Two Sen. Schoesler bills stall in House

OLYMPIA - Two bills introduced by Sen. Mark Schoesler have stalled in the House.

Schoesler, R-Ritzville, represents the 9th Legislative District, including Cheney, Medical Lake, southern Spokane County and other areas.

"Unfortunately, two bills that I introduced received their death sentences in the House," Schoesler said last week of Senate Bills 5291 and 5344.

Senate Bill 5291 would have helped restaurants, taverns and similar establishments navigate the state's permitting process through automatic license approvals and renewals if the state Liquor and Cannabis Board failed to make a decision in 45 days.

That measure passed the senate, 47-2, but died in the House Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 5344 would have created a revolving fund to make available low-interest or interest-free loans to public school districts for capital projects. That bill passed the Senate unanimously earlier in the session.

"This bill would benefit small schools, medium-sized and larger schools," Schoesler said. "Creating a public-school revolving fund would allow the state to have a place where we can place money in the future and keep it recirculating back for school construction all across our state."

Schoesler mocked House lawmakers for failing to act his substantive bills, while approving unnecessary measures.

He pointed directly to House Bill 1153, which would ban octopus farming in the state.

"Each session several bills are introduced that make you shake your head because they are so unnecessary, and yet some of these proposals manage to make it through the Legislature anyway," he said, referencing House Bill 1153. "Now, some of you might wonder what is so bad about a bill to impose such a ban. The problem is that octopus farming does not even happen in our state.

"It's ridiculous to even propose such a bill when there is no problem to fix."

Schoesler said Democrats need to take up serious matters, like all initiatives qualifying for the ballot. "They refuse to hold hearings on three of the six initiatives submitted by the people and instead waste time on passing legislation like this," he said.