Fighting for our environment and tax credit for our farmers

As our communities face harsher climate effects including droughts, heatwaves, and floods, it is important for all of us to work together towards ensuring a healthier environment. That’s why we are dedicated to pursuing two approaches to environmental protection.

First, I am committed to investing in clean energy technologies that create good-paying jobs, lower energy bills and support a path toward energy independence.

House Bill 1924—which supports fusion technology—passed the Senate and will be signed into law. By incorporating this technology into our state’s clean energy policies, we can more easily meet our energy needs.

Fusion is among the most environmentally friendly sources of energy with zero carbon emissions and no long-lived radioactive nuclear waste. By clashing atoms together, fusion can release a million times more energy than burning fossil fuels. In essence, with fusion, we are creating stars on Earth – and a cleaner, better future.

House Bill 1768—which incentivizes the use of green hydrogen—passed the House but unfortunately did not get enough support in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. By providing a public utilities tax exemption to light/power businesses using green hydrogen, this bill fosters private-public partnership and innovation that spurs local economic development.

Through a chemical process known as electrolysis, we can use electrical currents to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water. Green hydrogen is a clean energy source that only emits water vapor—and uses our existing infrastructure, it is 100 percent sustainable, storable, and a viable form of energy.

Second, I am committed to ensuring our farming community is meaningfully involved in environmental protection. Our farmers feed us and the world, and we must do everything to support them.

House Bill 1936—which provides a tax credit for farmers in a conservation program—unfortunately did not move out of the House. This tax credit could go towards new equipment, seed, feed, and other expenditures. This helps farmers keep natural resources and farmland healthy for all—while also ensuring farms prosper with a tax credit. This is a win-win for everyone.

Our legislative district is beautiful. We have a lot to be proud of—and a lot to protect.

Thank you for the opportunity to continue my life-long dedication to public service. As a veteran having attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduated from Naval Nuclear Power School, trained at a naval nuclear reactor plant, and served in the Middle East and Southeast Asia as a public affairs officer, I am honored to serve you here in the Washington State Legislature.