Author Archives: ericcampbell

STATEMENT: Senate Republican leader lauds new laws related to safety of indigenous people

CENTRALIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun offered this statement about legislation signed today that focuses more attention and resources on the safety of indigenous people.

“Some issues, like human trafficking and domestic violence, transcend partisan differences – and today’s signing of House Bill 1571 and House Bill 1725 makes it clear the safety of indigenous people is also on that list, as both were passed unanimously in each legislative chamber. When a loved one goes missing, it shouldn’t matter who or where or why.

“Representative Mosbrucker, a Republican who represents members of the Yakama Nation, filed one of these new laws, which is culturally responsive and may answer families’ questions; the second comes from Representative Lekanoff, a Democrat who is the Legislature’s only Native member, and creates an alert for missing indigenous people similar to the Silver Alert or Amber Alert we all know. Both build on the law created in 2019 by a Mosbrucker bill that really put the spotlight on the issue of missing indigenous women.

“One of the Republican priorities for the 2022 session was to reestablish public safety across our state. That was not limited to restoring some of the law-enforcement tools the majority took away in 2021; we are equally concerned about the wave of mysterious disappearances of our tribal neighbors, and the other safety issues they face. I am glad to see these new laws, which take effect in June, and will be looking to see how we might improve on them in 2023.”

Braun bill to extend services for developmentally disabled young people receives governor’s signature

OLYMPIA… More young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities will have access to “School to Work” services under legislation signed today by the governor.

In areas where students with intellectual and developmental disabilities have access to such services, they are three times more likely to be employed when they leave the public school system at age 21. Sen. John Braun, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 5790, said the new law will extend those coordinated transition services into rural areas.

“The continued bipartisan support for our most vulnerable residents – people who, through no fault of their own, need these kinds of services – was one of the bright spots of this year’s legislative session,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “The goal of this new law is to make sure clients across our state have equitable access to these critical services, no matter where they call home.”

SB 5790 received unanimous support in the Senate and House of Representatives. The 2022 legislative session ended March 10. The new law will take effect June 9.

STATEMENT: 2022 session didn’t work for all of Washington, say Republican legislative leaders

OLYMPIA… The Legislature’s Republican leaders say the just-completed 2022 session fell short on addressing concerns they and other Republican lawmakers have been hearing from people across Washington.

House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, of Yelm:

“The 2022 session will be remembered for lawmakers attempting to fix problems created in recent sessions, a partisan transportation package that raises fees on Washingtonians, and a failure to deliver meaningful tax relief to families despite a historic budget surplus. And for the second year in a row, House Democrats showed no interest in emergency powers reform. When lawmakers return in January 2023, hopefully we’ll have a wiser and more collaborative Legislature that listens to all parts of the state.

“I’m proud of the real solutions introduced by House Republicans. We offered detailed budget frameworks that included significant tax relief, a comprehensive public safety package, transportation alternatives, true emergency powers reform, and a plan for our environment. We were not just the loyal opposition; we showed Washingtonians they have a choice when it comes to governing.”

Senate Republican Leader John Braun, of Centralia:

“The contrasts between Senate Republicans and our majority colleagues were on full display this session. Our priorities were public safety, affordability and trust – things that are important to all the people of Washington, regardless of where they live and who they are. The people can see how Democrats went a different direction, choosing against meaningful tax relief for families despite a 15-billion-dollar surplus. They’ll feel the fee increases tied to the partisan new transportation package, and notice how Democrats struggled to do even the bare minimum to make our communities safer. Parents will wonder why the majority fell short on responding to concerns about the pandemic learning loss. People who have become distrustful of government will question why only Republicans are serious about installing the checks and balances that will allow the public’s concerns to be heard during a future state of emergency.

“We challenged the majority’s proposals with what we still view as better ideas, like immediate gas-tax relief and a plan to help our communities afford more public-safety resources. Sometimes we were successful – it’s because of Republicans that law-enforcement agencies are getting some crime-fighting tools back. Otherwise, our proposals to reestablish public safety, rebuild public trust, and make life in Washington more affordable were blocked. If there was any question where the interests of our Democratic colleagues lie, it’s been answered by the decisions made these past 60 days.”

