April 6, 2017
HB 1344 was approved by the full Senate by a vote of 46-3. It’s now on its way to the Governor’s office for consideration.
March 31, 2017
HB 1344 was approved by the Senate Ways & Means Committee. It now awaits consideration by the full Senate. If the bill receives a positive Senate vote without any changes, it will go to the Governor’s office for consideration.
March 30, 2017
HB 1344 had a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
March 16, 2017
The Senate Committee on Local Government approved HB 1344. It now goes to the Senate Ways & Means Committee for consideration.
March 9, 2017
HB 1344 had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Government at 1:30 p.m.
Click below to watch my testimony before the Senate committee.
February 28, 2017
The News Tribune: Bill would aid construction of a new Thurston County courthouse
The Olympian Editorial: Finance tools needed for county courthouse
February 27, 2017
HB 1344 passed off the House floor by a vote of 74-22. It will now go to the Senate for consideration.
Click below to watch my brief floor speech in support of this important measure.
January 24, 2017
HB 1344 had a public hearing in the House Finance committee. You can watch the committee testimony below:
January 18, 2017
The 39-year old Thurston County Courthouse is no longer meeting the needs of our community. It must be renovated or replaced soon. Unfortunately, if Thurston County voters decide to build a new courthouse, there’s a state law that’s slowing down those efforts.
Currently, state law requires the bonds used to build these kinds of facilities to be repaid within nine years. That nine-year requirement makes it nearly impossible to finance such a large project like a courthouse. It would be an enormous burden on taxpayers.
My bill, HB 1344, will allow bond levies to be repaid within 25 years instead of the current requirement of nine years. This is a much more reasonable time frame to finance a new courthouse and is a fairer process for taxpayers.