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PNWER Blog

News, Updates & Resources for the Region

2018 Capital Visits to Olympia, Boise, Juneau

1/31/2018

 

Olympia, WA | Jan 16-17

Delegation:
Sen. Arnie Roblan, OR, PNWER President
Bruce Agnew, Transportation Co-Chair
Laurie Trautman, WWU BPRI
Bryce Campbell, Consulate General of Canada, Seattle
Dan Kirschner, Northwest Gas Association
Matt Morrison, CEO, PNWER
Brandon Hardenbrook, COO, PNWER
Meetings:
Gov. Jay Inslee
Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib

Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler
House Majority Leader Rep. Pat Sullivan
House Minority Leader Rep. Dan Kristiansen
​
Sen. Sharon Nelson
Rep. Jeff Morris
Rep. Judy Clibborn
Tribal Govt. Legislative Reception
Greater Spokane Inc. 
Brief Overview on Topics, including:
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
- The Columbia River Treaty
- Cascadia Innovation Corridor
​- Carbon Tax

- Presentation on Invasive Species (PPT)
  • ​From 2015-2017, Congress appropriated a total of $9M to 4 PNW states.
  • PNWER requesting $6M to Army Corps for FY 2018
- Rural Economic Development & Healthcare Innovations
  • Highlighted areas of focus specific to Spokane, the location of the 2018 Annual Summit, and other inland regions.
- Disaster/Infrastructure Resilience
- Transportation
Meeting with Governor Jay Inslee
We had a very engaged meeting with Governor Jay Inslee and staff Charles Knudsen, where we spoke about his carbon tax plan for Washington State, we discussed the Harbor to Harbor air service between Vancouver, BC and Seattle; the Cascadia Innovation Corridor; the Governor’s recent visit to the BC Legislative Assembly; concerns over the Salish Sea oil spill preparedness and the resident Orca whale population; and we discussed the Governor coming to speak at this year’s PNWER Summit in Spokane.
PictureGov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Arnie Roblan reviewing PNWER initiatives.
PNWER President Sen. Arnie Roblan discussing PNWER initiatives with WA Gov. Jay Inslee.
Dinner with Confederated Tribes of Washington
Senator John McCoy and Senator Maralyn Chase invited our delegation to a special dinner hosted by the Confederated Tribes of Washington, where the Governor spoke and we discussed the Columbia River Treaty and other issues with over 50 tribal leaders from across the state.  
​
Picture
Gov. Jay Inslee speaking at the Tribal Leaders Legislative Reception.
Picture
Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Chariman speaking at the Tribal Leaders Legislative Reception.
Senate Technology & Economic Development Committee Hearing
Sen. Chase, Chair of the Senate Economic Development Committee invited us to present on highlights of what PNWER is working on, especially in light of the Annual Summit being hosted this year by Washington State.  Laurie Trautman gave a presentation on the importance of NAFTA to the state, Sen. Roblan described the unique Legislative Commission on Indian Services that the Oregon Legislature created to work with the tribes in Oregon.  Nate Weigel and Matt Morrison gave an update on the regional response and perimeter defense program for Quagga and Zebra mussels, and Bruce Agnew spoke about the PNWER Transportation agenda, working toward a multi-state center of excellence for infrastructure finance, and addressing the policy challenges for autonomous, connected, electric, and shared vehicles (ACES).
Picture
PNWER Nate Weigel, Sen. Roblan & PNWER CEO Matt Morrison update the WA Senate Technology & Economic Development Committee on recent activities important to WA.
Watch PNWER delegates presenting at the Senate Hearing here, featuring:
​Starts @ 3:00 min| Laurie Trautman, WWU BPRI
Starts @ 37:00 min | Sen. Arnie Roblan, PNWER President 
​Starts 
@ 57:00 min  | Matt Morrison, PNWER CEO
Starts @ 1:01:09 | Nate Weigel, PNWER 
Program Coordinator (Invasive Species Overview)
Starts @ 1:16:00|  Bruce Agnew, Transportation Co-Chair
Meetings with Legislators
We then met with the Senate Minority Leader, Mark Schoesler along with Senator Jim Honeyford and discussed the Spokane Summit, the Columbia River Treaty, invasive species, and NAFTA.  House Minority Leader Dan Kristiansen discussed the Spokane Summit, and Brandon Hardenbrook explained the two DHS grants that PNWER is working on this year, the post disaster drone assessment project, and the maritime cyber resilience project.

