Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 11, 2002
Contact: Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
“We all want Washington and our citizens to prosper and to flourish,” Locke told the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors at the organization’s annual convention. “But our livelihoods are hemmed in by an ailing transportation system that chokes progress and diminishes our competitiveness.”
The solution, Locke said, is for legislators to approve a transportation package in the upcoming legislative session in Olympia.
“We already know that transportation demand has outstripped investment,” Locke told the contractors. “Investing in our transportation system now will put people back to work and keep our economy moving for years and years to come.”
Addressing transportation gridlock was the top recommendation from the Washington Competitiveness Council, which Locke convened last year to explore ways of improving the state’s ability to attract and keep businesses and the jobs that go with them.
“In the long-term, the transportation investment will become the economic underpinning for the state for the next 50 years,” Locke said. “It will allow us to keep the jobs we have, attract new jobs and keep trade flowing.”
The governor also endorsed another Competitiveness Council recommendation to reduce bureaucratic red tape surrounding land-use regulation and permitting. Locke said he intends to change the regulatory culture of agencies involved in permitting.
“I remain firmly committed to environmental protection, but I am just as certain we can achieve greater streamlining, more objectivity and greater predictability in our permitting and regulatory agencies,” Locke said. “Businesses should be provided greater certainty. When businesses come to us needing permits for new development, they are going to know what it will take -- what they need to do -- to get their project approved.”
Locke emphasized that the state must resist the temptation to tax its way out of the current economic downturn. The budget he will present to the Legislature next week will include no general tax increases but will make several proposals to clarify tax issues and reduce the tax-compliance burden on business.
The governor also said his administration has found a way to restart the state’s $880 million capital budget for the 2001-03 Biennium, which had been threatened by declining state revenues, and figured out how to create another $100 million for renovations and repairs of state buildings and facilities by refinancing public debt. That proposal will save 2,400 construction jobs and create 1,400 more across the state.
Related Links:
- Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors
- Washington Competitiveness Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 11, 2002
Contact: Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Locke urges contractors to support transportation fix
COEUR D’ALENE – Gov. Gary Locke today urged contractors to support passage of transportation legislation so the state can reduce traffic congestion and improve the state’s ability to attract and keep businesses and the jobs they provide.“We all want Washington and our citizens to prosper and to flourish,” Locke told the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors at the organization’s annual convention. “But our livelihoods are hemmed in by an ailing transportation system that chokes progress and diminishes our competitiveness.”
The solution, Locke said, is for legislators to approve a transportation package in the upcoming legislative session in Olympia.
“We already know that transportation demand has outstripped investment,” Locke told the contractors. “Investing in our transportation system now will put people back to work and keep our economy moving for years and years to come.”
Addressing transportation gridlock was the top recommendation from the Washington Competitiveness Council, which Locke convened last year to explore ways of improving the state’s ability to attract and keep businesses and the jobs that go with them.
“In the long-term, the transportation investment will become the economic underpinning for the state for the next 50 years,” Locke said. “It will allow us to keep the jobs we have, attract new jobs and keep trade flowing.”
The governor also endorsed another Competitiveness Council recommendation to reduce bureaucratic red tape surrounding land-use regulation and permitting. Locke said he intends to change the regulatory culture of agencies involved in permitting.
“I remain firmly committed to environmental protection, but I am just as certain we can achieve greater streamlining, more objectivity and greater predictability in our permitting and regulatory agencies,” Locke said. “Businesses should be provided greater certainty. When businesses come to us needing permits for new development, they are going to know what it will take -- what they need to do -- to get their project approved.”
Locke emphasized that the state must resist the temptation to tax its way out of the current economic downturn. The budget he will present to the Legislature next week will include no general tax increases but will make several proposals to clarify tax issues and reduce the tax-compliance burden on business.
The governor also said his administration has found a way to restart the state’s $880 million capital budget for the 2001-03 Biennium, which had been threatened by declining state revenues, and figured out how to create another $100 million for renovations and repairs of state buildings and facilities by refinancing public debt. That proposal will save 2,400 construction jobs and create 1,400 more across the state.
Related Links:
- Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors
- Washington Competitiveness Council
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