Representative Jennifer Belcher served Washington's twenty-second Legislative District from 1983 to 1992, serving on 10 House Committees over the course of her tenure. She served her full tenure on the Natural Resources Committee and was its chair from 1989 to 1992. Representative Belcher was one of six female state representatives dubbed the "Steel Magnolias" who led a successful effort to transform land use regulation by crafting the Growth Management Act. She was also the first woman to be elected Washington State's Commissioner of Public Lands, where she attained a 50-year habitat conservation plan for management of state forestlands, turning the state's premier land management agency toward conservation.
The Legislature is authorized to approve names for certain state facilities based on recommendations from the State Capitol Committee and the Department of Enterprise Services, with the advice of the Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee and subject to specific criteria.
The state office building at 1111 Washington Street SE is known as the "Natural Resources Building."
The Natural Resources Building is renamed the "Jennifer Belcher Building." The Department of Enterprise Services is directed to place that name on the building.
(In Support) Jennifer Belcher was one of those trailblazing women that made a difference in the lives of many young women growing up in the political sphere. She did a tremendous amount of work to protect the environment and advance women's issues. Her work to protect Spotted Owls established her as a visionary leader in forest policy in Washington and the entire United States, and she remained a leader in her later days as a citizen. The agencies in the building to be renamed benefit greatly from her habitat protection plans.
(Opposed) None.
(Other) There are statutory requirements for renaming buildings on the Capitol Campus. The process is overseen by the State Capitol Committee, and this topic is included as an agenda item for their next meeting on February 16.