01/09/07 Issues to watch in legislature

Washington Ag January 9, 2007 Agriculture in Washington may have its wish list for the legislative session that convened in Olympia Monday, but the industry also has to look out for issues on other people's lists that could impact it. Veteran agricultural lobbyist Heather Hansen mentions some of those. Hansen: "Overall, I think one of the big issues, it is not directly focused on agriculture but will certainly impact agriculture, is the Puget Sound Initiative. So for western Washington agriculture that is going to be something definitely to pay attention to. I think a lot of energy and a lot of money will be focused on Puget Sound in this session." Hansen says another emerging issue that could get interesting is biotechnology. Hansen: "We have a handful of legislators who are interested in regulating ag biotechnology in Washington. Not sure what their plans are yet. We have been talking for several months and expect to see some bills introduced early in the session." A central focus of the 2007 legislative session will be the passage of the state's two-year operating budget. I'm Bob Hoff.