Post from davidtaylor at CHUM.LY

2011 Legislative Session:: House land-use bill a head-scratcher : Sports Yakima: http://sportsyakima.com/2011/02/house-land-use-bill-a-head-scratcher/

 

A head scratcher, huh? The WA State Department of Natural Resources manages over 600,000 of agricultural lands in Washington State. The question here is whether the PUBLIC wants their tax money spent purchasing and managing agricultural lands by the Department of Natural Resources. Why not sell those properties not being used for "active forestry"? According to the Office of Financial Management, selling those parcels not used for active forestry would generate approximately $440 million dollars and remove the long-term costs of managing (or mismanaging) these lands.

 

Utah and Idaho have both passed similar measures, but according to Mr. Sandsberry, passing a similar law in Washington "would be a huge mistake". Why? Kittitas County is approximately 75% publicly owned. Yakima County 76%, Klickitat County 75% and Skamania County 95% publicly owned. The local tax payers are left with the burden of paying the cost of providing police and medical services to these areas. At what point should the state and federal government get out of the landowner business.

 

I would note that the state and federal government really don't own the land; they manage it on behalf of the public. After all, it was public money that purchased the land, but I digress ...

 

According to Mr. Sandsberry, "selling off DNR lands to the highest bidder is, at best, knee-jerk shortsightedness that would unravel years of land-management policy." The author assumes state and federal agencies actually have a land management policy beyond purchasing additional, trading for additional or otherwise encumbering private lands to the benefit of the public without compensation.

 

Finally, Mr. Sandsberry suggests "generating a states-rights land-use argument will only raise the decibel level of that disturbing corner of the populace already afflicted with anti-government, the-feds-are-using-mind-control-through-my-cell-phone, secessionists-in-armed-compounds paranoia." Wow, I didn't realize that believing in the US Constitution and specifically the 9th and 10th amendments made someone "anti-government" and"paranoid". I guess someone should tell Judge Vinson, who ruled Obamacare was unconstitutional, he's "anti-government" and"paranoid".

 

Just a thought ....

 

#David #Taylor #15th #District #State #Rep #HB #1199 #Obamacare

http://chum.ly/n/6523a8