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...