Gov. Bob Ferguson signs 10 bills in Yakima, spotlighting wildfire response, tenant notices and road safety

Gov. Bob Ferguson signed roughly 10 bills into law at a ceremony at Pacific Northwest University in Yakima, highlighting measures aimed at wildfire response, housing notice procedures, rural hospital support, port financing and road safety.

At the start of the event, Ferguson noted the ceremony’s community focus and invited Yakima’s mayor to welcome attendees. “I’m your governor,” Ferguson said in opening remarks as he introduced the bills and the sponsors who joined him for photographs.

Why it matters: The bills span public-safety, education and economic-development issues that state lawmakers and local officials said target practical, localized problems—from making aviation funding permanent for early wildfire response to clarifying how rent-increase notices are delivered to manufactured-home tenants.

What was signed (highlights)

- House Bill 2348 (prime sponsor Rep. Tom Dent): Allows the Department of Natural Resources to advertise land, timber and resource sales on its website and removes a printing requirement intended to reduce waste and modernize outreach. Ferguson thanked Dent and posed for a photograph with the sponsor.

- House Bill 2104 (Aviation Assurance Funding): Makes the aviation-assurance wildfire-response program permanent so the Department of Natural Resources can use wildfire-suppression funding to help local governments and tribal fire departments with early aerial response. Ferguson said fire chiefs call the program the “single most successful wildfire suppression tool they have seen in decades of experience.”

- House Bill 2452 (prime sponsor Rep. April Connors): Clarifies how rent-increase notices under the Manufactured Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act may be delivered; if a tenant is not home, a notice must be posted in an obvious place and mailed to the tenant to ensure timely communication.

- House Bill 2525 (prime sponsor Rep. Gloria Mendoza): Establishes a heritage-orchard program to be managed by Washington State University, including a registry for orchards with at least five apple trees more than 74 years old and a list of rare and lost apple varieties; Ferguson noted strong bipartisan support and recognized Mendoza’s first bill signed into law.

- House Bill 1210 (prime sponsor Rep. Stephanie Barnard): Extends timing for an existing property-tax exemption for clean-energy projects so developers have more time to complete construction and local governments have flexibility to attract clean-energy investment.

- Senate Bill 6132 (prime sponsor Sen. Judy Warnecke): Authorizes a narrow modification to port district indebtedness limits for certain inland ports that have established tax-increment financing areas, enabling alternatives to finance long-term rail infrastructure projects (cited example: Port of Moses Lake).

- Senate Bill 5841 (prime sponsor Sen. Matt Behnke, absent): Integrates financial-aid application data into Washington’s Universal High School and Beyond plan platform so students, families and authorized school staff can see whether a student has started or completed FAFSA/WAFSA forms and what scholarship opportunities remain.

- Senate Bill 6066 (prime sponsors Sen. Nikki Torres and Rep. Mark Klicker): Creates authority for state and local governments to designate crash-prevention zones on corridors with high rates of serious injury or fatal crashes and directs revenue from violations in those zones to reinvest in safety improvements along the corridors.

- Senate Bill 6194 (prime sponsor Sen. Curtis King): Directs the Health Care Authority to reimburse certain Medicaid services for rural hospitals on federally recognized Indian reservations at 150% of allowable rates to help facilities such as Astria Toppenish Hospital continue operations.

- Senate Bill 6170 (prime sponsor Sen. Curtis King): Updates contracting-cost thresholds for small highway projects so the Washington State Department of Transportation can complete small repairs faster using its own crews and expand contracting opportunities for small and disadvantaged firms.

Details and context: Ferguson framed many of the bills as pragmatic, bipartisan responses to local needs. On wildfire response, he said the aviation program helps prevent small fires from becoming large ones and “will save lives, save property, and our natural resources.” On student aid, he said improving FAFSA/WAFSA completion is a priority after visiting local schools earlier in the day to encourage application completion.

Local officials and sponsors briefly described why the bills matter for their communities. Sen. Judy Warnecke, whose final bill was signed at the ceremony, reflected on two decades representing District 13; Rep. Gloria Mendoza attended with family as her first signed bill was recognized.

The event concluded with photographs and a closing thank-you from the governor, who emphasized collaboration across the aisle as a reason projects like these move forward. Attendees were invited to remain for photos and brief conversation following the signings.

What happens next: Each bill signed at the ceremony is now chaptered into state law according to the usual effective-date rules (not specified during the event). Sponsors and local officials present said they will continue outreach and implementation work in their districts.