Author Archives: fdgadmin

Bill to create anti-gang law ready to pass Senate with King’s support

House Bill 2414, which would create a criminal street gang activity nuisance law, was made eligible today by the Senate Rules Committee for a vote by the full Senate. The measure’s chief supporter in the upper chamber of the Legislature, Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, said such a law would give law-abiding citizens another tool to help combat gang activity in their neighborhoods.

“We’ve been fighting the expanding gang presence in our district for some time now, and this bill will make it easier for private individuals to take action,” King said. “We need all the help we can get to combat this scourge and this bill will certainly do that.” Continue reading →

King bill to ease small business burden passes Senate unanimously

The Washington State Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed Senate Bill 6524, which would ease the penalty for businesses that fail to pay their unemployment insurance tax in a timely manner. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, said reducing that burden will help small businesses that are struggling to survive.

“Businesses that are delinquent in their UI payments are charged a penalty which is currently two-tenths of 1 percent above the highest rate on the scale, which is 5.4 percent,” King said. “Even if your rate is the lowest on the 40-point scale, one delinquency will jack your rate up to 5.6 percent as a penalty. That’s counterproductive to encouraging the growth of businesses in Washington. My bill decreases that penalty to 1 percent over whatever rate the business is currently paying.” Continue reading →

King honors Nile Valley Landslide recovery effort participants

Today the Washington State Senate adopted Senate Resolution 8690, sponsored by Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, honoring those whose hard work and dedication assisted in the swift recovery effort following the Nile Valley Landslide on Oct. 11.

“On October 11 the Nile Valley landslide devastated our community, forcing many people out of their homes and completely destroying others,” King said. “I would like to acknowledge all of those whose hard work contributed to the recovery effort.”

King’s resolution honored Gov. Christine Gregoire, Washington State Department of Transportation employees, Yakima County Public Services, and numerous other state and local agencies who aided the recovery effort. Continue reading →

King votes against bill to nullify taxpayer protection law

The Washington State Senate on Tuesday passed Senate Bill 6843, which would suspend a key provision of the taxpayer protection law created by Initiative 960. SB 6843 would repeal the two-thirds legislative vote requirement for final passage of any tax increase bill until July 1, 2011, which covers the 2010 and 2011 legislative sessions.

Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, said the bill is a slap in the face to taxpayers. Continue reading →

State Senate honors Yakima school superintendent Ben Soria

The Senate today took a break from voting on the 99th day of its scheduled 105-day session to unanimously approve a resolution recognizing the career of Ben Soria, who is stepping down June 30 after nine years as Yakima School District superintendent and 21 years of service as a school administrator in Washington.

Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, who introduced Senate Resolution 8661, recalled Soria’s arrival in Yakima from Tacoma, saying he was “the right man at the right time for all the right reasons.” Continue reading →

King says stimulus vote keeps Valley Mall interchange on track

Sen. Curtis King says the Valley Mall Boulevard/Interstate 82 interchange project, which was at risk of being delayed to 2016, will remain on schedule now that the Legislature has passed a bill to appropriate about $340 million in federal transportation stimulus money.

“Representatives Johnson and Ross helped move the bill out of the House of Representatives, the Senate caught it at mid-afternoon and now it’s off to the governor’s desk. It’s been a joint effort that I appreciate very much,” said King, R-Yakima. “One of my three goals for this legislative session was to keep the Valley Mall interchange on track. The votes today mean the project will stay on schedule to go out for bid in October.” Continue reading →

Holmquist, King say bill to unionize child care centers is unnecessary and likely to mean less money for kids

Legislation purporting to help child care centers by allowing collective bargaining is likely to have the opposite effect, taking money from centers while raising costs for parents, say Sen. Janéa Holmquist, R-Moses Lake and Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima. They serve on the Senate Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, which heard Senate Bill 5572 today.

If the goal is to increase public subsidies for child care centers and fund a child care wage ladder, you don’t need this bill to accomplish that,” said Holmquist, the committee’s ranking Republican member. “If Democrat supermajorities in the House and Senate all support this idea, what’s stopping them from increasing subsidies and funding the child care wage ladder?” Continue reading →

14th District lawmakers to host town hall meetings March 29

Sen. Curtis King and Rep. Charles Ross have scheduled a pair of town hall meetings for Saturday, March 29. The meetings will be in southeast Yakima from 10 to 11 a.m. and in West Valley from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Ross, R-Naches, and King, R-Yakima, will report to residents of the 14th Legislative District on the just-concluded 2008 legislative session, discuss other issues of concern, and take questions. Continue reading →

King says lawmakers shouldn’t wait to address predicted deficit

The Legislature should be willing to reopen the two-year state operating budget approved in 2007 if that’s what it takes to bring spending more in line with revenue, said Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima.

The state’s quarterly revenue forecast was released this afternoon. It predicts the state treasury will take in $423 million less in revenue during the 2007-09 biennium than expected in the previous quarterly forecast, from November. Continue reading →