Condotta named recipient of 2014 Municipal Champion Award by Association of Washington Cities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2014
CONTACT: Kurt Hammond, Public Information Officer– (360) 786-7794
Condotta named recipient of 2014 Municipal Champion Award by Association of Washington Cities
Rep. Cary Condotta has been named a recipient of the 2014 Municipal Champion Award by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC).
Condotta was selected for his active support of priority legislation for the association, particularly legislation in which he was the primary sponsor to share a portion of new revenue resulting from recreational marijuana sales with cities.
“Whether you agree with the initiative or not, it passed. We must make sure we have the most functional, efficient and safe system in place as possible and part of that is making sure local governments have the tools to succeed. A big piece of that is funding,” said Condotta, R-East Wenatchee. “The initiative was written with all the tax money going to the state. Yet, the local governments will be heavily responsible for monitoring and enforcement issues in their communities. I believe this was an oversight in the initiative and we must correct that as we move forward.”
The Liquor Control Board has already issued a number of licenses to producers and the marijuana-related products are expected to be for sale at designated locations by the end of August.
Condotta said his focus on local government is more than just providing funds for the implementation of Initiative 502, but also correcting funding issues concerning the Public Works Trust Fund and liquor license fees.
“Some of the more recent operating budgets passed by the Legislature have swept funds out of the state Public Works Trust Fund. This is unacceptable as this is the account our local governments rely on for infrastructure and construction projects. We have a number of small cities and towns in the Twelfth District that rely on this fund,” Condotta said. “We also need to work on restoring revenues from the liquor license fees that have historically been shared with cities by the state until recently. It is also my goal to restore funding to the trust fund and to ensure the cities and counties are getting their fair share of the liquor license monies.”
The AWC Board is expected to present Condotta his award sometime this week.
The Legislature does not begin its next regular session until Jan. 12, 2015.
For more information about Rep. Condotta, visit: www.representativecarycondotta.com.
###
Rep. Condotta’s media:
Washington State House Republican Communications
houserepublicans.wa.gov
455 John L. O’Brien Building
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600 
