Author Archives: ericcampbell

Protecting children from fentanyl exposure… will the third try work?

Feb. 7, 2025

Dear Neighbor,

In each of the past two years, the state Senate has tried to make it a crime for an adult to expose a child to fentanyl. Both times, the House refused to allow its members to vote on our bill — which is unconscionable, considering how many children and even infants in our state have been badly injured because of this terrible drug in recent years.

My report below explains how we’re making another try for this life-saving policy. It also follows up on the partisan attack on Washington’s new parental-rights law, and ends with a light-hearted update about “The Evergreen State” (that’ll make sense when you watch).

video update

Click here or on the image to view my report.

***

I am working to make living in our state more affordable, make our communities safer, uphold our paramount duty to provide for schools, and hold state government accountable. I’ll work with anyone who shares those goals and wants to find solutions.

Please reach out to my office with your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. I am here to serve and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

dozier signature

Perry Dozier
State Senator
16th Legislative District

EMAIL: Perry.Dozier@leg.wa.gov
OLYMPIA PHONE: (360) 786-7630
OLYMPIA OFFICE: 342 Irving R. Newhouse Building
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 40416, Olympia, WA 98504

E-News: What can Washington legislators do about Washington, D.C.?

Jan. 31, 2025

WSP Teamsters

Members of Teamsters 117 work hard at the Washington State Penitentiary to keep three groups of people safe: offenders, the public and the workforce. I sat down with them here at the Capitol on Wednesday and listened to their views, particularly about staffing and safety. Even though legislators face a challenging budget situation this year, I appreciate the service of these dedicated state employees and will do all I can to address their very real concerns.

Dear Neighbor,

Even though our Washington is almost as far as you can get from the “other Washington,” it hasn’t taken long for ripples caused by the change in the federal administration to reach me in the state Senate.

An example was this email from a constituent in Richland who wrote Tuesday:

What is your stance on the current administration’s policy and what do you plan to do to help protect Washington State residents from massive governmental overreach and the recent disgusting orders signed by the current president? Do you plan to be of assistance to the people of Washington and the United States of America?

Respectfully, a concerned mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend.

My reply to her asked for more detail, like which policy and what she meant by massive overreach, and which orders she found disgusting. It would have been interesting to know, so maybe she will respond.

But I also noted to her that unlike a governor or an attorney general, our Legislature doesn’t issue executive orders or file lawsuits, and rarely attempts to engage directly with the White House. I closed by encouraging her to reach out to our new governor and attorney general with her concerns, as they would be in a position to communicate in an executive branch-to-executive branch way.

Then there was the phone call Wednesday morning from a gentleman who was extremely interested in knowing how I would vote regarding the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to the position of secretary of Health and Human Services. I did my best to explain that the United States Senate has the duty of confirming presidential appointments like that; our Washington State Senate can only confirm appointments made by Washington’s governor.

I’m not sure I was completely successful, but either way this was not the first time someone has reached out to me about what was in fact a federal issue, because they had blurred the lines between the state and federal governments. It’s understandable, and it gives me a chance to point them in the right direction.

Are there times when we as legislators need to keep track of actions being considered or taken at the federal level? Absolutely. The four dams on the lower Snake River between Clarkston and Pasco are federal facilities, and what happens with them matters greatly to our state, especially this corner of Washington.

Of course, because the state has no real influence over the dams or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, most of the time and money spent on this study or that task force at the state level was more about appeasing special interests. I hope our new governor doesn’t politicize the dams like his predecessor did.

Another example is the Hanford Site, outside of Richland. It’s been federal since day one, back in 1942, but the people who work there and live in the area are my constituents, and I also am interested in the research and technology associated with Hanford and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Finally, as a member of the Senate budget committee I’m hearing about possible changes in Medicaid funding — also a federal thing — that could roll downhill to the states, which means a possible effect on our state budget.

