New representative reflects on session

Representative for the 19th District, JD Rossetti, was in Cathlamet on Tuesday to attend a Council of Governments meeting. He took some time afterwards to share his recent experience in this year's legislative session with this political neophyte.

Rossetti was proud to say he was able to push four of his bills through the house of representatives during the last legislative session. Two of those bills made it through the senate and were signed into law by the governor.

He has the pens and photos to prove it.

"I was very proud of those achievements," Rossetti said. "It's fun but it's pretty nerve wracking through each step of the process. There is a lot at stake and you put your heart and soul into these things. Then you get to the final point where it's up to the governor whether it becomes a law or not. They do a bill signing and they take your photo with the governor and he gives you the pen he uses."

The first bill was a request from the Washington State Department of Transportation to amend a table in a statute on vehicle gross weight limits.

"The bill put that formula into the statute so the table could be filled in correctly," Rossetti said. "The DOT asked for that specifically so it would be clear for everybody using it."

It wasn't earth shattering, but it made someone's day.

"I posted the bill signing and a guy from Longview contacted me," Rossetti said. "He said, 'That is the funniest thing. At work when it's slow I help the guys load trucks. They point at the table and tell me over and over to follow the chart.'"

"I'm putting your photo next to the chart," the man told Rossetti. "You have no idea how these things affect my daily life."

"Who would have thought!" Rossetti said. "That made me feel good about it."

The second bill that was signed by the governor was closer to his heart.

A church on Coal Creek had purchased a wheel chair lift only to discover that they would have to get a permit that would cost them $5,400 to complete the project.

"They wanted to attach the lift to the building because they had some older people who couldn't get into the church without accommodations," Rossetti said. "They had bought the lift, and already had volunteers ready to install it."

Unfortunately, the church is within 200 feet of a shoreline. That meant that they would have to go through the Shoreline Management Act to make any changes to the structure. That's why the permit was so expensive.

Because the project would cost more than $6,500 to complete after they had the permit and the lift, the price would go up and there would be more red tape, according to Rossetti. The church asked if there was anything he could do.

He sought advice and someone suggested a bill to exempt disability retrofitting from the Shoreline Management Act.

It's an honorable thing, he was told. You could at least try.

He did and it worked.

"You still have to comply with the American Disability Act rules," Rossetti said. "All that stays, but you don't have to pay for that permit. So the church will be able to put their lift in."

"I was super proud of that one," he grinned.