K-12 education, public safety lead list of changes made in supplemental budget adopted by Senate
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...
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Senate Republican budget leader encouraged by proposal with strong lean toward addressing public-safety concerns
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...
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E-News: Think every legislator puts the safety of children first? Think again
February 16, 2024 Hello Friends and Neighbors, As of today there are 20 days left in this year’s session. With the exception of budget updates, we’re through with moving Senate bills across to the House of Representatives, and are back to meeting as committees – this time to consider...
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STATEMENT: Slight increase in revenue confirms need for responsible spending approach, says Senate Republican budget leader
OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson says the latest state revenue forecast confirms the wisdom of keeping a firm grip on spending in the supplemental operating budget that must be adopted before lawmakers adjourn March 7. Wilson, R-Vancouver, chairs the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. It met this morning to adopt...
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NEWS: Senate passes Wilson, Braun bills to tackle opioid addiction, overdose deaths
OLYMPIA… Washington state’s fast-rising rate of opioid addiction and overdose deaths are targeted by a pair of bills that emerged from the state Senate this week, sponsored by Sens. John Braun, R-Centralia and Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver. Both measures passed the Senate 49-0 and now move to the House. The bills...
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E-News: Senate majority bows to pressure, drops bid for record property-tax increase
Hello Friends and Neighbors, If you own property or a home or rent your home… this week didn’t start out well. My colleagues in the Senate majority were all set to open the door to the largest property-tax increase in Washington history. The bill to enable this (SB 5770) was...
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STATEMENT: Budget leader glad to see Democrats drop proposed property-tax increase
OLYMPIA…Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver and Senate Republican budget leader, offered this comment after learning the proposal to allow local governments to raise property taxes by up to 3% annually without a vote of the people will not move any further this legislative session. The Democratic senator who is prime sponsor...
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E-News: Upset about the ‘climate’ charge on your utility bill? There’s an initiative for that
If you’re a customer of NW Natural and were shocked by the “WA Climate Act Fee” on your bill, you are not alone. On top of Washington’s artificially high prices for gasoline, this is another consequence of the partisan cap-and-trade law that was adopted in 2021 and would be repealed...
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E-News: Senate passes my pro-child, anti-fentanyl bill… again
At this point in the 2024 session the Senate’s work is focused on the policy committees, which have through next Wednesday to act on Senate bills. This is from our Law & Justice meeting yesterday, where the list of bills we considered included legislation to help communities rebuild their law-enforcement...
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Passage of Wilson bill leads off Senate fight against fentanyl
OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson’s effort to protect children from being harmed by fentanyl exposure has sailed through the state Senate for a second straight year. Senate Bill 5010 is one of two Wilson bills passed today, as senators near the one-third mark of the 60-day legislative session. It would expand...
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