If you have questions or concerns about actions being considered or taken in Washington, D.C., you can contact me, or Governor Ferguson, or Attorney General Brown — but a more direct path would be to reach out to your federal representatives.

U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, 5th Congressional District
Click here to email
Spokane Office
528 E. Spokane Falls Blvd #115
Spokane, WA 99202
Phone: (509) 353-2374		 Washington DC Office
124 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-2006
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Click here to email
Richland Office
825 Jadwin Avenue, Suite 160K
Richland, WA 99352
Phone: (509) 453-7462		 Washington, D.C. Office
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2621
Toll Free: (866) 481-9186
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
Click here to email
Richland Office
825 Jadwin Avenue, Suite 160K
Richland, WA 99352
Phone: (509) 453-7462		 Washington, DC
511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3441

page Keshav Karkamkar

Thank you, Keshav Karkamkar!

My office is still accepting applications from Washington students who wish to serve a week at the Capitol as a Senate page. In the meantime, let me introduce our first page of 2025 : Keshav Karkamkar, a junior at Hanford High School in Richland. He is the 16-year-old son of Manasi Keni and Abhi Karkamar of Richland, and was with us for the second week of the session.

It was a pleasure to sponsor Keshav, and encouraging to learn that he is highly interested in politics. That’s not a requirement for serving as a page, of course, but it would have been a bonus for him — our state Capitol is a great place to learn about the political process, especially during a legislative session!

The last day to apply for the Senate Page Program for the 2025 session is March 17, 2025, or until all available openings are filled.

Information about the program and application process is available here. If you know teens who would be interested, have them contact my office or Myra Hernandez, Civic Education Director (Myra.Hernandez@leg.wa.gov​ or SenatePageProgram@leg.wa.gov).

***

I am working to make living in our state more affordable, make our communities safer, uphold our paramount duty to provide for schools, and hold state government accountable. I’ll work with anyone who shares those goals and wants to find solutions.

My priorities (shared by Senate Republicans) are:

Here’s how to:

Please reach out to my office with your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. I am here to serve and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

dozier signature

Perry Dozier
State Senator
16th Legislative District

Video Report: State’s new parental-rights law is already a target

Click here or on the image for my second report from the 2025 legislative session. It looks at a pair of salmon-related bills I’ve introduced, and a very disappointing effort by some on the majority side to undermine Washington’s new parental-rights law, less than a year after they helped create it by passing Initiative 2081.

E-News: 2025 session opens at state Capitol

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

Jan. 17, 2025

Dear Neighbor,

The 2025 legislative session is under way. Between now and April 27, the Senate and House of Representatives will work on a whole lot of policy issues – some of them familiar, and some new. We also will need to adopt three new budgets before this 105-day “long” session concludes.

The first order of business for the Senate when it convened at noon Monday was to seat the newly elected and re-elected members. One by one, I and others were escorted to the front of the Senate chamber, where the chief justice of the state Supreme Court administered the oath of office to us.

oath of office

I took the oath of office Monday for my second term as 16th District senator. it was administered by Chief Justice Debra Stephens of the Washington Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, senators crossed over to the larger House chamber to meet in joint session for a final address from now-former Gov. Jay Inslee; we did the same thing a day later to witness the swearing-in of statewide elected officials, and receive the inaugural address from new Gov. Bob Ferguson.

In between the ceremonial activities, we were already focused on the job of governing. For example, I took part in my first Senate Ways and Means Committee meeting just a few hours after being sworn in Monday.

Although the state budget is much, much larger and more complex than the budgets I helped put together during my two terms as a Walla Walla County commissioner, the principles of good budgeting don’t change. I expect to get up to speed quickly.

The primary item on the agenda for that first budget-committee meeting was a public hearing on the capital-budget proposal from the outgoing governor. As I am also the assistant Republican leader for the capital budget, listening to the testimonies of higher-education representatives, port officials and many others was very informative.

