Tag Archives: Climate Commitment Act

E-Newsletter: My visit with Governor Ferguson takes an agricultural turn

June 26, 2026

Dear Neighbors,

When Governor Ferguson’s office phoned early this month to ask if I could meet him in Kennewick on June 11, I said sure. His assistant didn’t volunteer why, but I figured the governor had a good enough reason, so we simply agreed on a time and place.

On June 9 the governor announced that he and our state’s superintendent of public instruction want to see a ban on cellphones in our K-12 classrooms. Well, that was a clue. I’ve served on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee since day one as a senator, and any policy proposal involving classrooms statewide would likely need to clear our committee first.

Keep reading for more about how that played out. To me, the real value of the meeting was that it allowed me to have a candid conversation with the governor about several concerns facing Washington’s agricultural sector.

I started by pointing out how, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (as reported in The Capital Press), the returns to Washington farmers sank from plus-$2.8 billion in 2021 to an estimated minus-$396 million just three years later. This put us dead last in the nation while farmers in Oregon, Idaho and California continued to prosper.

The issues I brought to the governor’s attention included the overtime policy that is unpopular with both farmers and workers, and how the inflated fuel prices in our state are especially hard on agriculture.

While the governor listened cordially, the way he pushed back on my fuel-cost argument tells me the Department of Ecology and the climate activists have likely painted a very different picture for him about what the Climate Commitment Act is costing both families and farmers.

I also know he has blamed the Iran conflict — and by extension the Trump administration — for the recent climb in fuel prices. But Washington’s prices were much higher than the national average before that conflict began, and they’ll be much higher than the national average when it’s over.

Since our meeting I’ve sent the governor the results of Ecology’s May 13 auction of carbon “allowances” so he can see for himself why I say the CCA is responsible for adding 55 cents to the price of gasoline in our state and 66 cents to the cost of diesel.

This hidden gas tax is why Washington is consistently ranked #2 or #3 in the nation for highest gas prices — a dubious distinction I would rather not have. One day recently I went from seeing diesel for $4.40 per gallon in Idaho to $5.99 in Colfax, $6.99 in Dayton and $6.29 in Waitsburg.

This is why the CCA is bad for agriculture, and why Republicans have asked the governor to suspend the law. I hope he gives it new consideration in light of the information and views I shared since our meeting in Kennewick.

The average price of unleaded in our state, according to aaa.com, is $5.27 per gallon. It’s $6.16 for diesel. The state gas tax will go up 2% on July 1 — and every July 1 thereafter — because of legislation passed by majority Democrats in 2025. That was on top of a 6-cent hike in the gas tax and 9-cent jump in the tax on diesel, which took effect a year ago.

Governor is two years late in wanting cellphones out of classrooms

As I figured, the invitation to meet with Governor Ferguson in Kennewick early this month had to do with his interest in banning cellphones in classrooms.

Although the governor is free to come up with a policy proposal, the executive branch isn’t allowed to file legislation. That right belongs only to senators and representatives, and to the people through their power of initiative.

It shouldn’t be a problem for the governor to find someone to put a cellphone-ban bill in the hopper on his behalf (such measures are called “request legislation”). My question is, where was he the past two years?

I was a co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation that would restrict mobile phone usage by public school students. It was on the table in both chambers for the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions, as House Bill 1122 and Senate Bill 5346.

The bills were referred to the respective K-12 committees — but didn’t move an inch after that, in either session. One of my Republican colleagues on the House committee did his best to convince the chairwoman to at least hold a hearing on the bill, to no avail.

One of the frustrating things about Olympia is how potentially meaningful policy discussions get sidelined for no apparent reason. Is a cellphone ban going to be more acceptable in 2027 than it would have been either of the past two years?

I’m curious to see whether and how the content of the governor’s request legislation differs from the bill I sponsored, and whether the committee chairs will give it the consideration our bill didn’t receive.

Sen. Judy Warnick of Moses Lake has decided not to seek re-election after serving the neighboring 13th Legislative District as a representative, then senator, for 20 years. She’s been a wonderful colleague who shares my concern for how high fuel prices are affecting agriculture; read her recent statement on the issue here.

