Sen. John Braun expressed disappointment with the House Democrat budget proposal made public today, noting how eerily similar it is to Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan – to the point of raising tuition at Washington’s four-year colleges by the same 6 to 10 percent in the next two years.

“This proposal, like the governor’s, is not in the best interest of our state,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “Voters recently rejected a tax on bottled water, and here it is again in the House budget proposal.”

Braun highlighted the Senate’s Ten-Three-Fifty plan as representing a stark contrast to the approach taken by the House. The Senate provides the most money to higher education out of all three budgets introduced, and is the only budget that actually lowers tuition without raising taxes. Continue reading →

 Sen. John Braun and Reps. Richard DeBolt and Ed Orcutt are hosting a telephone town-hall meeting April 3 at 6:30 pm. All citizens from the 20th Legislative District are invited to participate in the community conversation.

Constituents can participate from the comfort of their own home by calling toll-free 1-877-229-8493 and then when prompted, enter pin number: 15588. Listeners will have the opportunity to ask their elected officials questions (by pressing *3) or they can just listen to the conversation.  They will also be able to answer poll questions provided by the legislators.

“I look forward to discussing the important issues facing the 20th District,” said Sen. Braun, R-Centralia.  “Having Representatives DeBolt and Orcutt on hand to give us the House’s perspective is a huge bonus.” Continue reading →

Today the state House Education Committee heard testimony from Sen. John Braun regarding Senate Bill 5496, the measure he introduced that would give private schools the same ability to offer online school programs as public schools. The bill would help schools like Centralia Christian School and St. Joseph Catholic School, in the 20th Legislative District Braun represents.

“I am glad to see this bill received consideration in the House,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “This bill is about offering more choices for families that are interested in placing their children in private schools.” Continue reading →

10-3-50 plan will also provide additional investments in high-demand STEM degrees

 Sen. John Braun is co-sponsoring a plan to fund higher education unveiled yesterday by the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus. It’s aimed at reducing tuition for students enrolled in college, increasing spending on public universities and community colleges, and creating performance reviews that would make even more revenue available to post-secondary schools.

“Under previous majorities in the Senate, tuition rates at our state-run colleges have skyrocketed due to decreased state funding,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “If our children want to go to college, financing should not be the determining factor. We must start investing more money into post-secondary education and avoid expanding other government programs that punish students by draining revenue from the state’s college system.” Continue reading →

Senators John Braun (R-Centralia), Janéa Holmquist Newbry (R-Moses Lake) and Sharon Brown (R-Kennewick) celebrate the efforts of the Majority Coalition Caucus by holding a press conference with members of the business community. They talked about their ability to work collaboratively with several members of the minority to pass a number of bills that would bring stability and predictability to the private sector, which should result in new jobs and investments.

Members were joined by representatives from the Association of Washington Business, Washington Retail and Trade Association, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Washington Policy Center, Independent Business Association and Rep. Manweller (R-Ellensburg).

Continue reading →