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39th District
protections, safety priorities are making good progress
By Rep. Kirk
Pearson
The 2008 legislative
session is in its final few weeks. In just the short time we have
been in Olympia, almost 2,500 bills have been introduced. As of Feb. 17,
the House had passed 294 bills, and the Senate passed 170. I hope
that gives everyone a perspective of actions in the
Legislature this year.
I am pleased to report
that my quest to make our neighborhoods safer has been, in my view, very
successful. Many of the bills I sponsored and co-sponsored to better track
and monitor sex offenders are still moving through the process.
House Bill 2444, is one of the
common-sense safety measures I sponsored to protect our children from online predators.
Each year more and more children are using the Internet, visiting sites that offer chat rooms
and other social networking opportunities. This new
technology is making it easier for child sex predators to prey upon children online
and possibly lure them to further victimization.
The bill would
require convicted sex offenders and kidnappers to disclose to law
enforcement e-mail addresses and any Internet Web sites they operate or create. Convicted sex offenders
are already required to register their physical residence as well as
other identifying information and any aliases, so this is simply one
more step to protect our children.
Another important measure which was brought to me by
local law enforcement officials is House Bill 2713. This
legislation would create a DNA database of individuals charged with
serious felonies, including sex offenses. This database would be used to
catch repeat offenders and protect against those who prey upon
families in our communities.
We must also be committed
to protecting private land and property around our state. I have
introduced legislation the last eight years that would allow families
access to emergency permits so they may take the necessary actions to save their
land and homes from high-water events.
This year I sponsored
House Bill 2525 which recently passed the House. This measure would
increase the ability of landowners to take immediate emergency actions to protect land and
homes in the event of a
flood. Under this measure landowners would not be required to obtain a
verbal permit for flood mitigation efforts in those areas
where the governor has declared a state of emergency due to a flood.
The bill includes a trigger that would allow
for approval of a hydraulic permit if a chronic danger, or two consecutive
years of flooding, is declared. Work to protect the land and structures
could begin immediately upon receiving the permit. This is a good first step for rural Washington and other areas around the state.
It would protect families and their land along the rivers, while preserving
our environment and natural resources.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife worked to stop my
legislation, House Bill 2524. The agency's mismanagement
of large herds of elk has created a situation where farms, grazing land
and structures in Skagit County are being damaged and even destroyed.
The cost to private property owners
for repair of fences and to buy feed for domestic animals is increasing as the herd grows
and causing serious financial difficulties for our farmers and other
landowners.
My bill would reinforce
the recent court ruling requiring the department to reimburse property owners for the
repair of damaged fences and the cost of livestock feed purchased due to
ruined grazing land. The department is tasked with managing the herd and
has done a terrible job. Our families cannot afford to pay for costly
repairs that could have been avoided.
There's more work to do. I
don't care who gets the credit, but acting in the best interest of
Washington's families is my greatest priority.
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For more information, contact:
Bobbi Cussins, Public Information Officer:
(360) 786-7252
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