STATEMENT: All will pay, only some will benefit with majority’s new transportation package

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun of Centralia and House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm offered this reaction to the majority Democrats’ passage of a fee-heavy transportation package (Senate Bill 5974 & Senate Bill 5975) that doesn’t address the needs of most Washington communities.

“The majority Democrats have tried very hard to avoid talking about all the fees their transportation package is raising. Those extra costs are going to be wildly unpopular, and many of the people who will pay them get zero in exchange. Most won’t be able to take advantage of the free transit and other ‘green’ things aimed at the Puget Sound area, which are a big part of the sales pitch for this package.

“The majority is getting one thing right on the funding, by finally agreeing it’s OK to redirect some money away from the operating budget and put it toward transportation purposes instead. Republicans have been suggesting that for several years, so we’re encouraged to see the Democrats drop their resistance. It’s too bad they wouldn’t step up and also redirect some of the 15-billion-dollar budget surplus toward a temporary suspension of the regressive 49.4-cent state gas tax, as was proposed again in the Senate on Tuesday. That would be beneficial no matter where you live in our state.

“Republicans are well aware our state has transportation needs in the Puget Sound area. We could support many of these projects if not for the Democrats’ funding approach, especially the triple-digit increases in regressive fees and a possible sales-tax increase. Republicans had proposed a way to fund the Democrats’ project list, or a bipartisan list that works for all of Washington, without any change in taxes or fees. Our way would also reduce the dependence on the gas tax. The majority said no.

“It was a mistake for the House and Senate transportation-committee chairs to leave their Republican counterparts out of the conversation until it was time to rubber-stamp the final product. Ignoring the minority party is not the way to develop comprehensive policy and attract bipartisan support, and that’s reflected in the final votes on this package.”

 

Senate passes emergency-powers bill without Republican improvements

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun and Sen. Lynda Wilson, prime sponsor of two bipartisan bills to reform Washington’s emergency-powers law, offered this statement today following the passage of Senate Bill 5909. The measure received a 29-20 vote, after amendments offered by Wilson, R-Vancouver, and Braun, R-Centralia, were turned down by majority Democrats.

“Senate Republicans had hoped to turn this unimpressive measure into something meaningful, based on lessons learned from a state of emergency that is at 718 days and counting. The majority Democrats said no to our efforts to add effective checks and balances. That meant the only option available was a bill that falls short of providing the level of reform in the bipartisan proposal we introduced more than a year ago.

“On paper, what the Senate passed today would seem to grant the legislative branch the ability to end any emergency order, and also end a declaration of emergency – but in practice this bill would do almost nothing to balance the roles of the legislative and executive branches. By rejecting our amendments and allowing the prohibitive emergency orders – like mask mandates – to continue indefinitely unless there’s a unanimous vote to end them, the majority is making sure the law would still favor the executive branch.

“Republicans believe prohibitive orders should automatically expire after a set number of days unless legislators agree to extend them. We view that as the more meaningful reform, and it’s consistent with the bipartisan reform adopted in 2019 concerning orders that suspend laws. We’re confident there would have been full Republican support for the bill today if the Democratic majority had agreed with the changes we offered.

“No one should hail this as a victory for the people, or as a major challenge to the governor’s authority. What this vote does most is spare our colleagues in the majority from having to go home and admit to constituents that they had ignored the emergency-powers question for a second straight year. But it’s only a matter of time before the people realize how little this bill actually would do, and they’ll be disappointed. Whether the House follows through or not, we will be back at this issue again in 2023.”

Senators propose linking property-tax relief and substantial increase in support for K-12 schools

Bipartisan legislation would move toward education equity in every ZIP Code

OLYMPIA… Sen. John Braun (R-Centralia) and Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) say state government’s positive financial outlook has given legislators an opportunity to make significant new investments in Washington’s K-12 schools, bring local school-levy rates down and avoid a repeat of the McCleary school-funding lawsuit.

“This proposal is a win all the way around – for students, parents, school districts and taxpayers,” said Braun, who introduced Senate Bill 5922 on Wednesday with Mullet.

“We’re aware of the decline in enrollment and the nosedive in student test scores, and the principle of local control means those generally have to be addressed at the school-board level,” Braun said. “But the Legislature can and should do something about the local-levy increases that are making it less affordable for people to support their schools, and make sure parents see the return on education investments they expect and deserve. This is a great opportunity to build trust among taxpayers and parents.”

