H-1403.1                  _______________________________________________

                                             HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4013

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Representatives Kessler, Basich, Riley, Jones, Holm and J. Kohl

Read first time 02/12/93.  Referred to Committee on Trade, Economic Development & Housing.

Petitioning the federal government for coastal economic recovery investment.

          TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, The Washington State House of Representatives and Senate recognize that implementation of federal endangered species legislation has gravely and irreversibly impacted the coastal economies of Pacific and Grays Harbor counties and parts of Jefferson and Clallam counties; and

          WHEREAS, The loss of timber-related jobs has created a further erosion of jobs in coastal communities which presently do not have alternative employment opportunities; and

          WHEREAS, Hard-working families are losing their homes, automobiles, and other possessions and are going without adequate food, critically needed medical care, educational, and social services previously earned with wages from their jobs; and

          WHEREAS, The loss of sales tax, property tax, and other local revenues by local coastal communities resulting from the devastating economic dislocation is accompanied by a heavy additional burden placed on public services provided by local police, prosecutors, public health, and social service providers that manifestly precludes local government from financing an economic recovery program; and

          WHEREAS, In 1991 the federal government received an estimated one hundred forty-three million dollars in general tax revenue, exclusive of social security and unemployment insurance taxes, from Pacific and Grays Harbor counties; and

          WHEREAS, In 1991 the State of Washington received an estimated seventy-seven million dollars in general fund taxes from the two-county area; and

          WHEREAS, Implementation of the Coastal Economic Recovery Action Plan will provide jobs and improve the coastal economy so that at the end of ten years the federal government tax revenues will increase from one hundred forty-three million dollars a year to two hundred five million dollars and the Washington State general fund revenues will increase from seventy-seven million dollars a year to one hundred thirteen million dollars over the ten-year period; and

          WHEREAS, The millions of dollars monthly spent by the federal and state government for public assistance, unemployment compensation, medical assistance, food, retraining, and other social service programs can be sharply reduced through implementation of the coastal economy which emphasizes tourism, outdoor recreation, and commercial and sports fishing;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the federal government invest, along with the State of Washington, in a Coastal Economic Recovery Plan by funding the following elements of the plan:

          (1) Habitat restoration jobs, including Olympic peninsula, Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay drainages.  The primary beneficiaries of the work will be wild stocks of salmon:  Fifty million dollars;

          (2) Federal share of new coastal hatcheries including wild stock supplementation facilities:  Seventeen million five hundred thousand dollars;

          (3) Federal share of coastal tourism infrastructure facilities:  Twelve million dollars;

          (4) Federal funding of educational facilities at Grays Harbor College for Dislocated Timber Workers:  Five million dollars; and

          (5) Federal share of coastal transportation facilities for tourism and outdoor recreation:  Ten million dollars.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

                                                           --- END ---