Author Archives: kimberlywirtz

Sticking to my priorities – safety, affordability and our children’s future

Sticking to my priorities

Friends and Neighbors,

One of the ways Senate Republicans decide what our legislative priorities will be each year is to take a deep and thoughtful look around the state at the problems everyday people face.

What complicates their lives? What puts them in danger? What makes things more expensive? What do our children need to succeed? What is important to them?

We explore the opportunities to develop solutions and, working with staff and outside stakeholders, craft bills that would address those issues.

This is how I established my top three priorities, which continue to be important in our 20th District and every corner of Washington.

People are still worried about their personal security and the safety of their communities. They are still struggling to make ends meet as everything gets more expensive, often relying on credit to pay the bills. And people are still concerned about the ability of our K-12 students to recover from the pandemic learning loss and get the education they need to succeed in life.

Majority Democrats have blocked important Republican bills that could have made a difference for people from all walks of life and political parties. Meanwhile, they have also pushed bad policies that have made things worse for everyone.

As senators, we don’t just hear Republican concerns. We answer the phone no matter who’s calling, and we hear the same feedback from people across the board. People just have different ideas about how to address them.

What is universally clear, though, is that they don’t want us serving special interests. They need us in Olympia working on their interests – policies that will make their lives better.

There’s a lot to do around the state to secure a safer Washington, fight for an affordable Washington, and build a better future for Washington’s children. Between now and when the 2025 legislative session begins in January, I will be identifying areas where I can help improve people’s lives and working with staff to draft the necessary legislation.

In the meantime, listen to this Elephant in the Dome podcast where I explain more about my priorities and why I continue to work on these issues as your Senator.

Sincerely,

John Braun

 

 

“Braun calls for more legislative action after three infants exposed to fentanyl”

“Centralia Republican says Democrats refused to vote on legislation to punish those who allow children access to narcotics”

 

I recently sent out a statement about three fentanyl overdoses suffered by three babies in Everett and put House Democrats on notice that this problem needs serious consideration. I will again be sponsoring a bill this upcoming session that will add fentanyl to the list of drugs included in the statute for felony child endangerment. It should be a felony for someone to expose children to deadly street drugs — and it is, just not when it comes to synthetic opioids.

Read this article from The Chronicle and learn more. 

The Seattle Times saw my statement and published an editorial agreeing with me.

In it, they say, “In the last two years, state lawmakers have failed to fix a glaring gap in Washington’s criminal law. Adults who expose children to fentanyl, even if the children are seriously injured, face only a misdemeanor-level charge. Only in the most tragic of cases — when a child dies of an overdose — are prosecutors likely to pursue a felony conviction for manslaughter, and more serious prison time.”

Read the editorial from The Seattle Times.

House Democrats should be ashamed of sweeping the lives of children under the rug and should support my legislation to hold people who expose children to deadly synthetic opioids fully accountable. Anything less is a dereliction of duty.

 

The hits just keep coming from Democrats’ cap-and-tax law

Read my full commentary that appeared in the April 26th edition of The Chronicle.

Excerpt:

“Anyone who buys gasoline already knows how the price of a gallon of unleaded regular in our state has shot up since majority Democrats’ cap-and-tax law — the so-called Climate Commitment Act, or CCA — took full effect in 2023. The same gas costs significantly less in Oregon and Idaho, which are free of a cap-and-tax policy.

“Washington customers of an Oregon-based natural-gas company know they are getting hit at more than the gas pump. Their billing statements include a “WA Climate Act Fee” line item showing what the law is costing them. Puget Sound Energy (PSE) wanted to do the same for its customers, but this past fall, Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office and the state Utilities and Transportation Commission forced PSE to keep that information secret.”

 

As of Monday, May 6, I will be under Washington state’s election-year restrictions. You will not receive this e-newsletter between

May 6 and when November’s election results are certified. 

Infant fentanyl overdoses warrant felony charges, says Braun

CENTRALIA…Three infants in the Everett area overdosed on fentanyl over four days this week, including a 13-month-old who died. Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, shared the following reaction to these preventable tragedies.

“It’s completely indefensible when an infant or child gets sick or dies because someone in the household is using deadly drugs such as fentanyl. These children are innocent and whoever’s negligence is exposing them to lethal street drugs needs to be charged with a felony for child endangerment.

“Those who are trapped in addiction need help – addiction itself is not a crime — but their disease does not excuse them for injuries or deaths that occur as a byproduct of their addiction. If being charged with a felony and doing time for exposing minors to fentanyl is what is needed to protect these babies in the future, then we should pass legislation to hold people accountable.

