Steve Bloom/The Olympian
Gov. Gary Locke packs up after an outdoor bill signing Monday morning authorizing earthquake damage and energy bill assistance.

Locke OKs emergency aid for quake victims

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- Gov. Gary Locke, driven out of his office by the recent earthquake, used an impromptu outdoor office Monday to sign legislation providing aid to quake victims and to power customers struggling to pay their heating bills.

"I think our state is being tested now, perhaps more than ever before in its history," with a triple punch of soaring power rates, a looming drought and the earthquake, the governor said.

The bill, a down payment on the state's full response, will provide $4 million in state and federal aid to homeowners with earthquake damage and $5 million in combined relief to low-income families having trouble paying their power bills this winter.

It was the first bill to pass the quake-interrupted 2001 session.

Locke used what has become an outdoor conference room, the sundial plaza between the House and Senate office buildings, as his makeshift office for the bill signing. Aides hauled out a small table, chair and lectern for the made-for-TV event as the quake-damaged Capitol loomed over Locke's shoulder.

The 6.8 magnitude quake did enough damage to the 1928 building to require evacuation of the governor and the Legislature.

"A couple of Wednesdays ago, there was absolutely no separation of church and state, because there was a whole lot of praying going on," quipped Sen. Dino Rossi, R-Issaquah. "Our prayers were answered, because there was no loss of life."

The quake injured more than 400 people in the region, none seriously, and did an estimated $2 billion worth of property damage. The Capitol itself will cost at least $20 million to repair.

House Bill 2222 provides the initial response to the twin emergencies of quake repairs and the energy crunch. The federal and state governments are combining resources to deal with both.

The quake relief dollars will go for grants to low- and middle-income families who suffered property damage that wasn't covered by insurance. The maximum grant is $14,400, but most checks will be between $3,000 and $4,000, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

FEMA already has approved applications for more than $1.8 million, and that could rise to more than $6 million. The combined federal-state fund of $4 million is expected to cover claims for the next 30 days and more money can be approved later, sponsors said.

The energy assistance fund will help an additional 2,500 households with their electric and heating bills.

The state's share of the $9 million aid legislation is $2 million and will come from the state's emergency reserve fund. The rest will come from the federal government. Locke and legislative budget chairmen called it just the beginning of aid, particularly for quake relief.

Locke said "acts of nature," including the drought, lower water levels behind hydroelectric dams and the quake, seem to be conspiring to bedevil the state.

"For months, we have faced outrageously high electricity costs that threaten many of our businesses and households," he said. "We're conserving, I'm pleased to say, and new power is coming on line. But electricity is going to cost way too much for at least the next couple of years.

"And now we face a serious drought that will threaten the agricultural economy of our entire state, as well as the icon of our state, the salmon. The drought will compound our energy problems because our state is so dependent on hydroelectric dams. And on top of that, we just had a serious earthquake two weeks ago."

Senate budget Chairwoman Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said Eastern Washington is weathering a cold winter, with snow on the ground nearly every day in some areas. Poor people are "choosing between paying the rent and paying their heating bills, with the very frightening prospect of having their heat cut off," she said.

House Appropriations Co-Chairman Barry Sehlin, R-Oak Harbor, said the first quake relief is correctly going to home owners and small business people. "We will get around to meeting the needs of government later on," he said.

His Democratic counterpart, Helen Sommers of Seattle, called the legislation "a first start, a first step, many steps to go."

On the web:

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