’s 2020 Legislator of the Year on Wednesday.

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

“Senator Curtis King has become one of the champions of agriculture in the Legislature,” said Mike LaPlant, president of the Washington Farm Bureau. “For instance, he was instrumental in helping us defeat legislation that would have raised fees for farmers that use the H-2A program, and he was the primary negotiator in this year’s ag overtime bill.

“All of these bills came with countless hours of negotiating and we would not be in the position we are in today without his strong leadership on these issues,” added LaPlant.

The Washington Farm Bureau is the state’s largest general agricultural organization.

King opposes Senate passage of bill creating state income tax on capital gains

A Democratic proposal that would create a state income tax on capital gains was passed by the Senate 25-24 Saturday, despite opposition by 14th District Sen. Curtis King, other Republicans and three Democrats.

Senate Bill 5096 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

“Creating any type of state income tax is unconstitutional and unnecessary, and it could force some Washington residents to move out of the state,” said King, R-Yakima, “Our state’s long-term revenue situation looks promising, which means we don’t need to create a state income tax. ”

Washington voters have rejected a state income-tax proposal 10 times over the past 85 years, most recently in 2010 when 64 percent of voters said no to Initiative 1098.

“Most people in Washington historically haven’t wanted a state income tax, and a recent statewide Elway

Poll revealed that only 41 percent of respondents favor one,” said King. “It’s too bad that most Senate Democrats ignored the people and passed this bill anyway.”

If SB 5096 is signed into law, it likely would result in a lawsuit that eventually would be decided by the state Supreme Court.

“In the past, our Supreme Court has rejected state income tax proposals,” said King. “Democrats are eager to put this issue before the current Supreme Court. The IRS has determined that taxes on investment income to be an income tax, so I don’t think this proposal would survive a legal challenge.”

Before the proposal was approved, the Senate passed an amendment removing a so-called “emergency clause” from the bill. Had the emergency clause remained in the bill, it would have prevented citizens from filing a referendum that would bring SB 5096 before state voters to approve or reject.

King applauds selection of Augustine as chair of state Redistricting Commission

The recent selection of Yakima’s Sarah Augustine as the chair of the Washington State Redistricting Commission was a good decision, said 14th District Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima.

The Redistricting Commission is reestablished the year after each U.S. Census to reset the boundaries of Washington’s legislative and congressional districts, using the new census figures. The four voting members of the commission unanimously chose Augustine as its nonvoting chair. She will preside over the commission’s meetings throughout the year.

Augustine is the executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center of Yakima and Kittitas counties.

The four voting members of the commission are April Sims, appointed by the House Democratic Caucus; Brady Walkinshaw, selected by the Senate Democratic Caucus; Paul Graves, the House Republican Caucus appointee; and Joe Fain, chosen by the Senate Republican Caucus.

“I commend the four members of the Redistricting Commission for selecting Sarah Augustine as the commission chair,” said King. “I’ve had a chance to get to know Sarah since she came to Yakima a few years ago. She is respected for her role as a dispute mediator and as the leader of the local Dispute Resolution Center. I’m sure she’ll do an outstanding job of working with the commission members to develop new district maps that will win support not only from the commission itself but ultimately from the Legislature, a year from now.”

During the 2020 legislative session, King sponsored a resolution honoring Resolution Washington and its dispute resolution centers throughout Washington.

King bill aims to prevent farms, other employers from paying three years of retroactive overtime

Two months after the state Supreme Court issued a confusing ruling that could have disastrous consequences for dairy farms, Sen. Curtis King has introduced a bill to head off what could be a financially devastating problem for the state’s dairy industry and other segments of Washington’s economy.

For 60 years, state law exempted the agriculture industry from paying overtime wages after 40 hours per week. However, the Supreme Court last November declared that law to be unconstitutional. The majority’s opinion was silent on whether overturning the law also meant up to three years of retroactivity on wages would apply. Since then, dairy farmers and other agricultural employers have worried that they could be forced to pay their employers with retroactive overtime going back three years.

Under Senate Bill 5172, an employer who followed the overtime-exemption law up until it was overturned cannot be assessed damages under the state’s wage and hour laws for three years of retroactive compensation.

“It is very unfair to target an industry and employers who have acted legally over the years,” said King, ranking Republican on the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee. “The Legislature needs to shield farmers from being penalized, forced into bankruptcy and put at risk of losing their farms, simply because they had followed the law. The Legislature, not the courts, should be setting policy on this issue.”

SB 5172 will receive a public hearing at 8 a.m. Thursday in the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee.

In its November ruling, the Supreme Court sent the question of retroactivity back to Yakima County Superior Court for a decision. Since the high court’s decision, attorneys already have filed nearly 25 class-action lawsuits, said King.

“Most of these lawsuits target dairy farms. The gist of these lawsuits is that since the overtime exemption for dairy and other agricultural workers was tossed out, these employees have the right to claim wages going back three years,” added King, R-Yakima.

Those seeking retroactive overtime for employees likely won’t just stop with agriculture, noted the 14th District legislator.

“They probably will also target other parts of our state’s economy, including real estate agents, railroad workers, salespeople and other employees who often work overtime. That’s why my bill goes beyond our agricultural sector,” said King.