The delegation also met with Pat Sullivan, the House Majority Leader, and Sharon Nelson, the Senate Majority Leader and discussed the upcoming Summit, NAFTA, transportation issues, the PNWER dues, the Columbia River Treaty, and other policy issues.  We met with the Chair of the House Transportation Committee Rep. Judy Clibborn about the importance of regional transportation issues - the Columbia River bridge, the Amtrak Cascades train, and the policy issues around autonomous, connected, electric, and shared vehicles.  

Pizza Lunch
We had the well known PNWER Pizza lunch for legislators, and had a roundtable discussion with legislators about their ideas for the Spokane summit.  Rep. Jeff Morris gave an explanation of the LEHI program, and the recruitment process for this year’s cohort.  The luncheon was followed by a Summit Host Committee meeting where details on the Summit were presented, and private sector representatives joined as well in discussions on Policy Tours, etc.


Meeting with Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib
The Delegation had a good meeting with Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib where he mentioned his trip to Alberta speaking on Bi-National trade, and he discussed the possibility of convening the committee he Chairs, the joint Legislative Committee on Economic Development and International Relations (LCEDIR) during the Summit in Spokane.  This would be a good opportunity to bring some new Washington State legislators to the meeting, and also include our international legislators in a discussion on NAFTA and the importance of US - Canada trade.
Picture
Meeting with Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib.
In the evening, we attended the Association of Washington Business Annual Reception in Olympia, and hosted a dinner for 18 LEHI Alumni legislators, and some of our LEHI sponsors.  ​
Meeting with Greater Spokane Inc.
The following day, due to the great fortune of having Dan Kirschner as our Private Sector Co-Chair we were able to address a meeting of 75 key public and private sector leaders from the Greater Spokane Chamber of Commerce (Greater Spokane Inc).  Senator Roblan highlighted the importance of the Summit, and the value to the private sector of being involved early to provide input into the process.  He explained how significant last year’s summit in Portland was in bringing 840 key leaders from across the region to Oregon, and Dan encouraged the Spokane community to be involved and engaged as we plan the Spokane meeting.  It was a terrific opportunity for us to meet the key decision makers from Spokane all in one place, and in Olympia only for that one day.

Boise, ID | Jan 18-19

Brief Overview:
- Meeting with Speaker of the House, Scott Bedke, and the Senate President Pro Tem, Brent Hill
- Meeting with Governor Butch Otter
- Idaho PNWER Council meeting
- Pizza Lunch with Legislators
- Legislative Hearings
  • House Transportation and Defense Committee
  • ​House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee
  • Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
- Special Dinner at the Basque Museum
Delegation:
Sen. Arnie Roblan, OR, PNWER President
Rep. Mike Cuffe, MT, PNWER VP
Bruce Agnew, Transportation Co-Chair
Dan Kirschner, Northwest Gas Association
Matt Morrison, CEO, PNWER
Brandon Hardenbrook, PNWER Deputy Director
Picture
PNWER Vice President, Rep. Mike Cuffe with Gov. Otter.
Media:
​PNWER in The Spokesman-Review, featuring PNWER VP Mike Cuffe and the fight against invasive species.
PNWER visited Boise with a full slate of meetings with legislative and executive branch leaders. 

The trip began with a very engaging meeting with the Speaker of the House Scott Bedke and the Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill where we discussed the Columbia River Treaty, the status of federal invasive mussel funding and the upcoming Summit in Spokane. Both were very supportive of PNWER’s efforts to address regional issues and were happy to learn we will include North Idaho in a rail tour during the Summit.  