“The Legislature has a window to embrace a bipartisan and sustainable education-funding formula that gives additional resources for schools to address their needs, like more teachers, school nurses and support staff,” Mullet said. “This bill also provides property-tax relief for many families struggling with the increasing costs of goods and services. It is extremely rare that our state is in a position to do both things at once.”

The $3.5 billion in the bipartisan proposal would include funding increases for special education; the learning assistance program; local effort assistance; student support staff, such as counselors, mental health professionals, and nurses; and vocational and gifted education. Funding also would be aimed at addressing COVID-related learning loss and other needs.

The McCleary reforms passed in 2017 lowered property taxes for residents of most Washington school districts, capping local levies at $1.50 per $1,000 assessed property valuation. That changed after 2019 when legislators lifted the levy cap to $2.50, and set the stage for a return to the funding inequity that prompted the McCleary lawsuit. SB 5922 would take the levy cap back down to $1.50, providing significant, direct tax relief and averting a “McCleary 2.0” situation.

“Even though providing for basic education is the Legislature’s paramount duty, K-12 hasn’t accounted for more than 50% of the operating budget since 2017,” said Braun, who is Senate Republican leader. “Our proposal also would make basic education the top budget priority again, with a larger investment than Gov. Jay Inslee proposed for this year’s supplemental budget. At the same time this bill offers tax relief not found in the governor’s budget.”

“Asking school districts to rely on local tax levies, which are inherently inequitable, is not something we can allow to happen again,” Mullet said. “The unprecedented budget surplus should be used to set our state’s education system on strong fiscal footing for the future. There are also urgent needs among students who have suffered staggering learning loss from virtual schooling. Our local school districts need the state to step up and provide reliable ongoing funding to address these unprecedented losses.”

Braun said it would be false to suggest SB 5922 is unaffordable, noting the state’s projected revenue surplus exceeds $10 billion for the 4-year budget outlook, with more than three-fourths of that revenue ongoing rather than one-time.

“The constitution says K-12 is the top priority. There’s no question that even before the pandemic, the Legislature had strayed from the promises made by the McCleary reforms,” Braun said. “This proposal represents a move back toward the right path.”

STATEMENT — Republican leaders: Call special session to fix or repeal long-term care tax before tax collections begin

Governor’s delay of ‘Washington Cares’ tax won’t prevent January deductions from paychecks

OLYMPIA…In response to new information about how the governor’s delay of the long-term care tax won’t stop tax collections in January, Senate Republican Leader John Braun of Centralia and House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm issued this statement:

“The governor’s announcement last week that the ‘Washington Cares’ long-term care tax would be delayed led everyone to believe that the tax would not be collected from their paychecks come January. State employees received notice that only those who have already been granted an exemption to the program will not have the tax deducted. Otherwise, the tax will be collected as originally planned. How is this a delay? How has the governor helped matters? He hasn’t. The governor’s announcement changed nothing. The only thing it did was publicly acknowledge that the program is a mess.

“We need to go into a special session before the state begins collecting the tax and repeal this bill – even if it’s over the holidays, using virtual technology to meet on short notice. The program is so unpopular that more than 400,000 Washingtonians applied for an exemption and thousands of others want out but couldn’t get a private policy before the deadline. Why? Because the way the law is written drove insurance carriers to pull out of Washington.

“Under the current law, it is legally questionable if anyone who has the money deducted from their paycheck won’t receive it back – not even if they are granted an exemption. People are angry. The governor stands to make them even angrier if he fails to have the legislative branch address this before January 1.”

Sen. Braun on late Sen. Dan Swecker: ‘A good, kind and gracious man’

CENTRALIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun offered this statement today about former state Sen. Dan Swecker, who passed away Monday evening. Swecker, R-Rochester, was Braun’s predecessor as 20th Legislative District senator, serving from 1995 through 2012.

“During his years as a legislator, Senator Swecker rose to leadership positions on multiple committees and also within the Senate Republican Caucus. He was consistently involved in agricultural and natural-resources policy, which has long been important to our district, and as time went on he became particularly well-known for his work on transportation policy.

