March 17, 2023

E-News: See you at a town hall tomorrow!

March 17, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, There aren’t many things the Legislature must do, but in odd-numbered years like this, approving new budgets is one of them. There are three state budgets: operating, capital and transportation. They cover a two-year period that begins July 1 in odd-numbered years. The...
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March 11, 2023

E-News: Pursuit-reform bill passes in Senate… but we can do better

March 11, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, All session long, I and other Senate Republicans have made the police-pursuit issue one of our public-safety priorities. I co-sponsored not one but two bills that would reform Washington’s law on pursuits, to make it less criminal-friendly. Why, then, did I vote against...
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March 08, 2023

Wilson says Senate bill on pursuits falls short, votes no

OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver and a member of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, said legislation passed by the Senate today would not do enough to fix the problems with the state law restricting police pursuits of suspected criminals. Although Senate Bill 5352 was passed with a 26-23 vote,...
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March 04, 2023

E-News: Senate passes long-awaited ‘fix’ to drug-possession law

March 4, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, We spent all this week on the “floor” of the Senate chamber, working until very late last night on legislation that not only came through the policy and fiscal committees. It was a good week for the bills I’ve prime-sponsored: four made it...
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February 24, 2023

E-Newsletter: Halfway point of session is around the corner, and…

Feb. 24, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, I’m glad to be the Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, but also glad this week is over. Please keep reading for why. A quick update on the police-pursuit issue from a week ago: it was good to see The...
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February 17, 2023

E-News: It’s deadline time… which bills have survived?

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...
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February 11, 2023

E-News: We don’t need forced voting or an ‘extremism’ commission

Feb. 11, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, You may not have heard the term “silver tsunami.” It refers to the growing number of people in our state and nation who are reaching the age where they need specialized care at home – so many people that the caregiving industry could...
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February 04, 2023

IN THE NEWS: How a WA bill could help caregiver shortage ahead of ‘silver tsunami’ (The Seattle Times)

How a WA bill could help caregiver shortage ahead of ‘silver tsunami’ Feb. 4, 2023 at 6:00 am By Paige Cornwell  Seattle Times staff reporter To become certified, prospective home care workers in Washington must be tested on what they’ve learned in their 75 required hours of training. But many...
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February 03, 2023

E-Newsletter: Fix flaws in police-pursuit law now, not next year

After Clark County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeremy Brown was murdered while on duty in July 2021, there was reason to connect his killing with what were then the new state restrictions on police pursuits. The people arrested for Sgt. Brown’s killing reportedly were suspects in a burglary the day before, but...
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January 27, 2023

E-Newsletter: Income-tax supporters want justices to make rush decision

Jan. 27, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, Week three of our legislative session saw the first real votes by the full Senate. By “real” I mean policy legislation, not the housekeeping sort of measures that set the rules and the deadlines for committee and floor action on bills. I’m a...
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