Lynda Wilson

Republican budget leader notes progressive property-tax reform now within reach OLYMPIA… The Senate Democratic 2021-23 operating-budget proposal is expected to become public Thursday, and Sen. Lynda Wilson says she’ll be looking for it to be at least as taxpayer-friendly as the budget Senate Republicans proposed Feb. 11. “I’m anticipating the...

Hello Friends and Neighbors, The budget Governor Inslee submitted to the Legislature in December included the income-tax proposal that became Senate Bill 5096. When the Senate Democrats bring out their proposed operating budget this Thursday, will it incorporate the income tax somehow? Even though no revenue from the tax could...

OLYMPIA… The first state-revenue forecast for 2021 indicates a surprisingly large increase of $3.3 billion for the current two-year budget cycle and $5.2 billion over the next four years. Sen. Lynda Wilson, Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee and a member of the state Economic Revenue and...

OLYMPIA… Leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus released the following remarks in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement today that all K-12 public schools in Washington will be required by executive order to provide safe in-person and remote learning options for students by mid-April. Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia:...

Hello Friends and Neighbors, I’ll start this report with one more call to sign up for our “virtual” town hall, which will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. this coming Monday. I’m confident Rep. Harris and Rep. Kraft will have plenty to report; I certainly will, especially about the state’s...

OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, offered this statement following Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement that all of Washington will move to a Phase 3 of 50% capacity on March 22. On March 4, Wilson and other Republican leaders in the Legislature had proposed their  “Open Safe, Open Now” plan, which may...

OLYMPIA… Key leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus reacted strongly today after the Senate’s Democratic majority approved legislation to create a state income tax, despite knowing an income tax has been unconstitutional in Washington since 1932. Since 1934, Washington voters have rejected 10 attempts to enact an income tax, either through...

Hello Friends and Neighbors, Since 1934, the voters of Washington have been asked 10 times to create some sort of state income tax. They’ve emphatically said “no” each time, most recently in 2010 – by a landslide 64% majority. I bring this up because on Wednesday, the latest income-tax proposal...

  ‘Open Safe, Open Now: A Republican plan for Phase 3 and Beyond’ shows trust in the people OLYMPIA…In response to sharply declining COVID-19 case rates and hospitalization rates statewide, legislative Republicans today announced a simple, practical and consistent plan to get all communities in Washington fully open for both...

Hello Friends and Neighbors, As the halfway point of our scheduled 105-day session approaches, we’re spending our days on the “floor” of the Senate chamber debating and voting on legislation that cleared the necessary committee hurdles. The bills we’ve passed this week have been sent over to the House of...