From the interim calendar: budget, education, water, ag

Anyone involved in farming or ranching knows the list of chores never really ends. But neither do the duties of a state legislator. Even though we’re not in session at the state Capitol, I’m still engaged during these “interim” months on issues that matter to our legislative district and this part of the state.

The second of state government’s quarterly revenue forecasts for 2026 was released earlier today. As a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee I was particularly interested in what it means for the state’s financial picture, and whether the budget that takes effect July 1 will remain in balance for the foreseeable future. Read the assessment from our Senate Republican budget leader here. The governor’s budget office recently warned state agencies to prepare for spending reductions, as it anticipates a third budget shortfall in as many years.

Speaking of that budget — it contains the cost-of-living allowance for retired teachers and other public employees who receive their pensions through Plan 1. This was approved unanimously through my Senate Bill 5862.

I received a nice letter from Marilyn with the Walla Walla-Columbia School Retirees Association, which mentioned the COLA and my role — but what stood out was her report that WWC Unit 31 members have volunteered a total of 5,688 hours in our community during this past 2025-2026 school year!

My visits around our region recently include:

  • Attending and speaking at the Prescott 8th Grade Promotion on the afternoon of June 12. Many years ago I was one of those Prescott 8th-graders, so this was a very enjoyable and uplifting experience.
  • Meeting at the Port of Walla Walla with two representatives from the Department of Ecology to discuss water issues related to the Walla Walla Water 2050 water management plan. I’ll go into more detail about this another time, but there’s been a serious disconnect between what local Ecology officials have told me compared to what I’m hearing from the agency headquarters in Olympia.
  • Speaking at the Washington Association of Maintenance and Operations Administrators (WAMOA) conference June 17 in Othello. As a farmer and a licensed commercial pilot I appreciate the importance of maintaining facilities, and was glad to share that with the attendees, along with information about funding for school infrastructure.
  • Visiting Monday evening with members of the Washington Potato and Onion Association who were in Walla Walla for their annual conference.
  • Participating in a Wednesday discussion about higher education with members of the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce. We heard from the chancellor and presidents of WSU, Columbia Basin College and Heritage University.

Traveling around our district and visiting with the people I serve is one of the most productive things I get to do as a senator. I learn how government is or isn’t working for them, and how it can do better. If you’d like to get on my calendar this interim, contact me using the information below and let’s see what can be arranged!

E-News: Why doesn’t Washington have cheaper fuel like Oregon and Idaho?

Dear Neighbors,

Three years ago, just in time for the summer driving season, our state’s average gas price became the highest in the nation, at $4.89 for a gallon of regular. The cause seemed apparent: Washington’s cap-and-tax law — passed two years earlier, and officially known as the Climate Commitment Act — had taken full effect.

I’ll bet Washington hasn’t dropped below #3 since then on the list of worst gas prices. California typically is #1. When I checked the aaa.com website on gas prices before sending this report, our state was #2 with an average of $5.65 for regular and 97 cents more for a gallon of diesel. (Hawaii, where most everything is most expensive because of shipping costs, is sometimes #2 but is third behind our state right now.)

Can Olympia do something to give us relief from high fuel prices? Yes, but “can” is not the same as “will.”

Legislators could suspend the state portion of the gas tax (55.4 cents), but that would cut directly into money for highway projects and the Washington State Patrol.

Road and bridge projects wouldn’t be affected if lawmakers instead suspended either or both of the climate policies that function like a hidden gas tax: the Climate Commitment Act, and the “low-carbon” fuel standard (requiring state retailers to offer a different and more expensive formulation of fuel).

Suspending these at the legislative level would require a special session in Olympia, however. The simpler alternative would be for Governor Ferguson to suspend the CCA after declaring an energy emergency.

My colleague on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Sen. Chris Gildon of Puyallup, asked the governor to do just that, in a May 20 letter. The answer came from a Ferguson spokesperson: if you want lower gas prices, talk to President Trump.

I know the governor has been consistently critical of the president, but this one won’t stick. The average gas price in our state was $4.35 per gallon two days before the Iran conflict began, and now the national average is $4.22 — while, to say it again, we’re at $5.65.

International events aren’t responsible for the fact that gas is generally 40-50 cents less per gallon across the Oregon border (and the savings is about twice that in Idaho). It’s because of state-level climate policies that have yet to show any measurable improvement in air quality.