Picture
Meeting with Speaker of the House Scott Bedke and Senate Pro-Tem Brent HIll.
Meeting with Gov. Butch Otter
The delegation then held a very informative discussion with Governor Butch Otter on priority issues for Idaho including; NAFTA modernization, Columbia River Treaty and invasive mussels. The Governor focused on PNWER’s important role in assisting with moving these priority issues ahead and mentioned his efforts to engage the Trump Administration and congress on these concerns.
​
Picture
Meeting with Gov. Otter to talk NAFTA, Columbia River Treaty and Aquatic Invasive Species.
Idaho PNWER Council
As part of the visit, the Idaho PNWER Council held a meeting to provide updates and input on PNWER’s Summit agenda for the state. The Council was formed in 2012 by an Executive Order signed by Governor Otter to create a formal group made up of Executive, Legislative and Private sector leaders to come together to advance Idaho’s key issues in PNWER. The Council is is chaired by Lt. Governor Brad Little. Participants in the meeting discussed progress made on action items from the past Summit and key issues to focus on in 2018, including; NAFTA Modernization, Columbia River Treaty, Cybersecurity, Workforce Training, Transportation and Agriculture.

Pizza Lunch
PNWER hosted a lunch for members of the legislature where over 25 legislators met with our delegation and discussed the upcoming summit in Spokane and the Legislative Energy Horizon Institute in 2018. Senator Roblan invited everyone to Spokane and encouraged them to provide input to the program since North Idaho is a key partner to spokane in the inland northwest region.

Legislative Hearings
Following the lunch, PNWER took part in several legislative hearings.
  • House Transportation and Defense Committee on cybersecurity and disaster resilience led by Brandon Hardenbrook PNWER, Brig. Gen. Brad Richy Director of ID Emergency Management and Jeff Weak ID Director of Information Security.
  • PNWER presented for almost two hours in the House Environment, Energy and Technology committee with presentations by Senator Roblan and Matt Morrison and Rep. Mike Cuffe on the Columbia River Treaty, Invasive Species and the Net Zero for deep retrofits roadmap.
  • ​Bruce Agnew, PNWER Transportation Co-chair also presented in the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on advancements on public-private-partnerships, driverless transport, electric/battery storage for electric vehicles and the development of a regional accelerator for multi-state infrastructure finance.  

The Capital visit was a great success and we were able to promote the Spokane Annual Summit to over 40 legislators, and a number of state agency directors.

The visit concluded with a special dinner at the Basque Museum for new members from the House and Senate, where Senator Roblan gave a talk on the benefits of PNWER. Max Black, former Idaho legislator and PNWER’s third President, also spoke about how his experiences in PNWER was the highlight of his legislative career.  
Picture
PNWER Delegates with Rep. Jeff Thompson of Idaho, PNWER's Energy Co-Chair.
Meetings:
Governor CL “Butch” Otter
Scott Bedke, Speaker of the House
Senate Pro-Tem Brent Hill
​Presentations to:
  • House Transportation and Defense Committee
  • ​House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee
  • Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Juneau, AK | Jan 21-23

Overview: 
​The PNWER Delegation meet with Governor Walker's Chief of Staff and Lt. Governor Mallott's staff and several legislators while visiting Juneau. PNWER President, Arnie Roblan and MLA Rick Glumac, BC had the opportunity to speak about the region and learn more about the upcoming legislative session in Juneau.

As part of the visit, PNWER delegates met with Scott Kendall, Chief of Staff to Governor Walker, Mike Narrave, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and Barbara Blake, Senior Advisor on Tribal Issues and Fisheries for the office of the Gov. and Lt. Gov.  During the meeting the group discussed the upcoming summit in Spokane, NAFTA, transboundary water and mining issues, and transportation projects.  It was an opportunity for Parliamentary Secretary Glumac of new BC government to start a dialogue with Alaska on the important issues that BC and Alaska shares.

