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Senate Passes SB 5622!

Posted by Jonathan Guzzo at Apr 20, 2011 04:05 PM |
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The Washington State Senate has passed the Discover Pass bill, which would fund recreation for Washington State Parks, Washington Department of Natural Resources and Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. It's now awaiting a House vote. Call today to urge your representatives to pass this legislation.

oly capitolUPDATE AS OF THURSDAY, APRIL 21:

House votes out Discover Pass. Bill is now headed to the Governor. Stay tuned for more details later!

From April 20:

This afternoon, the Washington State Senate passed SB 5622, which authorizes the Discover Pass. It made it through the Senate on a strong bipartisan vote: 33 yea, 14 nay, 1 absent and 1 excused.

The Discover Pass bill would fund recreation for Washington State Parks, Washington Department of Natural Resources and Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. Without it, many parks and trails would be closed beginning July 1, 2011.

Almost as quickly, the House pulled the bill to the second reading calendar, which, in legislative-speak, means that it's on the floor waiting for a vote. This could happen tomorrow, Friday or even as late as this weekend.

It is possible that the bill could be amended on the floor of the House, and WTA wants to make sure that the intent of the Senate is preserved. SB 5622 was vetted and supported by hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers and all the other stakeholders that would pay the fee.

Please take a moment to call your representatives and tell them to support SB 5622 without amendments.

The future of all of our favorite hikes on state lands depends on passage of a clean and uncompromised bill. Please use the legislative hotline number:  1.800.562.6000. And please, act now! Tomorrow could be too late.

Comments

Supporting SB 5622

I want to avoid getting too political but I think it's a crying shame that our state legislators (from both parties) have led us into the financial mess we now find ourselves in. However, I'm not about to let their shortcomings ruin the state park system for my children. While I’m not happy about the new fees, I'm supporting SB 5622 and urging the House to follow the Senate’s lead in passing the bill without amendment.

I called the legislative hotline earlier today and hope those who care about Washington trails will do the same. This is a serious issue that I think is being largely overlooked by the media.

Posted by:


"Trail Guy" on Apr 21, 2011 10:41 PM

Supporting SB 5622!

I agree with Trail Guy: I've called the hotline, and emailed my district. I've also emailed the news stations multiple times hoping they'd do a segment on the Discover Pass. This morning, I saw that Q13 Fox did a small segment on the bill, although they seemed to portray it as a negative bill. I hope that the others will actually take the time to review the information and the benefits the Discover Pass can offer.

The state parks mean a lot to my family. We go to Flaming Geyser at least once a week, and if it weren't for that park, many things wouldn't have progressed the way they did in my life. I hope everything goes smoothly and there are no hiccups in this process.

Posted by:


dianamarie6288 on Apr 21, 2011 10:41 PM