What we don’t know yet is whether the new governor will feel compelled to propose an operating budget, capital budget and transportation budget of his own – but either way, what the executive branch wants has limited influence on the development of the budgets. The capital budget, for instance, has to consider needs in all 49 legislative districts, and those are brought to the capital-budget team by the senators for those districts.

Between my leadership role on the capital budget and the fact that the Ways and Means committee tends to meet three times weekly, the budget work alone will keep me very busy this session.

Still, I am happy to also be returning as Republican leader on the Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming and Trade Committee, and as a member of the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee. Both committees met multiple times this week as well.

Being on the Senate’s budget and education committees puts me in an even stronger position to advocate for the priorities shared by all Republican senators:

First round of session will focus on committee work

Hundreds of bills will be introduced in the 49-member Senate during this year’s session. The count was already approaching 370 when I checked this morning (and over in the House, more than 390 bills had been filed).

By design, the vast majority of these will fail at some stage of the lawmaking process. That’s because the process is geared toward weeding out policies that, for one reason or another, are not ready to become law.

With few exceptions, the first round of work on the bills we file happens after they are referred to a committee. Deadlines are set to help keep the process moving along, and this year, the Senate’s 12 policy committees have through Feb. 21 to take action on Senate bills. Because a piece of legislation is valid for two years, policy bills that don’t move forward by that deadline are considered “dead” until next year.

The second deadline on the session calendar pertains to the Senate’s two budget committees (Ways and Means is one, Transportation is the second); they have through Feb. 28 to act on Senate bills, the lone exception being bills that are expected to be part of a budget package later in the session.

Because this and the other “cutoff” dates always seem to arrive faster than we expect, most of the activity in the Senate in the coming month will be at the committee level. However, I know from experience to expect that the full Senate will be convened occasionally in the next month to consider legislation that has already cleared the committee process.

state of state House chamber

state of state 16th delegation

On Wednesday I crossed over to the House chamber (upper photo) and joined my 16th District seatmates (below) for the inaugural address from Washington’s new governor, Bob Ferguson. I appreciated his apparent willingness to work in a bipartisan way on issues like public safety, and how he seems reluctant to consider tax increases as an answer to the state’s budget situation.

Taking applications for Senate pages!

Our office is still taking applications from Washington teens who wish to serve a week as a Senate page this session.

Pages have a unique role at the Capitol, delivering messages and documents to legislative offices and to senators when they are working on “the floor” of the Senate chamber. It’s a great way for teens to see the Legislature in action and to meet other students from around the state.

Pages also attend and participate in Page School, where they learn more about how the Legislature works. Pages earn a stipend of $65 a day and may earn up to 20 hours of community service.

Pages must be 14 to 16 years old at the time they participate in the program, and they must attend a school in Washington or be homeschooled in our state. To be a page, students must receive approval and recommendation from their teacher and principal. (This requirement is waived for homeschooled students.)

Information about the program and application process is available here. If you know teens who would be interested, have them contact my office or Myra Hernandez, Civic Education Director (Myra.Hernandez@leg.wa.gov​ or SenatePageProgram@leg.wa.gov).

***

I am working to make living in our state more affordable, make our communities safer, uphold our paramount duty to provide for schools, and hold state government accountable. I’ll work with anyone who shares those goals and wants to find solutions.

Please reach out to my office with your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. I am here to serve and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

dozier signature

Perry Dozier
State Senator
16th Legislative District

EMAIL: Perry.Dozier@leg.wa.gov
OLYMPIA PHONE: (360) 786-7630
OLYMPIA OFFICE: 342 Irving R. Newhouse Building
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 40416, Olympia, WA 98504

Dozier joins Senate budget committee, retains leadership post

OLYMPIA… Sen. Perry Dozier has been appointed to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where he will be the assistant Republican leader on the capital budget.

