Franz has headed the Department of Natural Resources since 2017, and she has effectively advocated for increased spending on wildfire prevention and response. While the position — which is elected statewide — also involves generating revenue from Washington’s public lands and managing the state’s broad resources, dealing with wildfires is perhaps the most visible aspect of her work. As Sen. Sharon ...
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Summer in Washington used to mean clear blue skies, but recently they are mostly remembered for the wildfire smoke. Two bills, in the house and senate, are going to focus on communities that suffer the most from wildfires. The “Cascading Impacts of Wildfire” legislation was proposed by Commissioner of Public Lands Hillary Franz who leads the Department of Natural Resources. The ...
Read MoreReding and key Democrats in the Legislature prefer Senate Bill 5533, co-sponsored by Sen. Shewmake. Her bill calls for the state’s law enforcement training agency to come up with model vehicle pursuit policy by October 2024. SB 5533 got a hearing in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Jan. 30. Committee Chair Manka Dhingra ...
Read More“Housing affordability requires an all-of-the-above strategy,” said Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, who counts affordable housing as one of her key issues, in an email to The Center Square. “Delays and additional costs from permitting drive up the price of homes and reduce supply. She continued, “This has to be part of a strategy of opening up more land to housing, reforming ...
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Several farm groups back increasing support for the Washington Beef Commission by raising a per-head fee on cattle sales, though one cattlemen’s organization remains unalterably opposed.
State Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, introduced a bill Jan. 4 that would increase the check-off fee to $3 from $1.50.
The national Cattlemen’s Beef Board would still get 50 cents. The state ...Read More
Another piece that might help solve the complicated homelessness puzzle is affordable housing, and it’s also a high priority for the governor and legislators in northwest Washington.
“It’s a supply problem,” Shewmake said. “We have to build more housing.”
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Judge Cecily Hazelrigg swears Sharon Shewmake (D-Bellingham) into office as the 42nd Legislative District’s state senator on December 9. Shewmake, who has served as a state representative since 2019, is the first Democrat to hold the district’s senate seat in two decades. Shewmake is expected to serve as vice chair of the senate’s transportation committee, and sit on the ...Read More