13th District lawmakers push back on regulations crippling farm production in Washington

February 7, 2025

Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, and Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, join KPQ for an update on the 2025 legislative session. Dent shares his hope that House Bill 1597, allowing emergency overtime adjustments for agricultural employers, will get a hearing and provides an update on attempts to hold Democrats to their promise that farmers would be exempt from the hidden fuel tax of the Climate Commitment Act. Climate concerns are also driving House Bill 1630, which Ybarra says would require farmers to pay a hidden tax on the methane emissions from cows.

The lawmakers also discussed small airport funding, a governor-comissioned study on data centers, lifting restrictions for public utility districts, increasing options for apprenticeship programs, a solution for fire-protection deserts, the extension of a pesticide application safety program and an idea to recognize Medal of Honor recipients on a Vantage landmark.