“Senator Lynda Wilson fought for a bill last session that would include fentanyl and other synthetic opioids in the statute on endangerment with a controlled substance. It had bipartisan support and passed unanimously in the Senate. The chair of the House’s Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee wouldn’t even grant it a hearing, despite repeated calls to do so. He claimed that not one of the 58 Democrats in the House would vote for it. In contrast, the chair allowed bills to move forward that would release sex offenders from community supervision, would reduce sentences for murderers who are serving life without parole, and would reduce sentencing enhancements for violent offenders, firearms offenses, and gang members.

“It’s decisions like that which make people question the ability of Democrats to lead on public safety issues. When they spend a lot of time and energy reducing sentencing for violent criminals and won’t even consider the rights of children who need protection from the people in their lives who are using deadly illegal drugs, they deserve to be called out. I sincerely hope House Democrats take notice of these latest infant overdoses.”

 

Braun: Hawkins will leave lasting impact on 12th District

CENTRALIA…A District Court judge’s gerrymandering in favor of Democrats claimed another victim Monday. Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-Wenatchee, will not seek reelection. Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, had this to say:

“I want to extend my appreciation to Senator Hawkins for his many years of service to the people of the 12th Legislative District, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. Brad’s commitment to public service will have a lasting impact on his constituents.

“As the ranking Republican on the Senate’s committee on K-12 education, Brad has been a champion for school boards around Washington to have more local control. He criticized repeated Democratic efforts to make the Legislature act as the ‘great school board in the sky’ when they wanted to impose statewide unfunded mandates that served an agenda that many communities did not support.

“The power play on behalf of Democrats that unjustly challenged the redistricting maps approved by the bipartisan Redistricting Commission has pushed another valuable legislator out of office.”

Newsletter: The right to protest does not include blocking access to SeaTac

The right to protest does not include blocking access to our busiest airport

Friends and Neighbors,

In response to the pro-Palestinian protest that blocked access to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last week, I shared the following statement.

“People have the right to peaceably protest, but they don’t have the right to put themselves and drivers at risk by blocking access to our busiest airport. I understand that the point is to cause a disturbance in a highly visible location, but disrupting transportation and commerce like this is illegal and does nothing to further anyone’s cause. Travelers should not have had to get out of their cars and walk the rest of the way to get to the airport to make their flights or pick up loved ones.

“I hope the governor and the attorney general condemn the protest as well. If not because it falsely accused Israel of committing genocide and fed antisemitic sentiment, then simply because it is dangerous and against the law. Republicans sponsored legislation this year to make this kind of thing illegal, but Democrats killed it. Washington deserves better.”

Sincerely,

John Braun

 

We must be proactive against drug 40 times more potent than fentanyl

Everyone knows the abuse of opioids such as fentanyl is a crisis that reaches every corner of Washington.

A report from the Washington State Department of Health (January 2024) revealed that out of the 2,001 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, 1,803 (90%) of those were due to fentanyl alone.

During 2023, among children in our state’s child welfare system, we saw 49 incidents where a child died or nearly died from exposure to fentanyl.

Now we are finding out that the use of another dangerous “designer drug” is on the rise, and it is hundreds to thousands of times more potent than morphine and 10 to 40 times stronger than fentanyl. Like fentanyl, it is a synthetic opioid. It’s called nitazine.

We must treat this emerging threat with the seriousness it deserves by attacking it in the Legislature before it reaches the threat level that fentanyl has under the Democrats’ policies that legalized hard drugs.

Nitazine was created in the 1950s as a possible painkiller option, but the FDA never approved it for medical use. Illegal laboratories have used historical research to resurrect the drug. The federal government considers it a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has no medical purpose and is at high risk of abuse.

I am exploring options for bills to sponsor to combat nitazine and to continue the battle against fentanyl. Despite resistance and apathy from the Democrat chair of the House’s Community Safety, Justice and Reentry toward Sen. Lynda Wilson’s bill that would have made it a felony to expose children to fentanyl, I will sponsor similar legislation during the 2025 legislative session that will apply to both fentanyl and nitazine.

The use of these drugs is causing serious societal decay that has a high cost for us all — physically, emotionally and financially. We can’t let people continue to die because those in the majority won’t do everything possible to fight this ongoing tragedy.

 

Fighting building fees driving up the cost of housing

If you’ve built a home recently, you may have spent thousands of dollars on impact-mitigation fees to acquire the necessary permits.

However, the Supreme Court of the United States recently decided unanimously that conditions placed on building permits are subject to a higher level of scrutiny. It also ruled that fees like those described above must match the public’s goals.