“But there was more to Dan – he was a man of strong faith, and solid convictions, who not only represented the 20th District but had also distinguished himself in Vietnam, where he became a decorated U.S. Army helicopter pilot. I always respected Dan for his decades of service to our state and nation, and will remember him as a good, kind and gracious man.”

 

 

 

E-News: Governor is wrong to threaten workers over COVID vaccine

In the middle of a visit to the Southwest Washington Fair this past week I stepped away for a short interview on the Lars Larson radio show. He wanted to talk about the new COVID vaccine mandates from the governors of both Washington and Oregon (his show broadcasts from Portland).

Lars asked me if I think Governor Inslee has the authority to require vaccinations. I replied that Inslee doesn’t care whether he has the authority or not. He doesn’t believe anyone will get in his way.

We can’t look to the members of the state Supreme Court for an intervention – not when the chief justice has also ordered the court’s employees to be fully vaccinated “as a condition of continued employment.” Inslee also knows his fellow Democrats who control the legislative branch may grumble privately but won’t oppose him publicly.

Unfortunately, Inslee isn’t the only state official displaying the government-knows-best attitude.

The superintendent of public instruction decided Inslee’s vaccine mandate for state employees and anyone doing business with the state should also apply to all K-12 school employees, so that’s been ordered also (it also affects employees of public charter schools, and private schools). The commissioner of public lands issued the same order this week for her agency’s employees, including those fighting wildfires around our state.

The elitist actions aren’t limited to COVID. Many people are wondering why their auto-insurance rates have mysteriously risen – it’s because the state insurance commissioner issued an order banning what’s called “credit scoring.”

There’s also the new payroll tax that is coming because the Legislature’s majority Democrats decided every Washington worker needs to buy long-term care insurance, one way or the other, whether they want to or not (there’s more on that below).

As I told Lars Larson, these people who are supposed to be public servants have apparently decided the public is incapable of successfully opposing their policies, and they’re willing to take advantage of that. Fortunately, I know the people have the final say, and I trust them. (Click here to listen to the interview.)

Vaccine mandate: ‘Dictating is not the same as leading’

Just before Thanksgiving 2020, after Governor Inslee announced a return to tighter restrictions on the economy, a city council member in the Tri-Cities said Inslee had lost his “moral authority.”

I’ve had the same thought – back then and many times since. People have seen the governor move the goalposts too many times during this pandemic, and they’re tired of hearing him attempt to justify his decisions by claiming he’s “following the science.” Six months ago I devoted an edition of my Economic Sense policy paper to how the governor’s pandemic-related policies had lost credibility.

The governor’s new vaccine mandate to state employees and so many others (including private health-care workers), announced this month, sends a clear message: He has no interest in understanding why about 30% of the people in our state are hesitant to get the COVID vaccine, and trying to address their concerns. He doesn’t trust them to decide, on their own, to take the safety precautions that were familiar to all of us before the vaccine came along. Instead, he’s going to threaten their paychecks.

This continued control of people’s lives is another reason legislators need to update the state law that gives the governor so much power during a state of emergency. This year Republicans proposed several bills to do that, including SB 5039, but the majority Democrats ignored it completely. They also won’t join us and bring the Legislature into a special session so we can address some of these issues.

The House Republican leader, Rep. J.T. Wilcox, and I came out strongly against the vaccine mandate. As we put it in a public statement earlier this month, we’ve both gotten the vaccine but recognize doing so is a personal choice that “should not be mandated by any level of government.”

When the governor doubled down this past week, adding educators and school staff to the vaccine-mandate list, I pointed out how dictating is not the same as leading – and suggested Inslee instead try an outreach campaign that is collaborative, compassionate and inclusive. That would be more worthwhile than coercing and publicly shaming people who have sincerely held concerns.

Mask mandate is back, and the ‘snitch list’ is still around
In May, the governor basically forced employers to become “vaccine police” by requiring them to keep track of their workers’ vaccination status and be able to report it to the state Department of Labor and Industries. That order is still in effect.

Now he has clearly put employers in the position of being the “mask police” as well. Not only did the governor bring back the indoor mask mandate that he’d dropped June 30; this time vaccination status doesn’t matter, and the tone of this new order seems harsher and more employer-focused than the mask mandate that first came on in June 2020. This time the proclamation explicitly prohibits businesses from allowing customers (and employees) to be inside without a face covering.

