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The governor signs two more bipartisan bills from Rep. Waters into law
Two more bipartisan bills from Rep. Kevin Waters are scheduled to take effect later this year, after being signed into law by the governor on Thursday, including one that will help beverage producers during a disaster or state of emergency.
House Bill 2204 will allow beverage producers a temporary emergency permit – with no fees – to move their place of business to another beverage producing company in the event a natural disaster forces them to close.
“This bill was inspired by a situation that occurred in my district last summer, where the Tunnel 5 Fire burned over 700 acres and resulted in road closures,” said Waters, R-Stevenson. “The area is home to about eight to ten wineries, and the road closure resulted in cutting off access to half of those wineries.
“The wineries that remained opened offered to let the others come and sell their wine and move their product out of the fire zone. However, the Liquor and Cannabis Board told them they were unable to do so under current law. Because we couldn’t do anything to help, these producers took a big hit from the fire.
“Unfortunately, this won’t be the last wildfire we will face, which is why we need this policy in place. In fact, the frequency of disasters seems to be increasing and this bill will provide an option to help liquor licensees handle these situations and minimize loss. I’m very happy to see this legislation become law.”
Currently, a licensee can only sell its own product on its licensed premises. Having more flexibility in emergencies allows licensees to help each other in those situations. House Bill 2204 will allow licensees to keep their businesses open and to keep their staff employed during emergencies and disasters.
The governor also signed into law House Bill 1982, which will codify the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) Rural Broadband program. Since 2018, CERB has operated a Rural Broadband Program with funding from the capital budget, which provides grants and loans to local governments and federally recognized tribes.
The program finances the cost to build infrastructure to provide high-speed, open-access broadband service to rural and underserved communities for the purposes of economic or community development.
“CERB is committed to economic development within our rural communities and its efforts have already made a big difference for many of these communities throughout Washington,” said Waters. “It’s great to see this bipartisan bill become law because I recognize the positive affect it will have on our rural communities and tribes.
“I’m a CERB board member so I’ve seen firsthand the great work the board has done. Codifying this program means it will continue to benefit people throughout Washington for many years to come.”
Both bills are schedule to take effect 90 days from when the 2024 legislative session adjourned.