Senator Gildon had this reaction to the comments that came out of the governor’s office — starting with how Washington families deserve an honest discussion about why they continue to pay some of the highest gasoline prices in America. I agree, because the real reasons originated in Olympia.

At last, southeast Washington’s newest facility for treating behavioral health and substance abuse is ready to open! It was an honor to take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery, and say a few words about this important accomplishment. As I understand it the center is awaiting one last approval from the state Department of Health, then it can begin serving people. Congratulations to those who worked hard for years to get to this point — and I’m pleased that our 16th District legislative delegation also had a role, working with our colleagues from adjacent districts to secure a total of nearly $19.6 million for the project over the past several years. That support came from the state’s capital budget, which I know well as a member of the Senate capital-budget team. This new resource, which was once Kennewick General Hospital, is a great example of how public dollars collected at the state level are put to good use at the community level.

Anti-sheriff law put on hold — and rightfully so

I remember when Benton County voters recalled their sheriff. That wasn’t decades ago — it was 2021. The reason doesn’t matter as much as the fact that the people had the final say.

Supporters of the controversial Senate Bill 5974 didn’t just propose “modernizing” the law as it pertains to the qualifications of candidates for sheriff. They also drifted over into telling sheriffs, police chiefs, town marshals, law-enforcement volunteers and others what their duties are and aren’t.

Even more concerning to me, as a former elected county official (Walla Walla County commissioner, 2008-16), was how the law singled out sheriffs for the potential of decertification by an unelected state commission headquartered in King County.

Decertification is a backhanded way of forcing a sheriff out of office — a responsibility that should belong only to the voters. Benton County is proof that the process works.

Many sheriffs testified against the bill in committee; after it was passed, several filed a lawsuit on the grounds that the Legislature was overstepping its constitutional authority. A Thurston County judge granted a preliminary injunction, which puts the law on hold so that the lawsuit may continue.

Another example of the good things happening in our legislative district is the work being done by Mirror Ministries to serve victims and survivors of sex trafficking. I recently had the privilege of visiting their facilities in the Tri-Cities, including Esther’s Home. Go online (which is where I found this photo) to learn more about them!

Congratulations to area schools on winning statewide recognition

I’ve served on the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee since becoming a senator. It’s important to me because providing for education is state government’s most important duty, under the Washington constitution.

Recently I learned seven schools in our 16th Legislative District had been honored by state government’s educational sector for their performance during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years: Prospect Point Elementary (Walla Walla Public Schools); Waitsburg High (Waitsburg SD); Columbia Elementary (Columbia SD): Tapteal Elementary (Richland SD): Prescott High (Prescott SD); and a pair from the Pasco SD, Barbara McClintock STEM Elementary and Ray Reynolds Middle School.

This came from the Washington School Recognition Program, established in 2010 by the Legislature. The program’s goal is to highlight schools that demonstrate exceptional progress in certain categories (details on those are here).

Speaking of Prescott, I visited the school on May 27 — as did the state superintendent of public instruction. You may remember how he had called for the dissolution of the Prescott district, due to a budget deficit left by previous administrators, but had to reverse that after the people of Prescott and Vista Hermosa organized and raised the funds needed to put the district back on stable financial footing (click here for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin report).

Hopefully the state superintendent came away from his visit with a new perspective about small rural schools. As a Prescott alumnus, I know what the school means to the community — and am very glad that when I speak at the upcoming 8th-grade graduation, it won’t be the district’s last one!

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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.

If you see me out and about in our 16th District, say hello – because I’m your senator all the time, not just when we’re in session in Olympia. 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

 

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

 

 

What the sales-tax increase means for you

Col Vly Ctr for Rec enhanced

I’m grateful that my fellow legislators have repeatedly backed our 16th District delegation’s requests for millions of dollars in capital-budget funding to help transform the old Kennewick General Hospital into the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery. This project is one of the good things happening in our area; hopefully it will continue on schedule, and the center will open about the time I’m coming home from our 2026 session at the Capitol. In the meantime it’s exciting to see all the local financial support coming in; I was recently honored to join Nancy Roach, secretary of the Benton Franklin Recovery Coalition, and others who spoke at an event where a local family’s $1.1 million donation was announced! More details are in this Tri-City Herald report.