Also, it probably won’t be long before there are news reports about employers getting in trouble with the state about indoor masking. That’s because the governor’s office told a Seattle TV station it will “actively seek information about those not in compliance” through what some call the “snitch list” – meaning a complaint form posted on the state’s coronavirus website.

Still too few answers about upcoming payroll tax

Two years ago the majority Democrats passed a controversial piece of legislation to create what’s formally known as the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust. On the surface, this program seems to have a noble purpose – to make sure people have at least some level of coverage should they need long-term care. But it’s really an expensive government mandate: as mentioned above, the majority Democrats intend to force Washington workers to buy long-term care insurance, one way or the other.

Workers who don’t buy a private LTC policy in the next couple of months and apply for an exemption from the state will find themselves stuck in the government-run program. Starting in January, they will pay a new payroll tax of 58 cents per every $100 earned, meaning someone receiving $50,000 a year would have to pay $290 annually. No worker can opt out of the tax after November 1 of this year. The maximum lifetime benefit available is $36,500. If you choose to retire to another state, the benefit doesn’t go with you.

To top it off, the program is being managed by the state Employment Security Department – the same agency that failed to protect billions in taxpayers dollars from foreign fraudsters a year ago. It isn’t allowing anyone to apply for an exemption until October 1.

The Washington Policy Center has done some good work raising the alarm about this new tax (click here and here). Our office has received many messages from people who want more information and have found the LTSS program website (called WA Cares) short on details. Recently, ESD has quietly opened a toll-free call center for questions about exemptions, at 833-717-2273. Also, questions may be emailed to wacarefund@dshs.wa.gov – just be aware that what ESD calls the “most current” information available is not necessarily final.

Law-enforcement ‘reforms’ have backfired and need to be fixed sooner than later

Late last month a young man was fatally shot in a shopping mall parking lot in Pierce County. Several people offered a description of someone who had run from the scene, and a K-9 officer arrived within minutes, the sheriff’s office reported in a social-media post.

Then, the post continued, “because probable cause had not been developed for a particular individual, they decided not to track for the possible suspect since they could not use force to detain him.”

That’s right. The search for a murder suspect basically ended before it began, due to the new law created by House Bill 1310, which took effect just three days before the killing. It tightly restricts the use of force by law enforcement and corrections officers. One of the new limits explicitly mentions the need for probable cause. (An arrest was made in the Puyallup case, but not until more than two weeks had passed.)

Another new law resulting from this year’s passage of House Bill 1054 prohibited certain police tactics and equipment. It forced Longview police responding to a recent standoff to break windows with rocks to allow the deployment of tear gas – because the Democrats’ ban of firearms of .50 caliber or larger also banned the launchers used to fire non-lethal “bean bags.”

That new policy also means nearly any vehicle pursuit must be authorized in advance by a supervisor. Several days after it took effect, a reckless driver successfully eluded a state trooper who had been advised he was “not legally allowed to pursue the fleeing vehicle.”

The lead sponsors of the House bills say they are meant, in part, to “transform how police show up in our communities.” Well, it’s worked, but not in a way that makes our communities safer.

These so-called “reforms” affect more than law-enforcement officers. First responders and hospital staff can no longer count on a law-enforcement presence to provide security on the scene or in an examination room when they’re dealing with violent or unstable persons in certain situations – the new law forbids the use of physical force unless there is an “imminent” threat of bodily injury.

As the cracks in these new rules become obvious to the public, the Democrats who rushed them into law have resorted to claiming there’s “a lot of misinformation flying around.” They also asked the state attorney general to write something that they hope will give “guidance” to law-enforcement agencies. You don’t ask for help like that unless you realize your new policies have serious problems.

All of this is happening as our state is seeing a jump in violent crime, according to a recently released crime data report for 2020, and as another law created by the majority side this year basically decriminalizes the possession of heroin, methamphetamine and other hard drugs.

Republican legislative leaders have called for a special legislative session to deal with the fallout from these so-called “reforms. The Washington Sheriffs’ Association recently made the same request to the governor. He has refused. The governor’s office instead says “more education” is needed, which sounds like more Democrat elitism: if new laws cause problems, it can’t possibly be the fault of the policymakers, so let’s point fingers at law-enforcement officers instead. That’s not good government.