OLYMPIA…Today Gov. Jay Inslee became the latest supporter of Sen. Brad Hawkins’ plan for improving the health of Washington’s forests as a way to reduce the risk of wildfires. Inslee signed Senate Bill 5546, which won unanimous approval from the Legislature. Hawkins’ bill grew out of community conversations that followed...

OLYMPIA…The first bill Sen. Brad Hawkins introduced as a state senator has also become his first Senate bill to receive Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature. Senate Bill 5270, which has to do with harvesting timber from state-owned lands, is one of two Hawkins bills endorsed today by the governor during a...

Unanimous House vote sends community-inspired bill to governor OLYMPIA…The state House of Representatives today joined the Senate in giving unanimous support to Sen. Brad Hawkins’ plan for reducing the risk of wildfires by improving the health of Washington’s forests. Senate Bill 5546 is the third of Hawkins’ prime-sponsored bills passed...

Hawkins credits bridge ‘ambassadors’ for budget appropriation OLYMPIA…The long-standing effort to replace the 85-year-old US 2/West Cashmere Bridge received a $2 million boost in the Senate-approved 2017-19 transportation budget today. Twelfth Legislative District Sen. Brad Hawkins said the Senate appropriation, if carried through to the final 2017-19 transportation budget, would...

OLYMPIA…The state Senate today passed legislation from Sen. Brad Hawkins that would offer remedies to tree fruit growers and other agricultural producers tangled in a recent Supreme Court decision about compensating workers for rest breaks. “This bill would resolve a major issue from the court decision in a way that...

OLYMPIA…Sen. Brad Hawkins’ forest-health legislation continued its sweep through the lawmaking process today by winning another unanimous vote – this time from the full 49-member Senate. Senate Bill 5546 would direct the state Department of Natural Resources to set up a framework for assessing the health of fire-prone lands and...

OLYMPIA…Sen. Brad Hawkins wants the agency in charge of public lands to assess the health of state-owned forests and come up with a 16-year treatment plan that could include prescribed fire and thinning. Hawkins’ proposal is laid out in Senate Bill 5546, which will come before the Senate Natural Resources...