Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 8, 2003
Contact:  Kirsten Kendrick, Governor’s Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Sharon Wallace, Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, 360-725-4019

Gov. Gary Locke Signs Economic Development Bills into Law in Vancouver and Chehalis

Flanked by the state’s top economic development official, legislators and local business and government leaders, Gov. Gary Locke today signed several economic development bills into law. The governor signed two bills at the WaferTech semiconductor company in the Vancouver area and five bills at the Port of Chehalis.

Among the legislation Locke signed was a bill that he requested creating permanent funding for the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB), which helps fund infrastructure improvements for economic development in rural areas.

Locke was joined today by Martha Choe, director of the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED), as well as various legislative sponsors of the bills, area lawmakers, and local government, business and port leaders.

The governor signed Senate Bills 5725 and 6026 at WaferTech, just outside Vancouver. Summaries of the bills are listed below:

· SB 5725 – Semiconductor Cluster – Creates tax incentives targeting semiconductor manufacturers in Washington state to last 12 years. The legislation will bolster the entire semiconductor cluster in Southwest Washington while retaining 850 jobs at WaferTech, with the probability of creating additional jobs.

· SB 6026 – Tourism Tax – Allows the legislative authority of a local government to establish a tourism promotion area. Within the area, a special assessment will be imposed on lodging, with a maximum assessment of $2 per room per night. The revenue will be used for tourism promotion.

Locke promoted the benefits of the semiconductor tax incentive legislation. “This is another step forward in improving our state’s business climate,” he said. “A competitive business climate brings good businesses to our state, and good businesses mean good jobs. Jobs are the key to economic recovery and vitality.”

Choe said, “The semiconductor industry bill fulfills yet another of the state Competitiveness Council recommendations. This bill keeps Washington companies here and gives us a big boost in attracting new companies to our state. Tools like this create a stronger economy that will benefit all of Washington.”

The governor then traveled to the Port of Chehalis to sign SB 5363, 5662, 5786 and House Bills 1973 and 2118. Summaries of the bills are listed below:

· SB 5363 – CERB Funding – Provides permanent funding for CERB. The governor requested this legislation to save the program, which is critical for rural economic development. CERB is the state’s only economic development infrastructure program targeted to support business and industrial job growth in partnership primarily with rural communities. It provides low-interest loans or, in unique circumstances, grants to local governments to help finance the construction of public facility projects required by private sector expansions and job creations.

· SB 5662 – CERB Members – Clarifies legislative membership on CERB. The legislation dictates that the legislative membership on the board is one member from each of the two majority caucuses of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the speaker and one member from each of the two majority caucuses of the Senate to be appointed by the president of the Senate. Legislative members may designate another legislator to attend board meetings in their place as long as that designated member belongs to the same political party caucus.

· SB 5786 – Rural Development – Makes changes to the Limited Areas of More Intensive Rural Development (LAMIRD) under the Growth Management Act. In addition to the existing “industrial area,” the legislation adds “industrial uses in a mixed use area” to the LAMIRD.

· HB 1973 – Promoting Tourism – Directs CTED to promote Washington as a nature-based tourism destination, to conduct planning for a nature-based tourism strategy and provide assistance to local communities in developing and implementing their own wildlife tourism plans.

· SHB 2118 – Microbrew Beer at Farmers’ Markets – Allows Washington-brewed beer from small and medium-sized breweries to be sold at farmers’ markets. Licensed beer distributors are still explicitly prohibited from selling beer at farmers’ markets.

“All of these bills will do a lot for rural economic development,” Locke said. “I am most proud of the CERB legislation, which our office requested. CERB is a strong source of good-paying jobs for rural families and we needed to preserve it.”

Locke added that the Port of Chehalis has benefited from the CERB program already, with a $410,000 loan to build up the port infrastructure. This helped bring Imperial Group Inc. to the area, creating 30 new jobs.

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Related Links:
- Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development
- Governor's Web site

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