By Rep. Jim Walsh

Two weeks ago, the state Legislature adjourned — usually an occasion for celebrations and congratulations. But not this time.

This time, the third extra session ended with a passive-aggressive whimper. In the final hours of the final day, the state House floor was half full. Most of the majority caucus’s members left before a roll call could be taken. The tally board that hangs above the House Speaker’s rostrum remained a dull gray. No votes were taken that day.

We adjourned with two items unfinished: The state’s Capital Budget and the legislative “fix” to the deeply-flawed state Supreme Court decision known as Hirst. Despite the muddled end, we’ve accomplished a lot this year. We satisfied the McCleary decision, adding billions of new dollars to the public school system; passed a State Operating Budget; put in place a property tax “levy swap” that flattens rates and makes our system less regressive; kept the Naselle Youth Camp open; and completed a land swap that helps Grays Harbor College. (We also passed budget items that encouraged manufacturing-sector growth and helped oyster farmers here on the coast — but the governor vetoed those. We’ll try them again next year.)

Still, we need to finish those two unfinished items. The Capital Budget funds dozens of building and infrastructure projects that are important to the Harbor. The Hirst fix is critical to rural economic development all around the state. The governor needs to call a fourth special legislative session to finish both — before this summer ends. If we do it well, it can be a one-day session.

To get this done, we have to battle apathy and cynicism. The Legislature and governor have completed all of our constitutionally and legally required duties. By law, there doesn’t have to be a Capital Budget or a Hirst fix. But we need them. Right now. Why are we stuck in this frustrating, unfinished place?

The trouble started with the Hirst decision, which the state Supreme Court issued last October. The underlying case, designed by the radical environmentalist group Futurewise, was meant to destroy decades of practice about how building permits are issued in Washington. And to radicalize the state’s water law.

Lower courts ruled against the radicals. But Futurewise pressed the case to the state Supreme Court — which ruled in favor of the radicals. This means several things. First, counties can be held liable for building permits they issue (they used to be held harmless if they reasonably relied on state guidelines). This is important to Futurewise, which makes money by suing counties — especially small, rural counties — and bullying them into paying settlements. Some of that taxpayer money then goes to … Futurewise. Second, residential permit-exempt wells may no longer be exempt. For decades, the tradition in Washington has been that residential wells (generally defined as ones that draw less than 5,000 gallons of water a day) do not need a permit. If you own land and want to build a home on it, you can drill a well without asking permission of the government. After Hirst, you have to ask permission. And the government can charge you expensive permitting fees, require you to conduct even more expensive hydrogeological studies … and even require you to put a meter on any well it allows you to drill.

The Hirst ruling was so extreme that several liberal justices couldn’t agree with it. Justice Debra Stephens wrote a stinging dissent that read, in part: “The majority’s decision hinges on an interpretation of (state law) that is unsupported by the plain language of the statute, precedent, or common sense. … The practical result of this holding is to stop counties from granting building permits that rely on permit-exempt wells. … The majority’s holding pushes a massive, and likely insurmountable, burden onto individuals applying for a building permit.”

She’s right. And the immediate result of this lack of common sense is that banks and other lenders are not making loans for construction on well properties — which are mostly in rural parts of the state. About a week ago, Washington Federal sent a letter to its loan officers that read, in part: Starting August 1st until further notice Washington Federal will not be lending on properties in the state of Washington that have had wells drilled after October 6, 2016. This is a result of the Hirst decision and the uncertainty it has created with water rights.

We hear a lot about how uncertainty kills economic development. Here’s direct proof. State Sen. Judy Warnick has drafted a bill that fixes the problems caused by the Hirst decision. This bill, modified slightly by a bi-partisan amendment drafted by two House members, has enough support to pass the Legislature. Right now.

But a small group of extremists within the House majority caucus have threatened to challenge the Speaker’s elected position if the amended version of Warnick’s bill reaches the House floor for a vote. Which it will certainly pass, with bi-partisan support.

A radical minority within the Legislature has cynically hijacked the process. And stalled votes on the two remaining legislative items. I’m ready to go back to Olympia and vote “yes” for the Hirst fix and “yes” for the Capital Budget. I believe that most of my colleagues — in both chambers — will join me.

What can you do to help? Contact the governor’s office and tell him to call the next special session. Now. Then contact Speaker Frank Chopp’s office and tell him to let Warnick’s Hirst fix bill have a vote in the House. That will unlock everything else.

Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, represents the 19th District in the state House of Representatives.