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...

OLYMPIA… The list of major tax-relief proposals before the Legislature this year no longer belongs solely to Republicans, now that a member of the Senate’s Democratic majority is proposing a one-point drop in the state sales tax. Sen. Lynda Wilson, Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and...

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...

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...

OLYMPIA… Republicans in the state Senate have introduced a comprehensive plan to reduce homeowners’ property taxes and manufacturers’ business taxes while preventing a state income tax, and repealing the new payroll tax on Washington workers. The Tax Relief and Reform Act of 2022 (Senate Bill 5769) supports one of the...

VANCOUVER… The state of emergency that enabled Gov. Jay Inslee to impose a job-threatening vaccine mandate for many Washington workers will hit the 600-day mark as of Thursday. Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, said the vaccine requirement and Inslee’s apparent lack of interest in sharing his emergency authority highlight the need...

As published Friday, Oct. 8, in The News Tribune (Tacoma): Taxpayers are regularly asked to raise their own taxes by approving local levies. They are rarely given an opportunity to lower their tax burden. So here’s a timely question: If you could vote to exempt the first $250,000 of your...

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)...

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...

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...