Governor Ferguson travels to Yakima to sign slate of 10 bills

YAKIMA - Today Governor Bob Ferguson traveled to Yakima to sign a diverse set of bills, all sponsored by Republican legislators. It marks the second consecutive year that the Governor has taken bill action in Eastern Washington on Republican-led legislation.

Video of the bill signing is available here. Photos are available here.

Among the bills signed today was Senate Bill 5841, sponsored by Sen. Matt Boehnke (R-8^th District), which makes it easier for students and their families to track their federal financial aid application status. This will help more students unlock financial aid to continue their education.

Washington ranks near the bottom for students submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA. One of Governor Ferguson's top priorities since taking office is improving that completion rate.

Specifically, Senate Bill 5841 integrates financial aid application data into Washington's universal High School and Beyond Plan platform. It allows students, families and authorized school staff to easily see whether a student has started or completed the FAFSA, or the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA). The bipartisan bill also helps students gather information about scholarships, like the College Bound Scholarship and the Washington State Opportunity Scholarships.

"Since Day One of my administration, I have been laser focused on improving Washington's FAFSA completion rate so students are not leaving free money on the table to pay for college or other post-secondary opportunities," Governor Ferguson said. "This legislation is one of many ways we are tackling this issue. Making it easier to track where students are at in the process will translate to more completed FAFSA applications - and ultimately more financial aid for students to continue their education and pursue workforce training or apprenticeships."

Other bills signed by Governor Ferguson in Yakima today include:

House Bill 2348 (sponsor Rep. Tom Dent, R-13^th District; companion sponsor Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-42^nd District): Requested by Department of Natural Resources, this bill allows DNR to advertise sales of land and timber on its website and removes the requirement for wasteful printing of pamphlets.

House Bill 2104 (Rep. Tom Dent, R-13^th District): Makes the Aviation Assurance Funding Program permanent.

House Bill 2452 (Rep. April Connors, R-8^th District): Clarifies how rent increases under the Manufactured / Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act can be delivered.

House Bill 2525 (sponsor Rep. Gloria Mendoza, R-14^th District; companion sponsor Sen. John Braun, R-20^th District): Creates a heritage orchard program, managed by Washington State University.

House Bill 1210 (Rep. Stephanie Barnard, R-8^th District): Encourages clean energy businesses by modifying an existing property tax exemption program to give clean energy projects more time to complete construction.

Senate Bill 6132 (Sen. Judy Warnick, R-13^th District): Authorizes a narrow modification to port district indebtedness limits for certain inland ports that have established a tax increment financing area. Specifically, this bill is narrowly tailored to help the Port of Moses Lake finance a long-planned rail infrastructure project by providing an alternative way to access the needed funding.

Senate Bill 6066 (sponsor Sen. Nikki Torres, R-15^th District; companion sponsor Rep. Mark Klicker, R-16^th District): allows state and local governments to designate crash prevention zones on roads with high rates of serious injury or fatal crashes. Within these zones, agencies can implement safety improvements to reduce dangerous conditions.

Senate Bill 6194 (Sen. Curtis King, R-14^th District): Directs the state Health Care Authority to reimburse certain Medicaid services for any rural hospital that is located on a federally recognized Indian reservation at 150% of the allowable rates. This will allow Astria Toppenish to continue to provide critical health services to Washingtonians.

Senate Bill 6170 (Sen. Curtis King, R-14^th District): updates contracting cost limits that streamline how small projects get done.