OLYMPIA… The budget leader for Senate Republicans says a sharp decline in the amount of state capital-gains tax being collected is behind the largest negative state-revenue forecast since the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, is concerned the drop-off in income-tax revenue may prompt an effort from legislative Democrats to...

SEATTLE… Republican state senators who have been out front on increasing access to behavioral-health treatment and fighting the state’s opioid epidemic are marking today’s opening of a major new facility that combines treatment with training: the Center For Behavioral Health and Learning, on the University of Washington campus in Seattle....

Hello Friends and Neighbors, It’s been well over a month since our 2024 session ended, but it sure doesn’t feel like it because of all the things that have continued to happen in the legislative arena. There’s the controversial decision from a federal judge that redrew the boundaries of our...

OLYMPIA… The Legislature today followed through on three requests from Washington voters by approving initiatives that will lift restrictions on police pursuits, ban any income tax in Washington and create a parental bill of rights in public education. Sen. Lynda Wilson helped pass Initiative 2111, Initiative 2081 and Initiative 2113...

Hello Friends and Neighbors, With less a week left in our 2024 session, I’m generally pleased with the bipartisan support for several of my bills (read below for that exciting news!) – and happier to see the progress of the voter initiatives submitted to us. Yesterday brought the next-to-last deadline...

OLYMPIA… This morning a majority of members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee endorsed Initiative 2111, which would prohibit any income tax in Washington. The vote took place shortly after a majority on the Senate Law and Justice Committee had approved Initiative 2113, which would repeal the 2021 law...

OLYMPIA… Legislation passed by majority Democrats in the state Senate will likely mean the end of retail firearm sales in Washington, says Sen. Lynda Wilson. “This threatens to do away with the livelihoods of thousands of hardworking Washingtonians who are legally selling a legal product, simply because of a misguided...

As a supporter of the six initiatives submitted to the Legislature this year, I appreciated being able to say a few words Friday to a crowd of others who rallied on the Capitol steps because they feel the same way! February 25, 2024 Hello Friends and Neighbors, Tomorrow is Day...

OLYMPIA… By a strongly bipartisan 45-4 vote, the Senate today adopted a supplemental operating budget that would make important investments in K-12 education and public safety without requiring any tax increases. Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver and Senate Republican budget leader, offered these comments about the $71.6 billion plan, which revises...

OLYMPIA… The Senate supplemental operating budget proposed today would address a host of public-safety priorities while maintaining essential services and balancing without new taxes, according to Sen. Lynda Wilson, Senate Republican budget leader. Between the attention to Washington’s drug-overdose crisis, the smallest policy-related spending increase in a supplemental budget since...