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 Friends
. . . and true colors . . .
At the time of this writing I
just returned from Olympia. I was giving testimony in favor of
Senate Bill 6603. This specific piece of legislation is regarding
land use adjacent to general aviation airports.
For those legal geeks out there it is an attempt to update
RCW 36.70.547. Basically, the original law came into effect in
1996 asking, “Every county, city and town . . . to
discourage the
siting of incompatible uses adjacent to
. . . airports”. The
proposed legislation changes the key word to
prohibit.
During testimony the senators
heard from a number of individuals and organizations.
Specifically, those in favor of 6603 were WSDOT – Aviation
Division, WAMA – Washington Airport Management Association, WPPA –
Washington Public Ports Association, AOPA and others. Those
opposed were the Council of Cities and the developer wanting to
encroach on my airport in Shelton. I can’t remember his exact
words but he was not complimentary to WSDOT. And that may have
backfired on him according to secondhand information attributed to
some of the Senators taking testimony.
There is a second piece of
legislation in my sights. A Joint Legislative Audit and Review
(JLARC) study that recommends all General Aviation Aircraft be
charged a 1% excise tax. There is no attempt to evaluate the
benefits derived by the state from aviation. The analysis also
excludes the “other” taxes we pay into the general fund. And of
course we are all so rich we can afford it. To get your heart rate
up go to
http://www.leg.wa.gov/JLARC/Pages/default.aspx
(Look for the 2009 Tax Preferences and go to page 126).
Similar legislation was attempted and defeated in 1982. Then as
now there was a major economic downturn. The difference is that
this recession appears to be deeper at the state level.
With luck and hard work all of
this will be history by the time you read this . . . But I did
want to spend a moment or two talking about some of the people I
met along the way . . . specifically the Senate Sponsors of 6603.
I think we are all aware of Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, (D) 10th District, Island
County. She has been and remains one of aviations staunchest
supporters. I was very
pleased to see Senator Chris Marr,
(D) 6th
District, Spokane Area. His no nonsense questions to the
developers and city planners made it very clear that he is well
versed in the problem.
I also want everyone to know the
names of the other Senators who sponsored SB 6603.
1.
Dan Swecker
(R)
20th Dist
Chehalis
2.
Tracey Eide
(D)
30th Dist
Federal Way
3.
Karen Kaiser
(D)
33rd Dist
Des Moines
As for the 1% excise tax I
received an email from Senator Cheryl Pflug,
(R)
5th Dist, Issaquah giving the WPA a heads up. She was
asking about volunteer activities and donations of time and money
on the part of GA pilots. For
those of you who don’t know Senator Pflug, she is a pilot and
comes from a flying background. What I truly appreciate is the
fact that she reached out to us before anyone else knew about
this.
So, recall some of my
earlier “president’s messages” in WINGS where I talked about the
WPA getting politically connected. Recall my comments about
engaging in debates with respect? Well just look at the colors of
those stepping up to help General Aviation.
It is not about red or blue. These Senators have shown
their “true colors” to aviation.
John F. Dobson
State President
Washington Pilots Association
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