It’s said persistence pays off. That seems true in the case of Rep. Gina Mosbrucker’s electric grid reliability bill.
It’s been a little over a year since Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed her bill on March 31, 2022, after it had passed both the House and Senate unanimously. On Monday, he signed Mosbrucker’s newest electric grid reliability bill into law.
House Bill 1117 ensures the state will continually address plans to help avoid energy blackouts, brownouts, or other inadequacies of the electric grid.
“This bill was suggested to me by Klickitat County PUD Commissioner Dan Gunkel. It is focused on having stable, reliable, and sufficient energy sources as the state of Washington transitions to green energy, often which sources are intermittent. We want to make sure that Washingtonians don’t experience the same kind of brownouts and energy blackouts that we’ve seen in other states going green, such as California,” said Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale.
“This measure had strong support in the Legislature, so I reintroduced it this year and worked with the governor’s office to address any concerns,” added Mosbrucker. “I also worked hard to get it through the House and Senate committees. Once again, it passed the Legislature, and we finally got it signed into law.”
Under the bill, the Department of Commerce and the Utilities and Transportation Commission are directed to convene energy resource adequacy stakeholder meetings at least once a year until Jan. 1, 2031. At those meetings, it is required to specifically address the risk of rolling blackouts and inadequacy events, discuss how proposed laws and regulations may require new state policy for resource adequacy, and identify incentives to enhance and ensure resource adequacy.
Mosbrucker said it’s about making sure the lights and power stay on.
“We have many senior citizens and families that live in rural areas that rely solely on electric energy. When the power goes out, so does their heating source. That can be very dangerous with some of the harsh winters we have, especially in Eastern Washington,” noted Mosbrucker. “This legislation will work to make sure there is enough power generation to keep the lights on and stay warm.”
Also on Monday afternoon, Gov. Inslee signed House Bill 1512. Known as the “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) and Lucian Act,” the bill will provide resources for immediate actions that need to take place when a person vanishes.
“We want to have resources available to the public about immediate actions that should take place when someone vanishes, like writing down every detail you remember, and uploading photos of the missing person to 911 databases, such as the Travis Alert System, and accessing the NamUs National Missing and Unidentified Persons System,” said Mosbrucker. “This statewide toolkit could help to save lives, bring loved ones home, and be available to all families.”
The bill recognizes missing and murdered indigenous people, an issue Mosbrucker first brought to the forefront in 2018 legislation. It is also named after four-year-old Lucian Munguia, who was reported missing on Sept. 10 from Sarg Hubbard Park in Yakima and drowned in the Yakima River.
“Our prayers remain with Lucian’s family. There is such a feeling of despair when a family member goes missing. We want to empower families with support and tools to help them find their loved ones. Hopefully, this bill will help to uplift those families,” noted Mosbrucker.
The measure passed the House and Senate unanimously.
Both measures take effect July 22, 2023.
PHOTO: Gov. Jay Inslee signs House Bill 1512, “the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People and Lucian Act” as sponsor Rep. Gina Mosbrucker and supporters watch.
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