S-4405               _______________________________________________

                                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8428

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senators DeJarnatt, Patterson, Rasmussen, Zimmerman, Hayner, Garrett, Conner, Bauer, Moore, Smith, Kiskaddon, Rinehart and Lee

Read first time 1/26/88.  Under suspension of rules, advanced to second reading and held for calendar on 1/27/88.

WHEREAS, Julia Butler Hansen's memorable political career started more than fifty years ago when she became a member of the city council in her home town of Cathlamet in 1937; and

          WHEREAS, She was elected to the state House of Representatives the following year and began her rapid ascendancy to positions of leadership in a state emerging from the Depression with a crumbling road system and crucial demands for restructuring all of the state's programs; and

          WHEREAS, Julia Butler Hansen's political insight, intelligence, and ability to move legislation permitted her to play a significant role in the major changes in Washington's post-war restructuring, including basic school support, teacher tenure and retirement and, most particularly, in the building of the state's highway and bridge network; and

          WHEREAS, Her remarkable political skills brought about the passage, year after year, of an ambitious highway program, which made Washington one of the leading states in modern highway design and established Julia as one of the foremost authorities on road construction and planning in all of the state legislatures; and

          WHEREAS, In 1949 Julia Butler Hansen became the first woman chair of the Joint Highway and Bridge Committee and was also the first woman to chair a state legislative highway committee in the nation.  Through her influence as five-term head of the House Highways Committee, the legislature approved the acquisition of a Washington State Ferry System, establishment of the Columbia Basin road system, reconstruction of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, construction of the Hood Canal, Evergreen Point, and Biggs Rapids Bridges, and numerous other projects that enhanced the comfort, convenience, and safety of the motoring public.  She was the author and chief supporter of the first Highway Commission bill, separating the department from the governor's control and creating a highway commission and a long-range priority programming law to provide future planning for highways, free of political pork-barreling; and

          WHEREAS, This highly qualified legislator was the first woman ever elected to be the chair of the National Conference of Highway Users, served as Chair of the Western Interstate Committee on Highway Policy Problems for four years, and was elected Speaker Pro Tempore of the Washington State House of Representatives in 1959; and

          WHEREAS, Julia was elected Third Congressional District Representative to the United States Congress in 1960 to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Russell V. Mack, and was then reelected to a full term in 1961.  She continued to illustrate, to a larger legislative forum, her prowess in the field of politics, serving in major subcommittee positions such as Chair of the Subcommittee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the Appropriations Committee, overseeing millions of dollars each year in her part of the appropriations process.  This gave her a strong voice in the distribution of federal funding, and the opportunity to better address the needs of her state; at the same time becoming one of the most powerful women in the United States Congress before stepping down in 1975; and

          WHEREAS, After leaving Congress in 1975, Mrs. Hansen was immediately appointed to the Washington State Transportation Commission by Governor Daniel J. Evans and was then reappointed by Governor Dixy Lee Ray for a six-year term.  She was also a member of the Washington Toll Bridge Authority in 1975-1977; and

          WHEREAS, As Chair of the Transportation Commission in 1979-1981, her influence with former colleagues in the United States Congress helped provide federal emergency relief assistance to deal with the sinking of the Hood Canal Bridge in 1979 and the eruptions of Mount St. Helens in 1980; and

          WHEREAS, Julia Butler Hansen retired from the Transportation Commission on December 31, 1980, after forty-three years of public service;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the State of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Washington State Legislature recognize the remarkable accomplishments of a most remarkable individual, Julia Butler Hansen; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington State Transportation Commission commence proceedings to change the name of an historic bridge over the Columbia River from the Puget Island Bridge to the Julia Butler Hansen Bridge.  This bridge has a special significance -- it was the first of many bridges built through the political efforts of the state's Grand Lady of Politics and Transportation, Julia Butler Hansen; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitably inscribed copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Washington State Transportation Commission and to The Honorable Julia Butler Hansen in Cathlamet, Washington.