Tag Archives: 12th Legislative District

Hawkins named “Champion of Agriculture” by Washington Farm Bureau

Sen. Brad Hawkins is being recognized for his efforts to support Washington agriculture.

Hawkins, who serves the 12th District, has been named a 2022 Champion of Agriculture by the Washington Farm Bureau.

In its email informing Hawkins of the award, the Farm Bureau wrote, “You have shown through your support and voting in the 2022 Legislative session that you truly care about Washington’s farmers and ranchers. You are receiving this honor because you received a score of 100 percent on our annual vote record. Thank you for your dedication to Farm Bureau members and the priorities of our member families.”

“I’m very honored to receive this recognition and really appreciate the Farm Bureau for selecting me,” said Hawkins. “I’m proud of my 100 percent voting record in support of our orchardists and farming families because standing with them and their issues benefits all of us. I’ve always prided myself on supporting agriculture, which is so important to North Central Washington, so it is very special to be recognized.”

Hawkins school incentives bill approved by Senate

Senate Bill 5487 now heads to the House Education Committee for consideration.

Senate Bill 5487, a bipartisan bill introduced by 12th District Sen. Brad Hawkins, has successfully cleared another hurdle in Olympia as it was approved today by the state Senate by a vote of 40 to 9.

“I’m excited my bill has advanced this far in a short session,” said Hawkins, the ranking Republican on the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, and a former board member at the North Central Educational Service District and Eastmont School District. “It has provided my colleagues an opportunity to have a productive dialog on this idea, which is what I was hoping for. I’m grateful that they feel the idea has merit.”

Hawkins’ bill takes a creative approach to elevating the issue of small school district consolidation by offering a temporary boost in facility funding if school districts voluntarily choose to consolidate together, achieving savings for taxpayers and expanding opportunities for students.

Hawkins stated that the average cost during the 2019-2020 school year in state and local dollars was $13,879 per student. Small school districts in Hawkins’ legislative district, for example, spent as much as $22,125 (Orondo), $26,342 (Mansfield), and $28,745 (Palisades) that year per student.

Hawkins said that smaller districts tend to spend much more per student due largely to front-office administrative functions that he believes could be shared among multiple districts. He believes it would be more efficient for taxpayers – and expand opportunities for students – if some districts partnered with their nearby neighbors.

“I’ve been encouraging my legislative colleagues to think differently about how we deliver educational services,” said Hawkins. “If we were to reimagine school districts today based on what we spend on education, we wouldn’t draw up 295 different school districts in our state, especially when many of the small school districts are spending much more than the state average per student. It doesn’t make sense for the taxpayers.

“Legislators are in the ‘carrots-and-sticks’ business, and I’ve always preferred the carrots,” added Hawkins. “We can’t expect things to change unless we come up with creative options. I think a ‘voluntary, incentives-based’ consolidation bill has largely avoided the controversies of past proposals and has prompted some conversations.”

Senate Bill 5487 previously was approved by the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, Ways and Means Committee, and Rules Committee this session.

The bill now advances to the House Education Committee, a committee Hawkins served on when he was a 12th District state representative.

Hawkins issues statement on Redistricting Commission not finalizing legislative, congressional district maps

State Sen. Brad Hawkins of the 12th Legislative District released the following statement following today’s announcement by the state Redistricting Commission that it was not able to reach agreement on final plans for new legislative and congressional district boundaries for the next decade, starting in 2022.

“Today’s news about our Redistricting Commission being unable to come to an agreement on rebalanced state legislative and federal congressional districts is very disappointing as I know the commissioners worked very hard and collected substantial public comment. Washington state has a proud history of bipartisan success with our redistricting process,” said Hawkins.

“The inability of the commission to reach an agreement is a huge setback and it’s discouraging. The later-than-usual Census data was a big factor, but politics is always at play. Hopefully, the commission’s inability to reach agreement is not a sign that the growing political divide in our country is beginning to threaten our redistricting process. The process going forward is uncertain. By law, jurisdiction over redistricting is now transferred to our State Supreme Court. This has never occurred before, so predicting the process beyond today is anybody’s guess. This is a result none of us wanted. I suspect the State Supreme Court feels the same way.”

