Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 14, 2003
Contact:  Michael Marchand, Governor’s Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Signs Key Environmental Bills into Law

Flanked by state legislators and community and environmental leaders, Gov. Gary Locke today signed five key environmental bills into law.

Legislation signed at the ceremony included Senate Bills 6012, 6072 and 6073, and House Bills 1002 and 1240. The governor highlighted how the legislation showed both political parties’ common values associated with maintaining a high quality of life and preserving the environment.

“These bills are part of our continuing effort to sustain and protect our state’s environment,” Locke said. “It is imperative that we honor Washington’s natural beauty and work together to keep the environment healthy for generations to come.”

Locke also applauded the hard work of legislators and stakeholders on these important bills.

The bills signed by the governor were as follows:

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1002 – This bill will begin an education program that will make citizens more aware of the sources of mercury and how to be more responsible in the disposal of this dangerous chemical. It will also ban the sale of many items containing mercury such as thermometers, children’s shoes that contain lights, novelty items, and some fluorescent and other types of lights.

Second Substitute House Bill 1240 – This bill provides for deferral or exemption of sales and use taxes for construction machinery and equipment used in the manufacture of biodiesel fuel, alcohol fuels, and biodiesel feedstock. This new law helps lower the upfront costs associated with building these facilities through tax exemption incentives.

Substitute Senate Bill 6012 – This legislation updates part of the negotiated settlement of the Department of Ecology’s shoreline guidelines relating updates to local shoreline plans.

Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6072 – This bill provides funding for the retrofit of school buses with exhaust emission control devices. It further provides funding for the fueling infrastructure necessary to allow school bus fleets to use alternative, cleaner fuels. Finally, it provides funding to reduce vehicle air emissions and monitor toxic air contaminants.

A response tug at Neah Bay is included in this funding legislation. The tug will protect Washington’s coasts from potential disaster of a drift grounding of a vessel.

Substitute Senate Bill 6073 – Adds a surcharge on shellfish licenses to raise money for biotoxin testing and monitoring by the state’s Department of Health. This will help address a threat to Washington’s coasts—algae blooms that produce domoic acid, a powerful toxin. This toxin makes shellfish and crab unsafe to eat.

» Return to this month's News Releases

» View News Release Archive