‘No’ on Senate budgets that would raise your taxes
Click here to view my remarks in support of the no-new-taxes, no-cuts budget proposal offered today in the Senate chamber. Dear Neighbor, I don’t know why the Senate majority chose today to have us vote on the operating and transportation budgets, but I’d guess it is because both contain tax...
Read More
Majority’s proposed tax hikes include one that would be terrible for tourism
Dear Neighbor, The Senate’s majority Democrats will release their proposed operating budget Monday. The operating budget is the largest by far of the three budgets that will come out of this legislative session, and many of the things it funds are day-to-day priorities like K-12 education and services for our...
Read More
A budget… already? With no new taxes?
Dear Neighbor, If you’ve been hearing state government is in financial trouble and big tax increases are the only answer, I have good news. Even if you haven’t heard a word about Olympia’s budget situation… the news is still good. This week the two senators who serve as the Senate...
Read More
What’s this about an increase in college tuition?
This past week I had the pleasure of spending a few minutes with a group from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. There were so many visitors that we brought them into the Senate Republican caucus room, which is where we meet to go over bills and...
Read More
Count ’em: 107 bills in two days!
I don’t believe unemployment benefits are meant to be paid to people who walk off the job and go on strike, yet on Friday the majority Democrats on the Senate budget committee endorsed a bill to allow that. To view the public hearing that led to the vote on SB...
Read More
Who would oppose multifamily housing in rural areas?
Dear Neighbor, When legislators talk about the obstacles to increasing the supply of affordable housing in our state, the list always includes — at least for Republicans — the government regulations that make property development more complicated and costly than it needs to be. But there are forces outside government...
Read More
Here they come: one proposed tax hike, then another, then…
Dear Neighbor, The results of a recent survey of 600 Washington voters showed up in my inbox earlier this month. Most of the survey questions had to do with state spending, one way or another. That makes sense considering how years of overspending have finally caught up with the majority...
Read More
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...
Read More
E-News: What can Washington legislators do about Washington, D.C.?
Jan. 31, 2025 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...
Read More