The Waitsburg lawmaker will continue as Republican leader on the Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming and Trade Committee. He also will be back as a member of the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

This week, while lawmakers were at the state Capitol for committee meetings ahead of the 2025 legislative session, members of the Senate Republican Caucus also unanimously re-elected Dozier to their caucus leadership team.

He will continue as deputy whip, working with other caucus leaders to track and coordinate what happens during floor sessions in the Senate chamber.

“This is a great combination of assignments,” said Dozier of his committee responsibilities. “Collectively, these are responsible for policy and fiscal decisions that are important to students, parents, employers, taxpayers, those who receive state services, and communities.”

As a former two-term Walla Walla County commissioner who knows his way around a balance sheet, Dozier had his eye on joining the budget committee as he begins his second Senate term.

“This stands to be one of the most challenging budget-writing sessions in a long while. I’m glad to have the opportunity to be a voice for our part of the state on tax and spending issues,” he said.

Dozier is especially looking forward to his new leadership role on the capital budget, which funds public construction projects and similar investments and acquisitions throughout the state.

“In the Senate, the capital budget has been one of the great examples of bipartisanship. It also does good things for our school districts, and higher-education institutions, and communities – things people can see. This is exciting.”

Dozier will take the oath of office again on Jan. 13, when the 2025 legislative session convenes.

E-Newsletter: The ‘freeze’ is coming!

Dear Neighbor,

Greetings from… here in the 16th District!

Let me begin with a quick piece of housekeeping. Legislators who declare their candidacy for public office (like being re-elected to the Senate) must abide by a strict set of rules when it comes to communicating using official tools.

For me, those tools include my Senate website, my legislative Facebook page, and e-newsletters. Therefore, I can’t update my website and FB page or send you another report like this until after the November election. Some refer to this as the “campaign freeze.” However, I am free to continue responding to questions and messages – so please, keep the emails, phone calls and letters coming!

The session summary from our 16th District delegation was also mailed recently; click here or on the image below to view it. Among the topics it covers are the history-making six initiatives submitted to the Legislature, and how three were passed – with the other three going to the November ballot.

The post-session report also details some of the dozen bills I sponsored that are becoming law this year, led by my SB 6328. It updates a property-tax exemption that benefits the widows and widowers of honorably discharged veterans. I wish we could have done more to control property taxes, but at least we kept the majority from clearing the way for the largest property-tax increase in state history.

Also, thanks again to the many who took time in early April to attend our 16th District town halls in Prosser, Pasco and Walla Walla. I always appreciate the questions and conversations!

Stunning loss of Washington farms
confirms need for ‘Cultivate Washington’  

I knew the number of farms in our state has been dwindling, in part because of onerous state regulations. But I didn’t realize it was to the extent described by another farmer recently in The Seattle Times.

A guest column from Pam Lewison, who farms in the Moses Lake area and directs the Center for Agriculture at the Washington Policy Center, cites some painful statistics from the U.S. Census of Agriculture.

Between 2017 and 2022, our state lost 3,717 farms and ranches. That’s 14 farms per week, on average. And more than the 3,456 farms lost during the decade ending in 2017.

Click here for the full column, which does a thorough if sobering job of ticking through many of the factors that are behind this stunning drop in the number of farms, and explaining why it should alarm people across our state, not just those in the agriculture sector.

After more than 40 years of farming, I can relate all too well to these concerns. As a senator and former county commissioner, I have an even broader sense of why they exist and how government is involved.

If you did not receive my special post-session report on agriculture, it’s posted online here. Also, several of the reasons line up with the priorities in the Cultivate Washington agenda I and other Senate Republicans unveiled late last year. Click here for it.

Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, has been a tremendous ally on issues facing our part of the state.

16th District among many caught up in ‘gerrymandering’

During the 2022 session I was among the majority of legislators who supported the resolution adopting new boundaries for our state’s 49 legislative districts.