Dear Neighbors,

We have just about reached the middle of what legislators call the “interim” between our annual sessions at the state Capitol. In a matter of days we’ll be closer to the start of the 2026 session, which will fall on Jan. 12, than to the end of this year’s session, which was back on April 27.

That’s why I am already working with the experts on the Senate Republican policy staff to sift through a list of ideas — some of which have come from constituents this month — and decide which may make sense as legislation, versus things that are better handled through direct contact with a state agency.

After we identify the viable candidates, the next step is to do the research and draft the language, and as you can imagine, complex pieces of legislation require more time. So even though it’s still summer, it also isn’t too soon for me to be thinking about the 2026 session!

Huge expansion of sales tax
is coming, but details still aren’t known

The sales-tax expansion approved by our state’s majority Democrats in April reminds me of the famous remark made back in 2010 when the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” was making its way through Congress. You may remember it — the line about how the bill would need to be passed so people could find out what was in it.

As this column from Senate Republican Leader John Braun points out, we should expect the sales-tax increase will mean higher prices for things like cable/streaming channels, and driver’s-education courses.

Unfortunately, the state Department of Revenue is still working to come up with guidance for the 95,000-odd businesses required to collect the tax starting Oct. 1 Therefore, no one can say for sure what it means for Washington consumers.

This is not an increase in the tax rate employers will pay, it’s an increase in the number of “business activities” that will be considered taxable retail sales in the eyes of the state. But whether you call it an increase or an expansion, it’s expected to bring in another $4 billion over the next four years. That’s money you and I will pay, as these service providers are forced to pass down the increased costs of doing business in Washington.

I voted against this and every other tax and fee increase approved by the majority this year. The “$ave Washington” operating budget proposed by Senate Republicans was balanced without any increases and also wouldn’t have cut anyone off of essential services; unfortunately, the majority exaggerated the size of the budget shortfall (caused by its own overspending) and used that as an excuse for passing the largest package of tax hikes in state history.

For those in agriculture, loss of farms is no mystery

From what I’m hearing, wheat growers in our area are through with harvest. I was happy with the yields at my farm, but the prices we’re seeing are terrible, especially compared to just a few years ago.

I’m always having to explain to legislators from urban and suburban districts how farmers are price takers, not price makers. While our operating costs go up — and fuel costs are a prime example — we can’t just raise our prices accordingly, the way other business sectors can.

For that reason I already knew the answer to the question posed in a headline in The Seattle Times recently: 3,700 WA farms shut down in 5 years. Why?

That 5-year period ran through 2022, and many more farms in our state have gone under since then. Still, I appreciate how the report under that headline calls attention to the variety of pressures faced by people in the agricultural sector, and efforts from within the farming community to increase access to mental-health supports.

While I was also glad to see details about economic factors that affect Washington farmers, like labor costs that run 462% higher than the national average, the word “fuel” appears just once in the newspaper report, in the same sentence as fertilizer, seed and farm chemicals.

There’s no mention of how the state Department of Ecology stuck it to agriculture for years by failing to honor the fuel-surcharge exemption promised in the state’s cap-and-tax law (the “Climate Commitment Act”). I was among the leaders of repeated efforts to hold Ecology accountable, but only this year did we finally make some headway against the Olympia Democrats’ resistance.

Speaking of fuel, the average price of diesel in Washington as of a couple days ago was $5.03 per gallon. In Oregon it was $4.47, or about where our state was a year ago. It’s an average of $3.85 per gallon in Idaho.

Farmers and families in our corner of the state are fortunate to have alternatives to the crazy Washington fuel prices. I feel for the growers farther from the Oregon and Idaho borders, like the Wenatchee area or the Skagit area north of Seattle.

And although it’s good for Washingtonians to be aware of what goes into growing their food, no report on the state of farming can be complete without more detail about the effect of government policies.

Children's Center visit

Childcare is an important issue for legislators, and while we may have differences of opinion about how to increase access and control costs, I have to believe any of us would be impressed with what Maria and Veronica are doing at The Children’s Center in Walla Walla. I was particularly taken by how flexible they are in serving families, as that’s a gift for those with unusual work schedules. We need more resources like this, and I appreciate that they invited Rep. Klicker and me to visit!

