Inside Gov. Ferguson’s Meeting with Republican Caucus

In a rare occurrence, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson visited the Republican Caucus Tuesday.

13th District State Sen. Judy Warnick (R - Moses Lake) said they had a very good meeting.

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"We know we're not going to be able to agree with all his decisions and he understands that," Sen. Warnick said. "I was impressed that he came in and just had a sit-down meeting with us."

Sen. Warnick said Gov. Ferguson listened to concerns relating to the budget and taxes. She said Gov. Ferguson admitted he had not worked with budget before.

"He said, 'I haven't done budget before,' he said, 'I'm getting up to speed, I have to learn," Sen. Warnick said.

One of the first bipartisan moves Gov. Ferguson made involved rejecting former Gov. Jay Inslee's selections for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission. Sen. Warnick says this is one of the biggest issues for eastern Washington.

Gov. Ferguson has reportedly interviewed 14 people for two positions.

"We're hoping he will pick two that will give the Fish and Wildlife Commission more of a balance," Sen. Warnick said. "Fishing [and] hunting sometimes hasn't been really considered by the commission - it's more like wildlife protection, which we all want to do, but we need a balance of members on that commission."

Sen. Warnick also commended the governor for talking with them about balancing his emergency powers. Namely, Sen. Warnick cited the 2020 pandemic.

"Going forward, I hope we never have an emergency like we did a few years back," Sen. Warnick said. "[We talked about] what his thoughts were on that."

Gov. Ferguson also spoke with the caucus about California's standards on the trucking industry, as they spoke about Washingtonian's difficulties purchasing and operating new trucks.

Sen. Warnick said this is a big issue for the agriculture industry and the economy in the state.

She appeared as a guest on the KPQ Legislative Hotline, which you can hear Thursday and Friday mornings at 8 a.m. throughout the legislative session.