Farm Bureau's Legislators of the Year Pt 1

Farm Bureau's Legislators of the Year Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. The Washington Farm Bureau recognizes a pair of state lawmakers for their stellar work helping to iron out a fix to the state Supreme Court's 'Hirst' ruling which allowed rural landowners to resume well drilling after a year-and-a-half of waiting.

At their annual Legislative Banquet, state Farm Bureau president Mike LaPlant and vice president Brad Haberman named Senator Judy Warnick and Representative David Taylor Legislators of the Year.

Warnick was recognized for leading the charge in the Senate from the very outset ...

WARNICK ... "The problem is a decision that was made recently by the state Supreme Court, and it's called the Hirst decision which restricts counties that are operating under GMA, Growth Management Act, from allowing exempt wells. And those are the wells people use when they are going to build a house or have a small, very small farming operation."

Along the way, Warnick heard many heartbreaking stories ...

WARNICK ... "We had one man who got down on his hands and knees in a committee and say, please, please, please fix this for my family. He has four children and another one on the way with no place to live because of the timing on that decision. So, for the rural areas, for other areas of this state, the Hirst decision is the biggest one."

LaPlant said the Moses Lake Republican also prime-sponsored a bill that provides much needed liability protection for agritourism businesses across the state.

Listen tomorrow when hear about the work done by Representative Taylor of Moxee.

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