***

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

Legislature adjourns; here’s a snapshot of what happened

It’s normal for the new state budgets to be adopted on the final day of our regular legislative session, and this year was no different. This is how the operating budget looked as it sat on the “bar” at the front of the Senate chamber on Sunday. The stack contains the budget adopted by the Senate on March 29, the version approved by the House on March 31 and the compromise between the two chambers, which few people saw until Saturday morning — which is a concern all by itself.

Dear Neighbor,

It was a very challenging legislative session that wrapped up this past Sunday, on schedule. The session felt longer than 105 days because of all the time we spent opposing the bad policies and harmful decisions the Democrat majority seemed determined to bring before us.

As we came into this session back on January 13, we knew that we were facing a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall and that the majority would use this as an opportunity to go on a tax-raising spree. Their first attempt at an operating-budget proposal did just that – it would have increased taxes in our state by $21 billion!

The Democrats’ agenda also continued to lean away from freedom and the free market with controversial legislation that would undermine your rights as a parent, cripple small business, worsen the education gap and limit your Second Amendment rights.

It didn’t have to be this way

We could have had a budget with zero new taxes. That’s right: the operating budget Senate Republicans proposed (Senate Bill 5810) proved we could have funded the priorities Washingtonians share — with no new taxes or fees and no cuts to services!

No one should be fooled by claims that higher taxes were inevitable because of the state’s budget shortfall. To be clear, the shortfall was never as large as Democrats claimed it was; we heard $12 billion, $15 billion, even $18 billion, but according to our non-partisan budget staff — people who don’t have a political agenda – it topped out at about $7.5 billion. That’s a lot less than the size of the Democrats’ tax package. What was clearly evident is this shortfall was the result of the majority’s reckless and uncontrolled overspending for too many years.

On Sunday, only Democrats voted for their budget. Republicans wouldn’t pile all those taxes and fees on the people of our state.

Defending the people we serve

Our no-new-taxes ‘$ave Washington” budget is an example of how Republicans offered ideas that are better for our state but don’t have the votes to get them all to the governor’s desk. For that reason, our victories this session were more about the bad legislation we derailed so it wouldn’t have lasting effects on the people we serve.

The following is a list of just some of the positive things we accomplished:

Public safety

  • Created a grant program to help law enforcement agencies hire more officers; a bill I’ve sponsored finally found enough traction this year, thanks to a push from our new governor.
  • Stopped included legislation that would have reduced penalties for sex offenders and allowed violent felons to seek early release.
  • Prevented the state from having the power to decertify county sheriffs elected by the people.

Affordability

  • Stopped the pay-per-mile tax
  • Successfully fought off another attempt to increase property taxes by lifting or eliminating the 1% cap on the annual growth of property-tax rates.
  • Made it easier to build more housing through zoning reform.

Better for education and children

  • Kept the majority from lifting the 10-year-old cap on college tuition growth
  • Ended some of the unnecessary regulation that makes childcare even harder to afford.
  • Protected new mothers receiving Medicaid by preserving 12 months of postpartum maternity care.
  • Prevented children from being exposed to a harmful, inappropriate far-left agenda in school.

Bonus: We stopped the “initiative-killer bill” which would have put unreasonable requirements on people gathering signatures on initiative petitions.

Majority balances budget
on backs of working families

There’s much to be said about both budgets, and because the final operating budget was negotiated in secret by a handful of Democrats and wasn’t seen by anyone else until Saturday, we’re still learning what all is in it. So for now, here’ s a quick summary:

