Legislature

E-Newsletter: It’s a new record! Jan. 28, 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, If you had asked me Monday morning, I would have said the 11 bills I’d filed during the first two weeks of our session – the latest being an updated version of my emergency-powers reform – would be it. But after seeing the... Read More...
E-Newsletter: RE: public safety, affordability and trust Jan. 14, 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, I hope this finds you and your family well. The first week of our 2022 session ends today. Being that it’s an even-numbered year, this is a 60-day “short” session; the shorter length (compared to the 105 days allotted by the constitution in... Read More...
Wilson bill to ‘free the parks’ receives public hearing Session’s first week brings action on two proposals from 17th District senator OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson says the state should stop charging people to park at Washington’s state parks and other public lands. Her Senate Bill 5608 would eliminate the annual $30 Discover Pass and the $10 single-day fee charged... Read More...
E-Newsletter: It’s over! Hello Friends and Neighbors, The Legislature’s 105-day session ended last evening, shortly after the passage of a new state operating budget that is – unfortunately – much more partisan than it needed to be. The budget wasn’t the only disappointing news to come out of our final week (and weekend)... Read More...
Democrats stay with high-tax budget that will hit low-income, marginalized communities harder OLYMPIA… The final 2021-23 operating-budget agreement made public this afternoon by the Legislature’s majority Democrats is still a step backwards for Washington’s low-income families and marginalized communities, say budget leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus. Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, and Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, also are critical of how legislators... Read More...
E-Newsletter: Big (and mostly bad) bills still moving Hello Friends and Neighbors, The final day of our 105-day session is a week from this Sunday. I mentioned in my previous report how there’s no excuse for going past that deadline when one party controls both houses of the Legislature… but sure enough, the chatter about an overtime session... Read More...