HB 2478 passed the House on a vote of 96-1! It was pulled from rules yesterday.
We should let our representatives know we appreciate the Yes vote on this bill. The bee forage pilot project will help landowners know how to successfully replace noxious weeds with good bee forage. Every representative in the House voted in favor of this bill but one.
You can find your representatives by putting your address in at
http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/
and clicking on the two Representatives who represent your district to email them, thanking them for their Yes vote on 2478, and for their support of healthy honey bees and pollinators. The only No vote was Rep. Klippert from Kennewick.
The bill now goes to the Senate. Senators will be hearing from us soon. We are waiting to see which committee in the Senate will hear this bill. When the chance comes up again to push the bill ahead, we will let you know.
In other news, the new bee research position for WSU has been included in this year’s supplementary budget, thanks to Sen. Warnick and Rep. Blake. We will keep a close eye on this provision. Other states have handfuls of honey bee researchers at their land grant universities; Washington has only one. And we are the number 2 pollination state in the country by acreage! When you have the opportunity, speak to your legislators about keeping this item in this year’s budget.
Package bee order information will be coming very soon!
Thanks to all!