  • Watch for your property taxes to go up, because school districts are now authorized to pursue bigger local levies. Funding our K-12 schools is the paramount duty of state government, and Democrats shouldn’t be pushing more of that responsibility down to the district level, but they are.In its way, this is even worse than the straight-up property-tax increase they pushed, then abandoned — because it also sets the state up for another education-funding lawsuit (like the landmark McCleary decision of 2012) that could mean even more tax increases down the road.
  • The expanded sales tax on services ($2.6 billion) — which applies to cable and streaming TV, for instance — and the increase in the business tax (nearly $6 billion) will eventually end up at the consumer level, one way or another.
  • As Republicans predicted, the income tax on capital gains is already going up, after just two years’ of collections. The death tax is also going up, with the increase being retroactive to the start of this year!
  • One of the tax bills in the Democrats’ package would slap a business tax on self-storage rental companies, and more… which again, will trickle down to consumers. It’s like they looked under about every rock they could turn over in search of more money.
  • In all, the tax package means a $9.6 billion increase in state-level taxes, which becomes $12.5 billion when the property-tax increase and the local effect of the sales-tax increase are factored in.
  • On top of all these taxes, the majority doubled childcare co-pays and tripled the per-bed license fee for nursing homes.They also raised the cost of hunting and fishing licenses by 38%, and added 50% to the cost of the annual Discover Pass. The bizarre thing is that the Democrats expect the higher fees will reduce sales, so are they just — as the saying goes — taxing behavior they want to discourage? Do they want fewer people to visit state parks and use boat launches?

Governor Ferguson said late in the session that he didn’t want to see tax increases that hit working families. If he backs that up by using his veto pen on the higher property and sales taxes in this new budget, there’s a chance legislators could be called back for a “special” session of the Legislature. We’ll have until May 20 to find out.

Higher taxes on gas, diesel coming

The new transportation budget for 2025-27 provides funding to keep important projects going in the face of higher labor and material costs.

While those projects include ongoing improvements to U.S. Highway 12 in our district, I could not vote for the budget because of the fuel-tax increases and weight-fee increases tied to it.

Although it’s been nearly a decade since the state portion of the gas tax went up, and another six cents per gallon may not sound like much, the tax on diesel will go up twice as much: six cents more now, then another 3-cent increase each of the next two years.

It isn’t clear why diesel is getting hit harder, unless the environmental activists on the Democratic side of the aisle had a role, but another 12 cents per gallon will obviously add to the cost of anything hauled by big trucks.

To be fair, though, the gas tax does pay for highway projects. It’s projected that by 2028, two of Jay Inslee’s favorite laws — the Climate Commitment Act and the low-carbon fuel standard — will add 30-plus cents to fuel costs all by themselves, and those don’t pay for projects to make our roads safer.

Capital budget brings variety
of investments to 16th District

The third of the three budgets adopted Sunday is the budget that funds school construction, community projects and much more: the capital budget. The broader details are in the news release Sen. Mark Schoesler and I issued that day.

Here’s a summary of the local projects funded in the new capital budget:

  • Columbia Basin College – $54.5 million to replace the Performing Arts Building. The “P Building,” dates to 1971 and is home to the college’s School of Arts, Humanities and Communication.
  • Kahlotus and Prescott school districts – $6 million to each district for modernization projects.
  • Walla Walla environmental cleanup – $3.5 million from the Model Toxics Control Account for monitoring/cleanup of soil contamination underneath the Chevron station downtown.
  • Walla Walla Water 2050 plan – $2.4 million toward this water-management plan.
  • Walla Walla County courthouse – $2 million for historic preservation.
  • Franklin County Fire District 2 – $1 million to complete the Kahlotus station.
  • Lions Park Community Center, College Place — $1 million toward the ongoing project to renovate the park and build a new community center. It’s the second straight time this project has received capital-budget support.
  • Mid-Columbia Children’s Museum — $1 million
  • Port of Walla Walla – $773,000 for Tri-Cities Intermodal cargo handling.
  • Christian Aid Center – $160,000 for Walla Walla rescue mission.

The capital budget, like the operating and transportation budgets, will go into effect July 1. Most of the other bills passed this session will take effect July 27, which is 90 days from the end of the session.

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SAVE THE DATE — Saturday, May 31
16th District town hall meetings

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Late in the session, as more bills came up for deciding votes, it was common for senators to step out of the chamber for interviews with the news media. This was for a Seattle TV station about a public-safety bill.

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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

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 that get in the way as well, and this week’s report explains how and why I recently tangled with them.

Also, there’s important information for people who have purchased ag fuel and paid the surcharge tied to the cap-and-tax law (officially, the Climate Commitment Act). I and other Republicans worked hard to set up a fund to provide rebates, and we don’t want anyone to miss out on what they’re owed!

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,

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

Here they come: one proposed tax hike, then another, then…

BFST committee

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 Democrats, and put state government in a multibillion-dollar hole that has to be solved before legislators can adjourn for the year.