​We were able to promote the the importance of trade between Alaska and Canada as well as highlight the Spokane Annual Summit to several legislators, Senate hearings, and state agency directors during our visit to Juneau.
​Delegation:
Sen. Arnie Roblan, OR, PNWER President
Rick Glumac, BC MLA, Parliamentary Secretary for Tech.
Matt Morrison, CEO, PNWER
Steve Myers, Senior Program Manager, PNWER
Picture
PNWER Matt Morrison, Sen. Roblan, Sen. Hoffman, MLA Rick Glumac, and PNWER Steve Myers (left to right).
Picture
Senator Mia Costello and PNWER President, Sen. Arnie Roblan at the Lunch & Learn.
Picture
MLA Rick Glumac speaking at the Lunch & Learn.
Lunch & Learn (Watch Video here)
The delegation held a tremendous lunch and learn that was hosted by Senator Mia Costello with Alaska Legislators where Sen. Roblan and MLA Rick Glumac laid out their priorities for PNWER.  There was a great discussion on the importance of NAFTA and ensuring a collaborative relationship with the region. Senator Roblan spoke about PNWER's 2018 Summit and the Jordan Cove LNG terminal being developed in his district to Alaska legislators. 
Senate Labor and Commerce Committee Hearing (Watch Video here, starts @ 34:00)
Additionally, PNWER took part in a legislative hearing with the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee chaired by Senator Mia Costello.  During the hearing PNWER showcased the importance of trade with Canada and the broader region.  PNWER also highlighted workforce and innovation best practices that could be of interest to the state.  Currently, there is a resolution in the Senate calling for 2019 to be the Year of Innovation in the State of Alaska and PNWER will provide testimony to this hearing in support of encourage innovation in the state.

PNWER delegates met with leaders listed below in Alaska to discuss a wide range of issues, including: 
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
​- Transboundary water policy between Alaska and British Columbia
- Innovation and economic development opportunities in AK, and the region. - Energy Policy
- Innovative Infrastructure finance task force
- Marine issues (salmon habitat & fish farming)
- Mining
- Telecommunications
- Invasive Species
- Natural Resources
- Legislative Energy Horizons Institute (LEHI) alumni dinner
  • PNWER hosted a dinner for Legislative Energy Horizon Institute (LEHI) alumni and potential students where about 20 legislators met to discussed the upcoming summit in Spokane and the Legislative Energy Horizon Institute in 2018. Matt invited everyone to Spokane and encouraged them to provide input to the program.
- Tourism
  • PNWER met with Britteny Cioni-Haywood, Division Director for the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development on the NAFTA Task Force and discuss innovative tourism initiatives that Alaska could potential promote.  It was an opportunity to learn about the growth of the tourism industry in Alaska and showcase the benefits of regional tourism.
Picture
With Rep. Chris Birch (on left).
Picture
MLA Rick Glumac, BC, Captain Ed Page, USCG (ret.), and Sen. Arnie Roblan, OR (left to right).
Meetings:
Speaker of House Bryce Edgmon

Sen. Pete Kelly, Senate President

Sen. Berta Gardner, Minority Leader
Sen. John Coghill
Sen. Mia Costello, PNWER Innovation working group Co-Chair
Sen. Cathy Giessel
Sen. Lyman Hoffman

Sen. Shelley Hughes
​Sen. Kevin Meyer

Sen. Donny Olson
Sen. Gary Stevens


Rep. Chris Tuck, Majority Leader
Rep. Charisse Millett, Minority Leader

Rep. Chris Birch
Rep. Matt Claman

Rep. Jason Grenn
Rep. David Guttenberg
Rep. Andy Josephson
Rep. Chuck Kopp
Rep. Mark Neuman
Rep. Dan Ortiz
Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard
Rep. David Talerico, PNWER Mining working group Co-Chair
Rep. Geran Tarr
Rep. Adam Wool

Scott Kendall, Chief of Staff of Gov. Bill Walker
Mike Navarre, Commissioner, Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development
Barbara Blake, Sr. Advisor on Tribal Issues and Fisheries, Office of Gov. and Lt. Gov.
Randy Ruaro, Chief of Staff to Sen. Bert Stedman
​Britteny Cioni-Haywood, Division Director, Division of Economic Development, Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development
Captain Ed Page, USCG (ret.), Marine Exchange of Alaska

Videos:
- Watch Senate Lunch & Learn Hearing on Economic Development in AK and the PNW.
- Watch Senate Labor & Commerce Committee hearing (starts @ 34:00)

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