From Senate Democratic Communications
Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orca Island, issued this statement regarding the passage in the House of Representative of Senate Bill 5603:
“Increasing acidity of our marine waters not only negatively impacts the health of our marine environment, but also has major impacts on the industries that rely upon a healthy marine environment and the thousands of jobs that depend upon them.
“As we continue to direct our state public policy efforts on addressing climate change and its impacts, our marine waters and marine resources must be part of the discussion.
“That’s why the House’s passage of my bill to advance the recommendations of the Ocean Acidification Blue Ribbon Panel that I served on last year is such positive news. It’s positive news for our coastal communities. It’s positive news for industries that rely on our marine resources, like our shellfish industries. And, it’s positive news for our state and our economy as a whole.
“Washington is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of ocean acidification, but this is a problem we can address. My bill, which now heads to the Gov. Inslee for his signature into law, is an important component in our state’s overall, comprehensive, coordinated approach to addressing one of the more pressing issue of our time – climate change.
“I am extremely pleased that we were able to overcome opposition and advance this critical work.”