It’s no surprise to me that more than three-fourths of those responding think the Legislature doesn’t need more money to address important priorities, and more than three out of five responding simply don’t trust the Legislature on spending.

poll result

Click here for a full presentation of the survey results.

So what are the Democratic majorities in the Senate and House doing? Well, they’ve stepped up their efforts to raise taxes. It’s the easy way to get out of the budget hole while continuing to add to the size of state government.

In the meantime, Republicans are coming up with ways to reduce spending and solve the budget deficit without tax increases. I invite you to look at some of the cost-saving ideas at our $ave Washington webpage.

Here’s where three of the Democrats’ proposed tax hikes stand as the fifth week of this year’s 15-week legislative session wraps.

  • A new tax on each mile you drive? For many years, Democrats have wanted to impose a mileage tax. Senate Bill 5726, introduced Tuesday, would create a “road usage charge” (RUC for short) starting at 2.6 cents per mile, plus an assessment of 10% on the total RUC a person pays. That’s right — the “assessment” is really a tax on a tax.The supporters of a mileage tax argue Washington’s 49.4-cent per gallon gas tax isn’t generating enough money as it is, with more electric and hybrid vehicles on our state’s roads. But I wonder if they understand, or appreciate, how a mileage tax would hurt rural drivers disproportionately.

    Also, this would be another “regressive” tax — meaning it hits lower-income people harder — from the party that is always complaining about Washington’s tax code being regressive.

    Washington’s constitution guarantees gas-tax money can only go toward highways and bridges. The mileage-tax bill doesn’t (and can’t) guarantee how the 2.6 cents per mile would be used. Also, the 10% assessment could be used only for “multimodal,” meaning transit, rail, and pedestrian/bicycle purposes.SB 5726 will get a public hearing Tuesday afternoon before the Senate Transportation Committee. If you want to testify about the bill or at least make your opinion known, there’s a link at the end of this report that will help.

    The identical House bill (HB 1921) already received a public hearing. From what I’m told, the House majority is pushing harder for this tax than the Senate, but that is not reassuring.

  • Higher property taxes, Part I: Last year the Senate Democrats tried to lift the cap on the annual growth of property-tax rates. They wanted a 3% limit, rather than the 1% Washington voters had approved (which was later confirmed by a Democrat-controlled Legislature).That attempt fizzled after intense opposition from the public and Senate Republicans. But this year the House Democrats are making a run at tripling the property-tax growth rate, with House Bill 1334.

    It’s the same bad idea as before, and my argument against it is also the same. Beyond the fact that this would be another regressive tax increase that makes living in our state harder to afford, cities and counties already have the ability to increase property-tax rates beyond 1%. They try to make it sound like the Legislature is holding them back, but that’s false. All they have to do is get permission from the voters.

    The 1% cap applies only to the annual property-tax increases that get voted on at the council/commission level. This bill would basically let local governments take more without asking first. HB 1334 received a committee hearing Tuesday, and I expect it will continue to move ahead unless, like last year, enough pressure is applied to stop it.

  • Higher property taxes, Part II: There’s a reason a 60% majority vote is required to pass school bond issues. Unlike enrichment levies, school bonds create debt that typically takes decades to pay back. To me — and according to Washington’s constitution, for the past 80 years — such an obligation needs to be supported by more than a simple majority.The Democratic members of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee, on which I serve, voted yesterday to pass legislation that would require only a simple majority to approve bond issues: Senate Bill 5186, and Senate Joint Resolution 8200. I and the other Republican committee members voted no, meaning we want to maintain the taxpayer protection afforded by the long-standing three-fifths approval standard.

    Because dropping to simple-majority approval would require a change in the state constitution, SJR 8200 would have to be passed with a two-thirds vote in the Senate and in the House, then a majority of voters would have to agree at the next general election.

    I know the supporters of bond issues are disappointed when those measures fail, but let’s not blame the 60% approval requirement. If a school district makes a persuasive argument to the voters, and the bond issue is the right size at the right price, shouldn’t 60% support be attainable?

media Feb 11

Each week, if there’s a long enough break between committee meetings and floor sessions, Republican lawmakers make themselves available to news reporters who are covering the 2025 session. I took part in this week’s meeting, commenting on tax-related questions as a member of the Senate Ways and Means committee — and was prepared to field questions about parental rights, being the originator of the Senate’s parental-rights bill and a member of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee. To learn what reporters are asking about, and hear our responses, click here.

