Warnick, Taylor named 2017 legislators of the year

LACEY, Wash. - The Washington Farm Bureau named Sen. Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake) and Rep. David Taylor (R-Moxee) 2017 legislators of the year at Farm Bureau's annual Legislative Banquet Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.

"We are very appreciative of the work these two legislators did on behalf of agriculture, the state's second largest industry," said Mike LaPlant, Farm Bureau's state president.

While a number of legislators helped to support issues critical to the state's farmers and ranchers, Warnick and Taylor really stood out.

"Warnick led the charge in the Senate to pass a permanent fix for the water crisis created by the state Supreme Court's Hirst decision," LaPlant said. "She also prime-sponsored a bill that provides much needed additional liability protection for agritourism businesses across the state. With her leadership and ability to work with legislators from both parties, we were able to get the agritourism bill passed and signed into law by the governor.

In the House, LaPlant said Taylor played a key role in the Hirst negotiations and on last year's final agreement on the K-12 funding plan that met the requirements of the McCleary decision without the need for new taxes.

"Taylor played an integral role in a number of key negotiations in the House, especially during the critical days toward the end of session when they were needed the most," said LaPlant. "His hard work to protect taxpayers was greatly appreciated at a time when many in the urban areas of the state called for a tax increase to fund our schools."