01/07/08 The Farm Bureau and the 2008 Legislative Session

Washington Ag January 7, 2007 State lawmakers head to Olympia next week for the start of a 60-day legislative session on January 14th. John Stuhlmiller with the Washington State Farm Bureau says this being a non-budget, only a supplemental year, there may not be as much done as in the past. Stuhlmiller: "We are focusing on some labor issues in general. Water has some positive steps being made. The governor is asking for some more money to implement the drawdown on Lake Roosevelt, which would provide about 135-thousand acre-feet of water to help meet the needs in the Columbia Basin. We are excited about that. So that will be one of the big issues we'll work." Stuhlmiller points out that several issues aren't ready for any legislative action this year. He says an example of that of great interest to the Farm Bureau is related to the Growth Management Act and critical area ordinances. He says basically it will likely be more of a defensive session for ag than an offensive one. Stuhlmiller: "To kind of keep anything bad from happening and keep us focused there." Tomorrow, Stuhlmiller on some committee chairmanship changes of interest to agriculture. I'm Bob Hoff.