Policy Blog

By Scott Dahlman

National healthcare legislation took another step forward on Saturday night, clearing a procedural hurdle with the needed 60 votes. The vote on the motion allows the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” to be debated on the Senate floor.  This is the Senate’s version of healthcare reform, and is the result of Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) combining 2 separate bills passed by the Senate HELP and Finance Committees. The legislation still has a long way to go, but this vote is not insignificant. Learn More »

By Scott Dilley

Yesterday the state Department of Labor & Industries made it harder for farmers to stay in business. Director Judy Schurke officially raised workers’ comp premiums for 2010 an average of 7.6 percent. Some ag producers may be hit harder. View the list of rate changes.

The move is expected to generate $117 million for the workers’ comp fund and comes during a slow economic recovery. Learn More »

By Scott Dilley

Washington Farm Bureau members Rob Valicoff and Tom Roach do a great job highlighting the need for immigration reform in this CNN clip. In addition to airing many times on news networks throughout Washington, this segment was picked up by affiliates throughout the country.

Washington’s most sought-after crops, such as apples and cherries, area also the most labor intensive to pick. As such, farmers regularly have a difficult time finding enough seasonal workers available locally to assist with harvest,  and turn to the H-2A program for help. Valicoff is one of 30 farmers in Washington state using the cumbersome H-2A program to meet the demands of the American consumer. Learn More »

Healthcare reform took another step forward today as the Senate’s most prominent, and most centrist, bill passed the Senate Finance Committee. The bill, not yet in technical form, was sponsored by Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) and is referred to as the “America’s Healthy Future Act”. The legislation was initially introduced in September, and after sifting through hundreds of amendments, the Finance Committee passed the bill by a 14-9 vote. The vote was generally partisan, with the only Republican vote coming from Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who stated that "My vote today is my vote today. It doesn't forecast what my vote will be tomorrow," highlighting her continued concerns with the legislation. Learn More »

By Scott Dilley

The minimum wage in Washington won’t increase next year, according to the state Department of Labor and Industries. This marks the first time since Initiative 688 passed in 1998 that the minimum wage has not increased annually. The minimum wage rate will remain at $8.55 per hour.

I-688 tied the state’s minimum wage to annual increases in the federal CPI-W, or urban Consumer Price Index. While the CPI-W fell 1.9 percent between August 2008 and 2009, state law mandates automatic increases – but not decreases – in the minimum wage.

Washington Farm Bureau policy opposes a state minimum wage and any automatic or yearly cost of living increase in the state or federal minimum wage.

http://www.lni.wa.gov/news/2009/pr090928a.asp

By Dan Wood

The Division II Court of Appeals upheld the division between two state land use laws in Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners v. Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board (Sept. 9, 2009).

The case involved which law has jurisdiction within shoreline areas – the Shoreline Management Act (SMA) or the Growth Management Act (GMA).

In July 2008, the state Supreme Court ruled in the “Anacortes” case that the Legislature meant what it said in 2003 when they amended the GMA to state that the "protection of critical areas ... within shorelines of the state shall be accomplished only through the local government's shoreline master program." Learn More »

By Dan Fazio

Department of Homeland Security Head Secretary Janet Napolitano was in Washington yesterday, and she ended the day with a roundtable discussion with Governor Gregoire, business, labor, and others.  Washington Farm Bureau represented agricultural employers at the roundtable.

Secretary Napolitano stressed that the Obama administration has ramped up worksite enforcement and would place more emphasis on holding employers accountable for illegal immigration.

Regarding immigration reform, Napolitano is the point person in the administration.  She candidly described the need for business support and the need for a functioning guestworker program.  She asked, and Farm Bureau answered, for ideas or concepts that could help in structuring guest worker visas.  Learn More »

By Patrick Connor, Director of National Affairs

Following meetings between Washington Farm Bureau leaders and our state's U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray during WFB's May 18-20 "DC Days" trip, both Senators have signed on as cosponsors to S. 1089 - The Promoting American Agriculture and Medical Exports to Cuba Act.  The bill was introduced by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), along with 15 cosponsors.

Farm Bureau supports S. 1089 and thanks Sens. Cantwell and Murray for cosponsoring the bill. Learn More »

By John Stuhlmiller

UPDATE: WFB applauds the move to allow existing building permits to proceed forward under the law as it existed before the July 16 water moratorium. While we believe good communication between the county, state, and landowners is critical, this movement to honor vested property rights will avoid unnecessary financial and emotional harm.  We hope talks will resume soon in order to develop a better understanding of the relationship between new exempt wells, existing water rights, total water supply availability in the basin, and any risks of impairment.

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Original post: Learn More »

By Dan Fazio, Director of Employer Services

On 7/7 we proposed changes to the draft L&I Meal and Rest Break regulations (see blog post). On 7/14, we met with the L&I deputy director and obtained a solid agreement from the agency to enact Farm Bureau’s requests. 

Farm Bureau offered two suggestions. First, L&I currently administers two meal and rest break regulations -- one for agriculture and one for all other industries, and farmers could be on the hook to comply with both rules. L&I agreed that farmers would only need to comply with the agriculture rules, and committed to making that happen. Next, Farm Bureau offered a best practice rest break that would combine a morning and afternoon break into one longer afternoon break, and L&I agreed that this would be an agency priority as well. Learn More »