Hawkins receives nearly 6,500 responses to his COVID vaccine survey

Sen. Brad Hawkins asked for North Central Washington’s feedback on Gov. Inslee’s recent COVID mandates and received thousands of responses over the past two weeks. In addition to the thousands of individual emails and calls into his office in recent days, Hawkins distributed a survey to over 50,000 residents and received nearly 6,500 responses (Aug. 25 through Sept. 8, 2021). In addition to the “yes” or “no” responses, Hawkins also received 4,300 detailed comments in the “additional comments” portion of his survey.

Among the key questions, a strong majority of respondents (60%) believed that school district and state employees should not be required to receive a COVID vaccination as a condition of their employment. In response to both questions, 40% answered “yes” with 60% answering “no.”

With regards to school masking, 44% responded that students should be required to wear masks for at least the first half of the school year with 56% responding “no.” Survey results were closer when asked if unvaccinated people should be required to wear masks indoors, with 48% responding “yes” to 52% responding “no.”

See full responses – Sen. Hawkins’ COVID Mandate Vaccine Survey.

While not a scientific survey, Hawkins said receiving almost 6,500 survey responses and thousands of personalized comments is helpful to him as he looks ahead to the next legislative session.

“I’m very grateful to everyone who participate and provided comments. It’s clear that our region – like most of America – is split on many of the difficult questions surrounding the pandemic,” said Hawkins. “At this stage, I think it’s important for us to respect people’s differing opinions so that we can try to move forward together.

“There is no doubt that emergency powers and vaccine policies will continue to be major topics of debate in the months and years ahead. Judging by the thousands of emails and survey responses I have received, there continues to be strong interested from all sides,” added Hawkins.

Hawkins encouraged by improved state revenue forecast

State Sen. Brad Hawkins is encouraged by the state’s updated revenue projection released today by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

The council’s November revenue forecast estimates revenue for the upcoming state budget cycle. The outlook was adjusted up with an increase of $634 million for the current 2019-2021 biennium and an increase of $328 million for the 2021-2023 biennium.

“This continues to be encouraging news,” Hawkins said. “While the forecast doesn’t take into account any potential economic impacts from Governor Inslee’s most recent COVID restrictions, it does demonstrate to lawmakers that balancing the upcoming budget without tax increases is certainly possible.”

State economists are forecasting a projected budget deficit of nearly $3 billion over the next four years. Hawkins points out that the current balance of the state’s Budget Stabilization Account, often referred to as the “rainy day fund,” is healthy $2 billion.

“As bad as the COVID pandemic has been, this forecast shows that our state can achieve a balanced budget for the next two years without tax increases by utilizing our rainy day fund and making some modest and measured reductions in programs,” Hawkins said.

“This needs to be said so that if and when new taxes are proposed, people don’t mistakenly think they are necessary to balance our budget,” Hawkins added. “I personally think – after all that people and businesses have endured – that tax increases are the last thing lawmakers should be considering in the coming years.”

The next state revenue forecast will be issued in March 2021.

Legislature approves capital budget providing $4 million for Wenatchi Landing sewer project

The new two-year state capital budget passed by the Legislature on Sunday includes a $4 million appropriation for the Wenatchi Landing sewer extension project.

“I’m thrilled that the capital budget provides full funding for Wenatchi Landing,” said Hawkins. “This is a huge opportunity for our valley, and I’ve never thought I’d be so excited about a sewer extension, but I am. The project could greatly enhance economic development opportunities and the overall quality of life in the Wenatchee Valley and beyond. The approved capital budget funds many important priorities for our district, but this one was my focus this year.”

The Wenatchi Landing sewer extension project, discussed locally and in the planning stages for several years, involves a fully installed road, water line, and sewer extension that could lead to many regional benefits for responsible housing, commercial development, and recreational space. Phase 1 of the project (estimated to cost $4 million) includes an extension of sewer infrastructure past 35th Street NW outside of East Wenatchee.

