Smith, Hayes both ‘yes’ on Boeing 777x bills

        John Sattgast, Senior Information Officer/Broadcast Coordinator – (360) 786-7257

Smith, Hayes both ‘yes’ on Boeing 777x bills

Olympia, WA – Tenth District Reps. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, and Dave Hayes, R-Camano Island, today voted for a package of bills designed to make Washington state competitive into the future for the aerospace sector.

The legislation includes state tax incentives as well as funding for worker training and streamlined local permitting.  It passed the House this afternoon having earlier passed the Senate.

Smith and Hayes said the incentives were crucial not only to securing the Boeing 777x, but also to ensuring a strong manufacturing industry in Washington state.

“These bills are about jobs – now and in the future,” said Smith, who served on the governor’s 777x Legislative Task Force.  “It’s about making Washington state more competitive to keep and grow our advanced manufacturing sector.

“When we prepare young people and displaced workers to train in advanced manufacturing in one sector, we prepare them for opportunity across all sectors. We open doors of hope and opportunity for people who are struggling.”

Hayes serves as a member of the Community Economic Revitalization Board. He noted the board took action two months ago to approve an infrastructure loan for a potential carbon composite wing plant to be constructed in Snohomish County.

“My support for these jobs remains very strong. The legislation we passed today will secure the economic vitality not only of the Puget Sound region, but of our entire state for many years to come. Growing these employment opportunities is very important and exciting to me. This also proves that tax incentives, which are often criticized, are here in Washington for a legitimate reason because they help our entire economy, not just individual companies,” said Hayes.

“This week’s debate needs to be the beginning of a large discussion about extending these tax policies to all employers,” added Hayes. “We need to adopt legislation that allows them to expand. Policies regarding tax relief and permit streamlining that will assist in improving our overall business climate are long overdue.”

The legislation (Senate Bill 5952 and House Bill 2088) contains the following elements:

• Aerospace tax incentives are extended until 2040.  These include Business & Occupation tax, sales and use tax and leasehold tax exemptions that apply to commercial airplane and airplane components, property used for airplane manufacture, technology used for aerospace product design and engineering, and lessees of port facilities used exclusively in commercial airplane manufacture.  If 777x production doesn’t begin by 2017, the incentives extension is revoked.
• $17 million for workforce training and streamlined local government permitting.  For the 2014-15 school year, funding for 1,000 full-time equivalent students is given to community and technical colleges.  Additional funding is for composite wing fabrication training.

For more information about Rep. Smith, visit: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/smith.

For more information about Rep. Hayes, visit: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/dave-hayes.

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Rep. Smith’s media: