Washblog

Washington Gov. Gregoire Signs Bills Overhauling Elections:

On Tuesday, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signed eight election reform bills leading a major overhaul of Washington's election system. These measures, including five recommendations by the Governor's bipartisan Election Reform Task Force, make substantial improvements in Washington's electoral process. Secretary of State Sam Reed and many state legislators joined Gregoire to celebrate a better future for Washington voters. 

Life Sciences Discovery Fund:

Senate Bill 5581, which comes at the request of Gov. Christine Gregoire and has bipartisan support, would:

*Award competitive research grants to nonprofit research centers not just in Seattle, but in Pullman, Richland and Spokane as well; and
*Finance research into new understanding of genes and cells. 

Clean Cars:

In late April, the Senate passed the Clean Cars bill imposing tighter restrictions on toxic emissions from new cars and calling for better fuel efficiency. Sen. Erik Poulsen (D-34) told the Seattle Times, "This is probably the biggest environmental vote we've taken on the Senate floor in 10 years." Implementation of the bill will enable Washington to reduce global warming pollution from new cars by roughly 30% by 2016.

The Clean Cars coalition and the environmental community couldn't have done it without the extraordinary efforts of Gov. Gregoire and a bipartisan group of legislative leaders. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-3), Senate sponsor Sen. Phil Rockefeller (D-23) and committee chair Sen. Erik Poulsen (D-34) were true champions. And Sen. Luke Esser (R-48) deserves praise for his leadership in his caucus. In the House, sponsors Rep. Ed Murray (D-43) and Fred Jarrett (R-41) were crucial to our victory. And special thanks goes to Rep. Jay Rodne (R-5), Rep. Glenn Anderson (R-5), Rep. Skip Priest (R-30) and Rep. Rodney Tom (R-48).