Senator Hansen seeks up‑or‑down vote on "Mosquito Fleet" ferry bill; motion to recede fails, Senate insists on its position

A dispute over second substitute House Bill 19‑23 — a proposal to expand passenger‑only ferries statewide often described in the floor record as the "Mosquito Fleet Act" — was the subject of a pair of floor motions on March 12.

The clerk reported the House had refused to concur in Senate amendments to HB 19‑23 and asked the Senate to receive from there the House's message. Senator Hansen moved that the Senate accept the House request and recede from the Senate position, asking members for an up‑or‑down vote. "The underlying bill deals with passenger only ferries," Hansen said, pointing to existing passenger‑only service in Kitsap County and King County and saying the bill's prime sponsor favors the House approach.

Senator King urged colleagues to vote no on the motion to recede, saying a reasonable offer had been taken to the prime sponsor and rejected and urging senators to maintain the striker the Senate had sent. The presiding officer put the question and the motion to recede "was not adopted." Following that result, Senator Loveland moved that the Senate insist upon its position on second substitute House Bill 19‑23; supporters said the Senate version included whale protections and clarifications about taxing authority. The motion to insist carried and the Senate "insists upon its position."

There was no final enrollment action recorded on the floor text during this sequence; with the Senate insisting on its amendments the matter remains in the interchamber disposition process (possible conference or further negotiation).