Legislative Priorities Set for Olympia

I’d like to introduce myself and offer my sincere appreciation to the friends and family of NMTA who have helped me make this transition. My name is Peter Schrappen, and I am the new Director of Government Affairs.

If there’s one thing I’m passionate about, it’s chatting about how politics intersect with the recreational boating industry. Please do not hesitate to drop me a line if you see an article or issue that warrants our attention. You can reach me at peter@nmta.net .

One of my biggest accomplishments so far at NMTA has been working with the Government Affairs Committee (GAC) to develop a series of legislative priorities that we can now take to Olympia. Three Sheets Northwest tells this story quite well, which you can access here:
Association targets pocketbook issues for boaters

Like the vast majority of the committees at NMTA, this committee is open for all members to attend. Democracy is for those who show up so please make plans to attend the next GAC meeting (Sept 2 at 10:00 at NMTA).

Boating Industry Tracks 2010 Legislative Session

As most of you are aware, the 60-day 2010 Washington State Legislative Session began on Monday. NMTA's lobbyist, Cliff Webster, will reside in Olympia for the duration of the session and will track and comment on legislation on behalf of our 550 members in Washington State.

Yesterday, Governor Gregoire delivered her State of the State address. To read the details of her delivery you can see yesterday's Seattle Times article, however because the session is all about balancing the state budget through spending cuts, new taxes or an additional infusion of federal funds, these three sentences from the article summarize her speech on these matters:

1) She wants a “responsible, balanced approach of painful cuts and new revenues” to close the state’s $2.6 billion budget gap.

2) She will deliver a budget proposal to the legislature later that relies on $750 million in new revenue and $1 billion in cuts.

3) The new revenue will come from a mix of federal aid and (unspecified) new taxes.

This all means that the NMTA government affairs team will have to work diligently to see that no new taxes are raised on the backs of our businesses or the thousands of boaters who enjoy this pasttime. (The industry is suffering enough under economic duress.) As the boating industry in 2008 was responsible for over 6,500 jobs and $23.9 million in sales tax revenue, we hope to ensure that the State Legislature will tread delicately when it comes to recreational boating.