San Juan County, Rep. Greg Nance and lobbyists plot fixes to Mosquito Fleet Act after Senate amendments

Representative Greg Nance, prime sponsor of House Bill 1923 (the Mosquito Fleet Act), told the council the bill’s intent is to enable small, low‑cost vessels to return to service quickly to address ferry reliability problems across Puget Sound.

Nance cautioned that recent striking amendments in the Senate add requirements that will make the mechanism more expensive and slower, and could render it unusable for small island jurisdictions. “When we include that kind of language, it actually means that because of a regional preference, we are no longer eligible for a lot of the federal funding that can actually make this work possible,” Nance said, arguing the amendments risk shrinking the practical options for rapid deployment.

Council members raised specific concerns about a "built‑in‑Washington" construction preference that could exclude existing usable vessels, a zero‑emissions mandate without a pragmatic timetable, and an amendment that would render districts ineligible for state funds starting Jan. 1, 2028. Councilmembers said those elements would likely price out San Juan County and make interjurisdictional partnerships difficult.

County lobbyist Josh Weese and Rep. Nance discussed tactics: pushing floor amendments on the Senate side, drafting a coordinated multi‑county letter describing local impacts, identifying sympathetic legislators who might carry fixes, and using targeted outreach to explain practical costs to constituents. Weese counseled careful coordination to avoid alienating potential supporters in the Senate and suggested prioritizing amendments that would remove hard prohibitions while leaving incentives in place.

Council members and staff committed to continued coordination with Rep. Nance, the County Ferry Caucus and lobbyists; they asked staff and their lobbyist to craft talking points and a letter describing the bill’s impact on San Juan County if the amended version passes.

Next steps: county staff and lobbyists will prepare coordinated communications and pursue floor amendments or other legislative fixes before the 60‑day session ends.