“I want to extend my thanks to all of those involved in this effort to secure funding, including Representatives Steele and Goehner, and all of the staff and elected commissioners of Douglas County, Port of Douglas County, Douglas County Sewer District, and officials at the local PUD, school district, fire district, park district, water district, and chamber who helped advocate for this project,” said Hawkins. “It truly has been a team effort.”

The new capital budget funds several important projects in the 12th Legislative District.

To see the list of district projects, go here.   

2017 listening tour meeting.

Hawkins to hold second annual ‘listening tour’ in mid-September

Sen. Brad Hawkins has announced the times and locations for his 12th District “listening tour” in mid-September. Similar to his listening tour last fall, Hawkins will visit all four counties in the legislative district with his legislative staff. His tour this year will include some of the same stops as last year, such as Leavenworth, Wenatchee, and Chelan along with a mix of new locations, including Cashmere, Coulee City, Soap Lake, Waterville, Bridgeport, and Twisp.

“The listening tour idea was something I attempted last year to be creative and people responded very positively,” Hawkins said. “It’s very helpful for me to hear directly from the people I serve.” He noted some of the ideas brought to him last year resulted in legislative action, including an idea from Leavenworth officials to dispose of brush and yard clippings, a funding request related to the Saddle Rock trail system, and other legislative suggestions.

Meetings will be available by appointment and likely include visits with individuals, employers, local governments, and community groups. He noted the 12th District’s location in north central Washington can make it challenging for people to reach the Capitol in Olympia during a legislative session. “Being accessible and being a good listener are two things I take great pride in,” said Hawkins. “I don’t want people to feel that they need to travel all the way over to Olympia in the middle of winter just to share their thoughts with me on issues.”

Like last year, Hawkins has invited legislative staff to accompany him on the tour, including his office aides and issue specialists. “People appreciated us making these resources available to their communities, and it’s good for the staff to hear directly from people about the issues of interest in our region,” said Hawkins. “If we need to research concerns or begin developing ideas, we are ready to do that.”

Hawkins will meet by appointment at public locations in Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties and asks that people e-mail brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov or phone his legislative office in Olympia at 360-786-7622 to schedule an appointment. The community stops are not town hall meetings. Because there may not be time available for day-of, unscheduled visits, people are asked to contact Hawkins’ office in advance for an appointment. The listening tour locations and appointment time blocks are:

Tuesday, Sept. 11

Leavenworth: Leavenworth City Hall (700 Highway 2), 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Cashmere: Attending September 11th Memorial Service 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wenatchee: Confluence Technology Center (285 Technology Center Way), 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 12

Chelan: Chelan City Hall (135 E. Johnson), 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Coulee City: Coulee City Fire Station meeting room (401 W. Main St.), 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Soap Lake: Soap Lake City Hall (239 2nd Ave. SE), 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 13

Waterville: Douglas County Courthouse (213 S. Rainier St.), 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Bridgeport: Bridgeport City Hall (1206 Columbia Ave.), 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Twisp: TwispWorks Executive Board Room (502 S. Glover St.), 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 14

Winthrop: Community Hike up Patterson Mountain, 10 a.m.

Hawkins will conclude his district tour Sept. 14 by leading a community hike on Patterson Mountain near Winthrop, starting at 10 a.m. The Patterson Mountain trail, which is near Sun Mountain Lodge, offers sweeping views of the Methow Valley from Twisp to Mazama. Everyone is invited to participate on the hike and no appointment or RSVP is needed. Those participating in the hike are encouraged to bring sunscreen and water.

(Directions to reach the Patterson Mountain trailhead: If you are traveling west on Highway 20 toward Winthrop, turn left onto Twin Lakes Road and follow it for 3.1 miles. Turn right on Patterson Lake Road and follow it for 4.0 miles. The trailhead parking lot is on the left. A Discover Pass is needed to park in the trailhead lot. Vehicles can be parked on the road shoulder without needing a Discover Pass.)

“We concluded last year’s listening tour with a community hike up Saddle Rock and this year we’ve planned something similar in the Methow Valley,” said Hawkins. “The 12th District is beautiful and known for its outdoor recreation, so it’s fun to experience that together and connect with people in a different way.”