Dent bills related to oversight board for children, youth, and families, mitigating the risk of wildfires through electric utility planning pass House
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Dent bills related to oversight board for children, youth, and families, mitigating the risk of wildfires through electric utility planning pass House
Two bills sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent cleared the state House of Representatives last week with unanimous support.
The first, House Bill 1590 would change the membership and subcommittees of the Oversight Board for the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).
“We are working to streamline the oversight process and ensure we have qualified individuals serving in the positions on the board,” said Dent, R-Moses Lake. “We also want to include individuals with experience in the juvenile justice and foster care systems.”
The board for DCYF was created in 2017 when the new department was also created.
Dent's House Bill 1032 would mitigate the risk of wildfires through electric utility planning.
“The bill follows up on the work of the Electric Utility Wildland Fire Prevention Task Force in 2019. The bill allows each utility to write a mitigation plan based on its own unique circumstances. The bill would allow for the sharing of best management practices and standardize reporting on wildfire mitigation,” said Dent. “The hope is with the wildfire mitigation plans we will see fewer and less severe wildfires, which would also reduce the state's firefighting costs.”
Both bills are now in the Senate for consideration.
The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on April 23.
