Locke vetoes mad-cow bill, OKs others

OLYMPIA -- Gov. Gary Locke vetoed a bill Monday aimed at increasing safeguards against mad cow disease, telling lawmakers that it instructs state officials to do what they're already doing.

The bill, Senate Bill 6636, would have created an interagency work group to develop a comprehensive state policy on proper methods for disposing of diseased animal carcasses. It would also have authorized the Department of Agriculture to issue emergency rules for the disposal of such carcasses.

Disposal of such carcasses became an issue late last year after a cow from a Mabton, Wash., dairy tested positive for mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a fatal brain-wasting illness.

Experts say the disease is transmitted when parts of diseased animals are ground into livestock feed.

"Our Departments of Agriculture, Ecology, and Health have worked closely together responding to the event, working with federal agencies, local governments, and affected stakeholders," Locke wrote in his veto message. "These agencies have already undertaken an evaluation of the incident with a particular focus on disposal."

As for the emergency authority, Locke wrote, the director of Department of Agriculture already has such authority relating to the prevention of the spread of infectious animal diseases. Locke also noted that lawmakers didn't earmark any extra money for the work group.

The bill sponsored by the Senate Agriculture Committee passed the Legislature unanimously. A telephone call to Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, the committee chairman, was not immediately returned Monday.

Also on Monday, Locke signed more than two dozen, mostly minor, bills, including:

•House Bill 2488, ordering the Department of Ecology to research the growing problem of electronic waste -- discarded computers, monitors and other electronics that can include lead, mercury and other toxic substances. The bill, sponsored by the House Fisheries, Ecology and Parks Committee, directs the department to review existing pilot projects and encourage new projects aimed at a statewide collection, recycling and reuse plan, and prepare recommendations for the Legislature. The measure adopted by lawmakers was considerably watered down from the original proposal, which called for mandates on manufacturers and a $5 fee on the sale of televisions, computer monitors and central processing units.

•Senate Bill 5536, which tightens restrictions on suing builders and sellers of condominiums. The measure sponsored by the Senate Judiciary Committee was prompted by complaints that lawsuits over minor defects were dramatically increasing the cost of liability insurance for condominium builders.

•Senate Bill 6476, banning local governments from using zoning regulations to eliminate existing mobile home parks. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Joyce Mulliken, R-Ephrata, doesn't prevent the governments from using zoning to prevent the siting of new mobile home parks.

•Senate Bill 6144, giving the Department of Natural Resources temporary authority to use contract logging to improve forest health on state lands. The bill by the Senate Ways and Means Committee exempts such operations from the annual 10 percent cap on contract harvest sales in state forests.

•Senate Bill 6560, banning the use of baited hooks to catch land animals, a practice common in some other states that has sprung up in Washington in recent years. The bill -- prompted by an Olympia-area man whose dog was caught in a hook apparently meant for coyotes -- adds the practice to the state's animal cruelty laws. It was sponsored by the Senate Committee on Parks, Fish & Wildlife.

•Senate Bill 6148, creating a special license plate to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Under the bill sponsored by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, fees for the plates would go to provide assistance to the families of slain officers and to build a memorial on the state Capitol grounds.

•Senate Bill 6676, allowing the transfer of all license plates from one vehicle to another. The bill, sponsored by the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee, expands existing law to include regular license plates, not just special and personalized plates. The bill also increases the fee for transferring most plates from $5 to $10.

Locke postponed scheduled action on Senate Bill 5412, which would toughen civil penalties for identity theft and establish a system of biometric identifiers to protect Washington citizens against identity thieves who fraudulently obtain duplicate drivers' licenses.

"•Senate Bill 6560, banning the use of baited hooks to catch land animals, a practice common in some other states that has sprung up in Washington in recent years. The bill -- prompted by an Olympia-area man whose dog was caught in a hook apparently meant for coyotes -- adds the practice to the state's animal cruelty laws. It was sponsored by the Senate Committee on Parks, Fish & Wildlife."

You're next, Idaho.

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