We all did it together! All Orca Emergency Response Bills have passed out of the Washington State House and Senate!
Thank you for your time and efforts to contact our representatives – they heard you ask for better protection of our Salish Sea.
Here’s the scoreboard for these bills – all addressing the protection and recovery of Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) per the recommendations from the Governor’s SRKW Recovery and Task Force:
ESHB 1578 – Reducing threats to southern resident killer whales by improving the safety of oil transportation
Passed out of the House on March 7 (yeas 70; nays 28). Passed out of the Senate on April 10 (yeas 32; nays 13; excused 4).
SB 5918 – Providing whale watching guidelines in the boating safety education program
Passed out of the Senate on March 7 (yeas 48; nays 0; excused 1). Passed out of the House on April 7 (yeas 90; nays 5; excused 3).
2SSB 5577– Concerning the protection of southern resident orca whales from vessels
Passed out of the Senate on March 7 (yeas 46; nays 3). Passed out of the House on April 15 (yeas 84; nays 13; excused 1).
SSB 5135 – Preventing toxic pollution that affects public health or the environment
Passed out of the Senate on March 7 (yeas 25; nays 24). Passed out of the House on April 15 (yeas 60; nays 37; excused 1).
2SHB 1579 – Implementing recommendations of the southern resident killer whale task force related to increasing chinook abundance
Passed out of the House on March 7 (yeas, 59; nays, 39). Passed out of the Senate on April 10 (yeas, 26; nays, 20; excused, 3).
You can click on the link to each of the bills above to see how your representatives voted (“View Roll Calls” in “Bill History”). As appropriate, a “thank you” to the reps you’ve been talking with would be a nice gesture.
“Southern Resident killer whale protection and recovery has been a priority since we co-petitioned for federal listing in 2001. We are grateful for Governor’s Inslee’s leadership in establishing the Task Force and requesting many of these bills, and for the work of Rep. Lekanoff,” said Stephanie Buffum, Friends’ Executive Director. Click here to read more from the San Juan Update.
Thank you for your voice and support!
