Legislative session yields two local projects

According to a press release from Senator Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, a bill creating a testing program to measure forever-chemical contamination in Washington’s food supply heads the list of wins for Wilson in “an otherwise-discouraging 2025 legislative session” that ended Sunday, April 27.

The release stated, “Despite passage of the largest tax increase in Washington history and legislation designed to force liberal urban perspectives on the entire state, Wilson was able to score a number of successes for the 19th Legislative District. Over the course of the session, Wilson passed three bills and helped stop an effort to gut Washington state’s initiative process. Wilson also worked to pass a capital budget that provides funding for critical local infrastructure projects. Items funded in the state’s capital budget include a new building for Lower Columbia Community College, a new dredge for the Port of Chinook and a library, community center and public housing for the city of Kelso.”

“I’m not going to sugar-coat it,” Wilson said. “This may have been the worst legislative session ever. This year our majority colleagues rammed through the largest and most unnecessary tax increase in the history of the state, and they passed numerous bills to enhance government’s power over the people. Yet we were still able to score a few victories for the people of southwest Washington, and in a terrible year like this one, wins like these seem all the sweeter.”

The release went on to state, “Wilson, a member of the Legislature’s Republican minority, expressed frustration with a legislative leadership that doubled state spending over a decade and ran it up to unsustainable levels. This year, the state found itself with a deficit, on paper, of about $7 billion – the amount required to pay for all the new spending planned by majority Democrats. Rather than correcting their course, they enacted a tax increase totaling $12.9 billion on the state and local levels. This tax increase enabled them to enact substantial new spending for non-emergency purposes and kept the state budget on the same skyrocketing trajectory.”

According to the release, Wilson “also was critical of this year’s spate of ideologically-tinged legislation that, among other things, gutted last year’s parental rights initiative, increased Olympia’s ability to dictate to local school districts, imposed new obstacles for constitutionally guaranteed Second Amendment rights, and gave unions the upper hand in labor negotiations, by providing unemployment benefits to striking workers. As ranking member on the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections Committee, Wilson helped head off a bill that would have imposed cumbersome new requirements on initiative campaigns and reduced public opportunities to challenge the Legislature.”

“Public opposition prevented our colleagues from enacting everything they wanted, but many of the bills they did pass were pretty awful,” Wilson said. “None of this was necessary. We didn’t need to raise taxes. Olympia doesn’t need to dictate to the state. The mess we found ourselves in this year should have been a wake-up call that things can’t continue as they are and, instead, our colleagues doubled down.”

The three bills passed by Wilson include Senate Bill 5033, which includes “launching a sampling program to assess contamination levels in processed human waste used as fertilizers for farms and forests.” According to the release, the bill “requires the state Department of Ecology to establish a testing program for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) compounds in biosolids, and report findings to the Legislature by 2030.” This bill is awaiting Washington Governor Bob Ferguson’s signature. The second bill passed by Wilson is Senate Bill 5049, which “gives the state Public Records Exemption Accountability Committee more flexibility in scheduling meetings.” According to the release, the measure is “among proposals from Wilson to improve the effectiveness of the Sunshine Committee, which advises the Legislature on public records issues.” Senate Bill 5049 has been signed into law, according to the release. The third bill, Senate Bill 5365, clarifies that “public libraries can be included in community centers and funded by parks and recreation districts, eliminating a concern for the city of Castle Rock.” This bill also awaits Governor Ferguson’s signature.

According to the release, the state’s $7.6 billion capital budget “provides funding for projects across Southwest Washington,” and “these public works and infrastructure projects are funded by long-term bonds and are not directly affected by tax increases for the operating budget.” Some of the projects specific to Wahkiakum County, particularly to Cathlamet, include $365,000 for Wahkiakum County Courthouse renovation and $115,000 for Julia Butler Hansen House restoration.