BILL REQ. #:  S-1055.1 

Read first time 01/28/2005.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     WHEREAS, It is appropriate for the Legislature to recognize and honor the distinctive historic, cultural, and geologic characteristics of the State of Washington; and
     WHEREAS, The Columbia River has been an integral part of the cultural and economic fabric of the Northwest, vital for untold generations before the Native American Tribes met Lewis and Clark two hundred years ago; and
     WHEREAS, The Columbia River's bountiful waters continue to be vital to the agricultural and industrial activities that are critical to Washington's economy and communities in the Twenty-First Century; and
     WHEREAS, On May 11, 1792, Captain Robert Gray, a Rhode Island fur trader in command of the "Columbia Redivva," named the river after that vessel after becoming the first non-Indian navigator to cross the river's bar and sail upriver; and
     WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson's vision of a nation that bridged the entire continent was realized when the Corps of Discovery, under the leadership of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reached the mouth of the Columbia River in 1805 in what is today Pacific County; and
     WHEREAS, In accordance with state law, the State Capitol Committee and the Legislative Building Renovation Oversight Committee, with the advice of the Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee, have recommended that the new public space in the center of the first floor of the renovated Legislative Building be named to commemorate the Columbia River; and
     WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature wishes to recognize the Columbia River for its distinctive and vital place in the state's history, culture, and economy;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Washington State Senate, the House of Representatives concurring, That the public space created in the center of the first floor of the Legislative Building be named "The Columbia Room"; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate forward copies of this resolution to the Honorable Christine Gregoire, Governor of the State of Washington; the Honorable Brad Owen, Lt. Governor and Chair, State Capitol Committee; the Honorable Sam Reed, Secretary of State; the Honorable Michael Murphy, State Treasurer, the Legislative Building Renovation Oversight Committee; Barbara Swift, Chair, Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee; and R. D. Fukai, Director of the Department of General Administration.