***

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

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: 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

Republican senators question timing, purpose of proposed payments to farm-fuel users

Sen. Perry Dozier

OLYMPIA… The two state senators who farm in eastern Washington say they’re not sure what to make of a proposed offer of money for farm-fuel users who got stuck paying a surcharge on their fuel purchases because of the state’s cap-and-trade law.

The payments, which could amount to no more than pennies per gallon for many farming operations, are offered in the state Senate’s supplemental operating-budget proposal.

Sen. Mark Schoesler

“I don’t know anyone in the agricultural sector who would view this as a solution to the fuel-surcharge issue we’ve been fighting more than a year, since cap-and-trade was fully implemented,” said Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Waitsburg.

“These payments wouldn’t come close to making up for what farm-fuel users have been forced to pay because the executive branch of state government failed to uphold the promise made in the cap-and-trade law – that farm diesel and fuel used by the maritime industry would be exempt from the surcharge this new program would create,” said Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville.

Schoesler serves on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which held a public hearing yesterday on the proposed supplemental operating budget. The budget appropriation doesn’t refer to the payments as rebates or reimbursements, and routes them through the state Department of Licensing – not the Department of Ecology, which is responsible for implementing the cap-and-trade law.

“Are these payments a way for the state to ease its guilty conscience for failing so badly on upholding the promised fuel-surcharge exemption? Does the timing have anything to do with the certification of the initiative to repeal the cap-and-trade law? Are the supporters of cap-and-trade just looking to throw a bone to agriculture? No one who buys farm fuel by the truckload would come up with this,” said Dozier.

Dozier and Schoesler are the sponsors of Senate Bill 5728, introduced in 2023. It would basically force Ecology to develop a process for implementing the promised exemptions. The bill has been ignored, and a task force set up by Ecology during the summer failed to completely resolve industry concerns.

Given that background, the senators were surprised to see a $30 million appropriation, buried on page 564 of the new Senate budget proposal, “solely for payments to support farm fuel users and transporters who have purchased fuel for agricultural purposes that is exempt from the requirements of the Climate Commitment Act… but paid a surcharge or an additional fee.”

The payments would be made by the Department of Licensing to “noncorporate farms” first – a term not defined in the budget bill – depending on annual farm-fuel consumption. The first tier, those using less than 1,000 gallons annually, would receive $600; the second tier, between 1,000 and 4,000 gallons consumed, would get $2,300; and those using 4,000 gallons or more a year would receive $3,400.

“It’s a lame proposal because most farms of any size operate as a corporation,” said Schoesler. “On top of that these tiers make no sense, except they’re consistent with the whole premise of cap-and-trade – or ‘cap-and-tax,’ as it should really be called. This law is about punishing people who use fossil fuel. It’s as though they think there are electric combines down at the farm-equipment dealer.”

Dozier agrees the tiered approach is not realistic. “One tractor pulling a heavy load can go through 25 gallons of fuel an hour. At that rate just one week of 10-hour workdays will blow past the 1,000-gallon threshold.

“It’s not difficult for a farm to go through 30,000 gallons of diesel in a year. Under this proposal, that’s 11 cents per gallon. Adding more tiers based on 10,000-gallon increments would be a slight improvement, but if the intent is to honestly compensate users who have been paying the surcharge, the payments to them should really be gallon for gallon, with no tiers at all.”

The Senate budget proposal also includes $35 million to provide low-income households with energy utility bill assistance. Like the payments proposed for farm-fuel users, those subsidies would be funded with proceeds from the cap-and-trade law, which has enabled state government to rake in about $1.8 billion in the past year from auctioning “carbon allowances.”

“In December the governor proposed using cap-and-trade money to subsidize low-income households. It wasn’t a surprise to also see it in the Senate budget. But this money to pay farm-fuel users feels like something thrown in at the last minute by people who don’t understand agriculture,” said Schoesler.

“This is a pretty responsible budget proposal overall, and I appreciate that Republicans had a fair amount of input about the priorities,” said Dozier, “but it needs some work to be a budget that truly respects the needs of agriculture.”