Senator Chase has introduced a bill to make the Commission advisory and the Director a Governor's appointment.

For all the issues we're facing, we don't need to lose the Commission process.


http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5718&Year=2017


Notable changes at a glance:

Removes senate approval of Director, governor does as he pleases
Removes senate approval of the Commissioners, governor does as he pleases
Turns the commission into an “advisory” group, entirely guts them of authority
Removes compensation for commissioners

In addition, this would remove any legal tenant for compliance with the States Open Public Meeting Act. Thereby making it illegal for any public citizen to attend ANY MEETING between WDFW and anybody else. Including the Tribes! Wonder where the push is coming from???

Anytime Senators are handing away their authority something is amiss.

If you have been awake, this is no surprise. Since, to pass, this will require support of both D's and R's it will be illuminating to follow the money.

Losing any transparency never a good thing and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Bill sponsor, Senator Maralyn Chase is a Demo, 32nd District NW Seattle, So of Edmonds, including Lynwood, Shoreline and Mountlake Terrace. Ranking member of the Trade and Economic Development Committee. I smell a rotten Commercial fish! Time to start writing my represenatives, and those of you that live up in that district raise some hell!

Who's Chase beholden to? Commercial fishermen? Fish processors? Treaty tribes?

I wrote my Senator yesterday asking that she help kill this bill and give it the early death it deserves.

Uh oh! I can see a potential fork up ahead on the "conspiratory highway"....

Is this a play by the tribes to put the kibosh on the mounting preassure for open meetings between the state and tribes? Or

Is this a play by the commercial sector to squash the runaway "sporty" commission?

Could it be both?!

Only time will tell...

This is how curruption works, the governor can get full controll, do as the tribes like because they have lots of money and are willing to give it to people who give them what they want. No other reason than that...

Lots of commercial fishing interests living in that District; moved up from Ballard!

So all know it is the tribal issue that is the mover behind the scenes and if you want to research the players you must start with JT in Gov Green-jeans staff. It is not that the players are not known but in the political environment we have for whatever the reasons the D's are the " establishment " force and seem to like the government deciding things which is a reversal from the past.

Another element is that the agency has used the Commission as a wall between them and the issues be it whatever. In other words the Commission has become a barrier between the legislature and everyone without teeth and staff uses them like ( fill your word of choice ) and simply does whatever the Agency want minus a legal action. The Policies developed by the Commission are not WAC but rather guidelines that the Agency is supposed to utilize.

Interesting that WDFW and the AG's oriface claim that WDFW complies with the APA and open meetings and is transparent and (somehow) all these bills pop up to codify secrecy. Amazing coincidence.

IMHO, Senator Chase is one of the first individuals sportsmen should send home from Olympia. She always seems to be on the opposite side of the argument, whenever sportsmen are trying to make a change in the status quo. She's a maverick unlikely to be dissuaded from her position by a pickup load of facts. Maybe, that's why she's the only sponsor on SB 5718. I sent a comment to my senator asking him to bury Chase's proposal.

This makes sense.

ps. check your account, it may have been hacked.

We have got a number of MAJOR issues concerning our fisheries at the moment. One is the proposed license fee increase. But while our attention is focused on the fee increase, another 3 point assault on our rights as sportsmen and women is going full force, and is currently flying under the wire for most.

I'm speaking on the issues of removing the Commission as an extension of the people, and prohibiting the public from having any influential voice in the management (or..Mis-Mangement) of our fisheries.

If the people of this State don't WAKE UP NOW and band together to fight this assault, our sport, our fish will be a thing of the past!

Just take a look at what's going on as we are focused on a proposed license fee increase;

There are currently two bills being acted on that not only eliminates any public oversight, but takes all authority away from the Commission and gives ultimate power to the Director of WDFW and the Governor!

SB 5718 Makes MAJOR changes in the role of the Commission and includes language dictating that our resources will be managed to give both commercial and recreational fisheries equitable consideration.
It reduces the Commission to a subordinate advisory role to the Directors office, it effectively removes any legal challenge for public oversight under the OPMA and makes the Commission a patsy to the Governor! AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5718&Year=2017

HB1097, at my last reading pertained to Hunting but a simple amendment can cover fisheries. It contains a specific line stating that the NOF process is “Not covered under the OPMA!” Again, this is a very blatant removal of the citizens of the state to have any public oversight in the management of OUR resources.

http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1097&Year=2017#documentSection

SO WHAT, RIGHT?

Well the SO WHAT is that; When the public (and Commission) no longer have any ability (legal or otherwise) to influence the management of our resources, it leaves the door wide open for lobbyist (commercials) and sovereign nations to totally run our WDFW through money and politics! That's a pretty good SO WHAT!

So, there are basically two camps in our sport fishing community right now.

One says, "They" have all the power and nothing will change".

The other camp is saying, "I'm mad as H3LL, but we can't really do anything about it"

That's exactly what the State, the lobbyist and the Sovereign Nations want us to think..It makes us give up before we even try to fix things.
And of course, the end result is, things don't change and "they" do gain more and more power!

WE HAVE GOT TO STOP. STOP COMPLAINING AND DO SOMETHING. STOP GIVING UP BEFORE WE LOSE WHAT LITTLE WE STILL HAVE. STOP WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING TO WORK ON.

Write, call, organize, protest, and do whatever you can...there is no more time.

If you are involved, let us all know so we can band together and show a strong, united front!

Agreed

Sen. Chase has tried stuff like this before to no avail and the state senators I spoke with at that time thought that the legislators and the voters of this state had it right with Referendum bill 45--- the stuff in Chase's SB 5718 that strikes at the heart against Referendum 45 laws added to title 77 of the RCW’s.

Chair Pearson's number is 1 360 786 7676 to ask him to sit on this bill and/or against this bill.

Staff said he doesn’t like sitting on bills, so hopefully his phone ringing off the hook might help with that situation.

A follow up e mail wouldn't hurt either. kirk.pearson@leg.wa.gov

Done!

Many of you are going to have to divert from your political loyalties and start a political movement to vote these currupt calksuckers out of office. Inslee and the AG are the first that need to go. You need to get some good people in there who will turn power back over to the people. The truth is anybody with a "d" Infront of their name is probably going to exasperate the problem. Maverick, populasts need to be voted in for this to get corrected.

We need "fake news" believers in office for this to change, unfortunate truth for many of you but right up my alley.

The wet dream just hit the sheets.

Time to change em.

It's the only way this will get fixed, these currupt "snowflakes" need to be shown the door. Problem is the state is jam packed full of "educated retards". Who have exactly zero grasp of reality, they can't seem to be able to see past human induced global warming, transgender bathrooms, $15 minimum wage, and the war agianst oil pipelines. They are begging for their freedoms to be stripped, voluntarily handing over their power and control as American citizens to evil currupt politicians who want nothing more than to continue destroying America for their own profit.

So until you can take the blinders off and see the true scope of the problem nothing will change. Most of you will moan and complain about you opportunities being taken and then, with a smile on your face vote the people who took them back into office attacking anyone who exposes your ignorance.

Another bill sponsored by Senator Chase attacking our Fish and Wildlife commission again. It does get old.