Sen. Curtis King

King: Inslee’s latest restrictions will devastate part of state’s economy

Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima and the ranking Republican on the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, issued this statement today in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement that he is ordering restrictions and shutdowns this week that affect Washington restaurants, bars, gyms, retail stores and all indoor gatherings. The restrictions will last at least four weeks.

“These restrictions will have a devastating effect on Washington workers and our state’s restaurant industry and many other businesses, and the timing, right before the holidays, is especially hard,” King said. “Many of our businesses have struggled to survive over the past several months because of the COVID pandemic and related restrictions imposed by Governor Inslee and other government officials. This next round of closures and restrictions likely will cause many more restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses to shut their doors for good.

“I understand why the governor is concerned. In fact, we all are. However, I have not seen or heard that our restaurants, bars, taverns, gyms or movie theaters are causing these COVID-19 increases. I believe these additional cases are from social gatherings with neighbors, relatives and friends. The businesses targeted by the governor’s latest order are not causing the case hike. All of them are doing everything they can to make sure their facilities are safe for customers and employees. Let’s not punish them any further.

“While we need to take steps to again slow down the spread of this virus in our state, we need to do it in a way that won’t hurt workers and destroy parts of our economy. Hundreds of businesses already have been forced to close permanently because of the pandemic and government-imposed restrictions. Washington can’t afford the loss of more local businesses.

“There needs to be a special session.  The Legislature must be involved as we make these decisions on how to deal with this COVID crisis. We need the governor to work with the Legislature on solutions to ease the pain that these new restrictions will cause to a large part of our economy.”

Sen. Curtis King’s Olympia Update: Make sure to take part in 2020 census!

In this update, I discuss why it is important for residents in the 14th District and other parts of central and eastern Washington to complete the census. You can read the entire e-newsletter by clicking here.

 

Sen. Curtis King’s Olympia Update – Gov. Inslee issues “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order

In this update, I share information about Gov. Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, as well as helpful websites for you to find resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the entire e-newsletter here.

King proposes using new funding to fund fish barrier passage projects

Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, today proposed that the $196 million expected from Boeing in 2020-21 from the aerospace tax incentive reform bill be used to fund fish passage projects around the state.

“Our plan would allow Washington to finally begin work on an extremely expensive project that will impact many roads and highways throughout the state,” said King, the ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee. “We are required by federal court to remove barriers that prevent fish from reaching spawning habitat, but the state hasn’t been able to identify a reliable funding source to allow us to truly start this extensive project – until now. This plan that I am offering will allow the state to improve fish passages without affecting other important road and highway projects.”

King touted the strengths of such a plan:

  • Fixing fish passage is required by a 2013 U.S. District Court injunction that requires the state to significantly increase the effort for removing state-owned culverts that block habitat for salmon and steelhead by 2030. (In June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 4-4 on the case, leaving the lower court order in place.)
  • The plan’s first priority would be to fix fish passages that open the most amount of habitat.
  • The plan’s secondary priority would allow the state Department of Transportation to move fish passage projects up the priority list depending on partnership opportunities, prioritizing projects with no or low downstream barriers, project readiness, geographic bundling, fixing the most degraded culverts first and input from the public particularly affected tribes.
  • Increasing salmon habitat should increase the amount of salmon.
  • Increasing the amount of salmon should increase the amount of orca.
  • Increasing the amount of salmon should benefit tribal members who so heavily depend on salmon resources.
  • Increasing the amount of salmon should benefit the recreational and commercial fishing communities.
  • Funding a capital program like salmon habitat remediation would allow maximum flexibility if the Boeing/Airbus WTO dispute is resolved and aerospace could once again obtain a tax incentive ending the proposed revenue stream for this fish barrier fix.  Funding salaries and operating programs create a “bow wave” effect with the budget.  However, funding capital projects can be done as money is available. If the aerospace money source ends, the fish passage obligation does not and it would just require finding an additional funding source.

Along with Sen. Marko Liias (D-Lynnwood), King is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 6690, which would capture the projected $196 million from Boeing during 2020-21. It is possible that the projected funds could be cut short if the bill’s trigger mechanism is activated through settlement of the WTO dispute.  However, it is also possible that more fish passage could be remediated since the $196 million only accounts for expected revenue from the Boeing portion of the aerospace sector.

To see a state Department of Transportation table of the fish passage projects that could be funded by this plan, click here. To see a table by WSDOT that shows fish passage projects along with their costs, click here.

 

Sen. Curtis King

King to hold telephone town hall Feb. 20 on legislative session

Residents of the 14th Legislative District will have a chance to learn more about issues before the 2020 Legislature by taking part in a one-hour telephone town hall meeting Thursday, Feb. 20, hosted by Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima.

During the town hall, which begins at 6 p.m., King will discuss key issues before the Legislature, as well as bills he is sponsoring.

“Telephone town hall meetings provide a convenient way for people in our district to find out what’s happening this legislative session, ask me questions and offer input,” King said. “It also lets me stay in touch with constituents even though I’m in Olympia, and it gives people a chance to hear from me about the session just by picking up the phone.”

Residents in the 14th District are encouraged to ask questions during the telephone town hall meeting, but they may also submit them in advance by emailing King at curtis.king@leg.wa.gov.

While thousands of district residents will receive a phone call just before the telephone town hall meeting to encourage them to participate, residents may also take part by dialing 509-408-1571.

The 60-day 2020 legislative session is scheduled to end March 12.