Feb. 17, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, Today brought the first deadline or “cutoff” of the 2023 legislative session. We’ll hit six more deadlines during the 65 days remaining in the session, with the final one being the day we adjourn. That should be April 23. The cutoffs force policy...

OLYMPIA… It appears Democrats in the state Senate have already decided to keep protecting the ability of Washington’s governor to unilaterally take control of residents’ lives for an indefinite period. Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, said she was informed yesterday – day two of Washington’s 2023 legislative session – that bipartisan...

VANCOUVER… The budget leader for Washington’s Senate Republicans said the 2023-25 operating budget proposal made public today by Gov. Jay Inslee fails to put priority on issues that affect Washington families most. Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, offered this assessment of the $70.4 billion proposal, which will be submitted to the...

VANCOUVER… With Gov. Jay Inslee’s 975-day COVID state of emergency ending today, state Sen. Lynda Wilson says legislators should commit to completing the reform of Washington’s 1969 emergency-powers law when they meet in 2023. Wilson, R-Vancouver, had introduced bills during each of the past two legislative sessions to address flaws...

VANCOUVER… The state Senate’s Republican budget leader questions why state government’s tax collector is continuing to work on a rule for implementing the new state income tax struck down by a Douglas County judge eight months ago. “I can understand why the Democrat legislators who approved the state income tax...

Hello Friends and Neighbors, I hope the arrival of fall finds you and your loved ones doing alright – or at least getting by. The pandemic and soaring price inflation have been a real one-two punch to families everywhere, especially here in Washington. While other states are providing tax relief...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun and Sen. Lynda Wilson, author of legislation to reform Washington’s emergency-powers law, offered these reactions to today’s announcement by Gov. Jay Inslee that his COVID state of emergency will end Oct. 31, after 976 days. From Senator Braun, R-Centralia: “The state of emergency could...

June 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, I hope this report finds you and your loved ones doing OK. I wish I had good news about the affordability issues facing families here and across our state, but none of the 303 laws created by the Legislature this year will provide significant...

April 14, 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, My previous report mentioned how most of the legislation passed during our 2022 session takes effect 90 days from the end of the session. The 90-day standard is in Article II, Section 1 of our state constitution. There are two exceptions: new laws...

OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver and Senate Republican budget leader, said this about the 2021-23 supplemental operating budget signed today by the governor, three weeks after the majority Democrats adopted it. “There are some good things in this budget, but the governor can’t hide the fact that in spite of...