In Washington, the boundaries are set by an independent, bipartisan commission, using the latest U.S. Census data. Because our state’s population expanded and shifted in the previous 10 years, the commission had to create and approve a map that would make legislative districts as even as possible in population – approximately 157,000 residents per district.

The map we endorsed had been created and approved by the commission in November 2021. One of the notable aspects was that it made the neighboring 15th Legislative District, which spans most of the Yakima Valley, a “majority-minority” district.

The commission agreed that the voting-age population in the 15th District, based on the census numbers, would be 51.5% Hispanic; the overall population was 73% Hispanic.

Amazingly, the district wasn’t Hispanic enough for the out-of-state interests that filed suit soon after we had approved the new map(s). In the 2022 election, the district’s voters overwhelmingly chose a Hispanic woman as their new senator – a first in the 15th District. Even so, the plaintiffs chose to continue their legal challenges. I figure it’s because that senator, Nikki Torres of Pasco, is a Republican.

Under Washington law, responsibility for modifying a legislative-district map clearly belongs to the state redistricting commission. We could and should have called a very brief, “special” legislative session back in the fall to reconvene the commission. The governor and the Legislature’s top Democrats all refused.

I also supported an effort early in this year’s legislative session to reconvene the redistricting commission. Our majority colleagues said no, knowing it would allow a federal judge to take over and redraw the map without any legislative oversight or assurance of bipartisanship.

As a result, many legislative districts have new boundaries – from a map drawn by the plaintiffs, which doesn’t seem impartial.

Senator Torres, who has been a terrific colleague these past two years, now finds herself a resident of our 16th District. She can still serve the rest of her term without having to relocate, but I know there were other ways to redraw the 15th District without having such a ripple effect. The senators for the 12th and 14th districts also got “redistricted out.” They too are Republicans.

The term “gerrymandering” goes back more than 200 years. It refers to giving one party an unfair advantage. In 1983, when Washington voters handed the responsibility for redistricting to an independent, bipartisan commission – at the Legislature’s request – it seemed like our state would be safe from gerrymandering.

Apparently not, because a bunch of partisans figured out how to do an end-run on the commission. I realize the 15th District has been represented in the state Senate by Republicans since 1943, but come on. Let’s play fair. This is wrong.

***

I am working to make living in our state more affordable, make our communities safer, uphold our paramount duty to provide for schools, and hold state government accountable. I’ll work with anyone who shares those goals and wants to find solutions.

Please reach out to my office with your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. I am here to serve and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Perry Dozier
State Senator
16th Legislative District

E-News: Join your 16th District lawmakers for town halls next week!

As a farmer I’m very familiar with hand tools, but I have to say — helping to break ground for a community project is one of my favorite uses for a shovel! This is from the recent ceremony for the Prosser Clubhouse, for which I secured $105,000 in the Senate’s version of the supplemental capital budget. That money remained in the final capital budget adopted during the final week of the 2024 session. I’ve visited the other Boys and Girls Clubs in our area and think this new facility will be a great asset to western Benton County.

Dear Neighbor,

The 2024 legislative session ended on time earlier this month, and I am happy to be back home in our legislative district!

As your state senator I want you to know about the decisions made this year and what they mean to you. I also want to hear your opinions, questions and concerns. While reports like this are an effective way to communicate, as are phone calls and emails, there is no substitute for meeting in person! I hope you can join us at any of the town halls we will hold next week across the 16th District.

Tuesday, April 2
6 to 7 p.m.
Prosser Community Center
1231 Dudley Avenue, Prosser

Wednesday, April 3
6 to 7 p.m.
Room 221, SWL Building
Columbia Basin College
2600 N. 20th Avenue, Pasco

Thursday, April 4
6 to 7 p.m.
Performing Arts Auditorium
Walla Walla Community College
500 Tausick Way, Walla Walla

Our time at the Capitol this year was particularly historic because of the six initiatives sent to us by the people of our state. We’ll update you on what did and didn’t happen with those measures, and what’s next.

