An update.
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OLYMPIA -- With the first cutoff date passed, several important pieces of ag-related legislation are still in play, among them bills related to managing wolves.
Off the table are proposals to require labeling of genetically modified foods.
Feb. 3 was the date by which bills had to emerge from their committee of origin or else be dropped from further consideration. Those bills are considered dead, though they can be revived.
Senate Bill 6137 would allow a livestock owner, the owner's family or a documented employee to kill a gray wolf without a permit when there is physical evidence that the wolf is in the act of attacking the owner's livestock.
Ag spokesmen told legislators that owners should not have to wait until their livestock are injured or killed before being able to apply for a permit. The bill also addressed the split between wolves' federal listing in some parts of the state but not in others.
That bill goes to the House Rules Committee.
Other wolf-related legislation was requested by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish requirements of the state's new Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.
House Bill 2365 adds the gray wolf to the list of big game species. It also allows the State Wildlife Account to be used for compensating livestock owners for damage caused by wild carnivores.
Two amendments were made: Fish and Wildlife would be allowed to spend up to $50,000 per year to pay claims, and an account would be set up to house any spillover funds from one year to proceeding years.
That bill has been sent to the House Rules Committee.
A companion bill, Senate Bill 6139, has been sent to the Senate Rules Committee.
