February 02, 2024

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for gasoline, this is another consequence of the partisan cap-and-trade law that was adopted in 2021 and would be repealed...
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January 26, 2024

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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January 24, 2024

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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January 24, 2024

Republican senators take aim at opioid crisis with ‘Recovery Washington’ drug-treatment package

Click here for video of TVW coverage of news conference OLYMPIA… Senate Republicans are calling for a stronger response to Washington’s opioid crisis with a package of bills aimed at preventing overdoses, coordinating state efforts to promote treatment and recovery, and restoring funding for multijurisdictional law enforcement drug task forces. The...
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January 23, 2024

STATEMENT: Republican budget leader says I-2109 certification is path to another public vote on income tax

OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver and budget leader for the state Senate’s Republican caucus, made this statement today after Initiative 2109 was certified by the secretary of state. I-2109 would repeal the tax on capital-gains income approved by the Legislature’s majority Democrats in 2021; unless enacted by lawmakers during their...
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January 20, 2024

E-News: ‘Democracy’ is NOT about making tax increases easier

Sen. Nikki Torres of Pasco is among the Republicans co-sponsoring my bills to criminalize the injury of children by fentanyl exposure and create a “One Pill Kills” anti-opioid campaign. Hello Friends and Neighbors, Most of the action in the Senate this week was again at the committee level, although we...
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January 16, 2024

STATEMENT: Capital-gains tax still on track for review, says budget leader

OLYMPIA… One way or another the fate of Washington’s tax on capital-gains income will be decided this year, predicts Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver and budget leader for the state Senate’s Republican caucus. She offered this reaction today after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Washington Supreme Court’s 2023...
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January 13, 2024

Session gets under way, massive tax hike already being proposed

When I and other budget leaders met with news reporters to preview our session I spoke about the need to be conservative about appropriating the billions of dollars collectively generated by the capital-gains income tax, the long-term care payroll tax and the cap-and-trade law, because those sources would go away...
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December 22, 2023

E-News: Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hello Friends and Neighbors, You’re probably busy with holiday-related things so I’ll make this brief. The next legislative session begins two weeks from Christmas Day – that’s Monday, January 8. To repeat the invitation made in my previous e-newsletter, I’d like to hear any ideas you have for legislation. After...
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December 13, 2023

Governor’s spending proposal continues worrisome trends, says Republican budget chief

OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee’s new supplemental budget proposal continues the same worrisome trends of the decade he has been in office, said Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee. “The good news is that the governor isn’t proposing any new taxes,” Wilson said....
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