We’ll also report on other legislation, including the budgets adopted this session and what the investments in them mean for families and communities throughout the 16th Legislative District.

And again, I will welcome your questions and concerns. It’s your government!

Another community project benefiting our region is RoseMary’s Place, the child care center at Dayton General Hospital. I was happy to help inaugurate it earlier this month, and am looking forward to the day when my hometown of Waitsburg gets its first child-care center. That project is moving forward with $100,000 in support I secured for it in the capital budget adopted during the 2024 legislative session.

***

I am working to make living in our state more affordable, make our communities safer, uphold our paramount duty to provide for schools, and hold state government accountable. I’ll work with anyone who shares those goals and wants to find solutions.

Please reach out to my office with your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. If you don’t already, also consider following me on Facebook. I am here to serve and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

dozier signature

Perry Dozier
State Senator
16th Legislative District

Dozier helps pass historic initiative to reinforce parental rights concerning school information

OLYMPIA… Three years after he first introduced legislation to create a “parents’ bill of rights,” 16th District Sen. Perry Dozier today saw his goal achieved with the Legislature’s passage of Initiative 2081.

“This is a momentous day for the parents across our state who want to engage with their child’s school but have found it challenging to do so, especially when it comes to having certain questions or concerns addressed,” said Dozier, R-Waitsburg, who serves on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

“Parents shouldn’t have to wade through state laws and rules to figure out what their rights are when it comes to knowing what is being taught at their child’s school, or how the school responds to the health questions of students. In this day and age they should be able to pull up a website and quickly get answers.

“This initiative covers even more ground than the policy I’ve proposed each of the past few years, and I’m happy to see it become law.”

The parental-rights measure was passed by a 49-0 vote in the state Senate and a 82-15 vote in the House of Representatives. It is one of three initiatives to the Legislature, submitted by Washington voters earlier this year, to win legislative approval today. Lawmakers have never enacted three initiatives in any year since Washington’s initiative process was created in 1912.

“Our public schools should want to be as transparent as possible. They should want to make it simple and convenient for parents to get the information they seek, because that can make the difference between a parent who is engaged versus a parent who gets frustrated and starts looking for alternatives for educating their children,” said Dozier.

“More than 454,000 Washington voters signed the petitions for I-2081, which was second only to the initiative to repeal the hidden gas tax represented by the cap-and-trade law,” he added. “I have to believe many of them are parents who look back on how the pandemic affected students and see I-2081 as a step toward being more involved going forward.”

Because the initiatives do not go to the governor for consideration like other legislation, the laws created by I-2081, I-2111 and I-2113 will take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends this Thursday.

The income-tax ban was passed 38-11 in the Senate and 76-21 in the House. The pursuit reform received a 36-13 vote in the Senate and passed 77-20 in the House.

Leaders of the Democrat majorities in the two legislative chambers say three more initiatives submitted to the Legislature will not receive any attention this session, despite each receiving well over 400,000 voter signatures: I-2117, to repeal the cap-and-trade law (officially, the “Climate Commitment Act”); I-2109, to repeal the state tax on income from capital gains; and I-2124, to let workers opt out of what is now a mandatory payroll tax for the state-run long-term care act.

If lawmakers adjourn on schedule Thursday without enacting those measures, as expected, Washington’s constitution requires them to automatically go on the November statewide general-election ballot.

E-News: Hearings scheduled on initiatives next week; this week went to budgets

with Sen. L. Wilson

With Sen. Lynda Wilson of Vancouver in the Senate chamber. The supplemental operating budget passed today by the state Senate reflects some of my input, which I worked through her as Senate Republican budget leader and her counterparts on the majority side. Keep reading for details.

Dear Neighbor,

Greetings from the state Capitol! I have important news about voter initiatives that couldn’t wait… for reasons that will become apparent.

