Local News

Another wolf-management bill headed to House with strong bipartisan backing

By NCBI
Mar 15, 2013

Sen. John Smith is two-for-three when it comes to convincing the state Senate to support his wolf-related legislation. Senate Bill 5193 passed late Wednesday with a bipartisan 28-21 vote, which Smith says is encouraging as the bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

"This bill has strong promise in the House, despite skepticism from many people in the media and around the state," said Smith, R-Colville. "We have a strong team in support of this bill and are in a stronger position now because other legislators are finally starting to understand the severity of this issue.

"The House minority just succeeded in stopping a gun-control bill that was widely expected to pass - if a minority of legislators can do that despite all the headlines, then I'm optimistic about the future of SB 5193."

The measure deals with gray-wolf conflict management, which has been a significant issue for many of the residents in Smith's 7th District since the re-integration of wolves several years ago.

Now that SB 5193 has cleared one hurdle, Smith charges citizens with a plea to reach out to the 7th District's two representatives, Reps. Shelly Short and Joel Kretz, and give them ammunition they can use to advocate for the Senate bill.

"The wolf bills introduced in the House didn't advance, so now more than ever before, we need your help. It's a powerful thing for lawmakers to be able to stand up and tell their colleagues about the 500 e-mails and 200 phone calls that have come in urging them to support a particular bill. The more that other members of the House from around the state realize what a concern this is to our part of Washington, the more likely they are to consider the bill - so flooding inboxes, mailboxes and voicemails with your stories and encouragement can only help.

"I am proud of the progress and the team effort to address this growing problem. We are halfway through this year's legislative session and we can still keep our guns and protect our property - I'd say things are going well here in Olympia."

Smith's wolf bill that passed the Senate earlier in the month, Senate Bill 5187, is scheduled for a public hearing at 8 a.m. Wednesday before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. SB 5193 has yet to be scheduled for a public hearing in the House.


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