This past weekend I reported to you how our Democrat colleagues had finally committed to holding public hearings for three of the six initiatives submitted to us by the people. Now we have a schedule for those hearings, and opportunities for you to participate.

The three measures to be considered are Initiative 2111 (total ban on income taxes in our state), Initiative 2113 (restore the ability of police to conduct vehicle pursuits) and Initiative 2081 (parental rights regarding their children’s education).

I-2081 builds on the parents’ bill of rights legislation I have sponsored since 2021. It will come before the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, on which I serve, and I am working with others on the committee to make sure the hearing covers the most important aspects during the one hour (!) allotted.

Unfortunately, the majority is still refusing to hold hearings on the initiatives to repeal laws that are about taking money and giving it to the state: I-2117, I-2109 and I-2124. Washington’s constitution does not say to give precedence to half the initiatives and ignore the rest. The people are the sponsors of these initiatives, and they deserve to be heard on all six!

To support the initiatives next week sign in as PRO, using the links below. Be sure the button next to the initiative number under “select agenda item” is checked, to display your options — which include submitting written testimony or testifying “live” in person or remotely:

For more detail about the six initiatives click here. I want to hear from you about all of them. Please take a few minutes to click on the link or the QR code and complete my survey!
survey QR code

Take my online survey about the six voter initiatives submitted to the Legislature this session!

Scan the QR code or click here to begin

initiative box

Local projects supported in budgets adopted, proposed this week

State government runs on a two-year budget cycle, with new budgets developed and adopted in odd-numbered years. This is why we alternate between 105-day sessions and 60-day sessions; in this year’s “short” session we are reopening the budgets approved in 2023 to make adjustments that are intended to carry through the remainder of the budget cycle (until June 2025). Those changes are captured in “supplemental” budgets.

This week the Senate adopted supplemental versions of the 2023-25 operating budget and capital budget. A high-level summary of the supplemental operating budget is here; before the final vote I worked with the budget leaders from both parties to make two adjustments of interest to our area.

One adds a $501,000 appropriation to help with the cleanup of gasoline contamination in downtown Walla Walla; the second creates a fourth tier in an agricultural-fuel reimbursement I discovered in the budget after it became public Monday. For those who purchase 10,000 gallons or more of farm diesel annually, the payment would go to $4,500, up from $3,400 (which remains the third-tier payment).

While I appreciate the majority’s support for my amendment, this approach still does not — as I stated publicly this week — truly reimburse those stuck paying a surcharge on farm fuel due to the state’s cap-and-trade law. The best solution is to do away with cap-and-trade completely, which is the purpose of Initiative 2117. It will save money for anyone who buys any kind of motor fuel or uses natural gas for any purpose, residential or commercial.

The capital budget adopted by the Senate appropriates another $6.6 million toward projects in our 16th Legislative District. I’m happy that includes another $1.5 million for the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery (it’s still listed as Three Rivers Behavioral Health Center, as the name changed after the underlying budget was adopted in 2023). Even better, in its way, is the $300,000 for a trio of local projects: resurfacing and revitalizing the public swimming pool in Prescott, funding a childcare center for Waitsburg and support for the Prosser Clubhouse, run by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin counties.

From here, the leaders for the operating and capital budgets from the Senate and House will get together and hammer out the differences between their respective spending plans, then come back with a compromise for another vote.

I also have an important appropriation in the Senate’s proposed supplemental transportation budget, for the State Route 224/Red Mountain project in the Benton County part of our district. Click here for my news release on it, from earlier this week. That budget will come up for a vote from the full Senate this next week, then it will go through the same compromise process.

***

I am working to make living in our state more affordable, make our communities safer, uphold our paramount duty to provide for schools, and hold state government accountable. I’ll work with anyone who shares those goals and wants to find solutions.

Please reach out to my office with your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. If you don’t already, also consider following me on Facebook. I am here to serve and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

dozier signature

Perry Dozier
State Senator
16th Legislative District