The decision was in a case out of California where a landowner wanted to build a home on his property and was charged a fee of more than $23,000 to supposedly help offset the impact his construction would have on the area’s roads.

The SCOTUS ruled that this violated the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition against the undue taking of property without compensation. Specifically, it said, “The Takings Clause applies equally to both — which means that it prohibits legislatures and agencies alike from imposing unconstitutional conditions on land-use permits.”

Although we will have to wait to see how this affects similar fees here in Washington, this is a win for property owners, renters and builders because new fees imposed by legislatures and local governments will be subject to a two-part fairness test that will prevent those fees from adding to the cost of housing.

 

In case you missed it, read my recent column on the Green Hill School

To put it bluntly, Green Hill School has nowhere to go but up. Read more in my column that appeared in The Chronicle on April 12.

 

Important News Clips

Right to protest does not include blocking airport access, says Braun

CENTRALIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, released the following statement following the anti-Israel protest that blocked access to SeaTac Airport for several hours today.

“People have the right to peaceably protest, but they don’t have the right to put themselves and drivers at risk by blocking access to our busiest airport. I understand that the point is to cause a disturbance in a highly visible location, but disrupting transportation and commerce like this is illegal and does nothing to further anyone’s cause. Travelers should not have had to get out of their cars and walk the rest of the way to get to the airport to make their flights or pick up loved ones.

“I hope the governor and the attorney general condemn the protest as well. If not because it falsely accused Israel of committing genocide and fed antisemitic sentiment, then simply because it is dangerous and against the law. Republicans sponsored legislation this year to make this kind of thing illegal, but Democrats killed it. Washington deserves better.”

NEWSLETTER: Survey results: Your legislative priorities

Friends and Neighbors,

Thank you to everyone who took my short survey ranking your legislative priorities. The graphic above represents the results. Read further to learn more about legislative efforts to address those priorities.

It can be hard to get even the best bills passed when you are in the minority, but Republicans like me will continue to push against the bad ideas, and not just because they were sponsored by Democrats. There were many Democrat bills that had full Republican support.

We push against bad ideas because people matter more than politics. And because we listen to the people and hear loud and clear that you deserve better.

Sincerely,

John Braun

 

Securing a safer Washington

REDUCE CRIME, HIRE MORE OFFICERS

Not surprisingly, public safety concerns are top on your priority list, including reducing crime and hiring more law-enforcement officers. Washington remains the worst in the nation for the number of law enforcement officers per capita. Many new policies were passed in an effort to help hire and train new officers.

However, one big obstacle remains — Democrat policies restrict the ability of law enforcement to arrest and detain criminals and hamper the ability of prosecutors to pursue a conviction and fair sentencing. These policies are demoralizing and make law enforcement feel as if their efforts are sometimes wasted. They also increase negative feelings toward police because the people often think the police or prosecutors are choosing to do nothing.

This has to change. The people of Washington deserve to feel that the state cares more about their safety.

 

VICTIMS’ RIGHTS

I’m pleased to report that it’s also important to you that the Legislature prioritize the rights of victims over the rights of criminals. Majority Democrats’ policies have the opposite effect. We have seen policies enacted to reduce sentencing, decriminalize hard drugs, and allow inmates sentenced to life in prison without parole to petition for release after serving 25 years. Those sentenced to life in prison are the worst of the worst, but Democrats want to give them a chance to victimize someone again after the state has said they are too dangerous to be free in society.

This past session, we saw one House Democrat sponsor a bill to give felons the ability to vote, run for public office and serve on jury duty. The sponsor of the bill admitted in committee testimony that this would apply to Gary Ridgway, better known as the Green River Killer. This same legislator, in 2023, proposed shorter prison terms for drive-by shooters.

The Democrats have also stood in the way of Republican legislation to protect victims. Sen. Lynda Wilson’s bill to make exposing a child to fentanyl a felony passed in the Senate but was killed by the chair of the House’s committee on Community Justice, Safety and Reentry. He claimed there were no votes in his committee to support the bill.

However, Democrats on that committee voted for other bills that clearly prioritize offenders:

  • HB 2178: Would let sex offenders off of community supervision.
  • HB 2065: Would retroactively resentence criminals who are serving a longer sentence due to crimes they committed as juveniles.
  • HB 1994: Would allow a court to dismiss misdemeanor and gross-misdemeanor charges if certain conditions are met; create barriers to full accountability and give defendants new ways to escape accountability if they have a clever attorney.
  • HB 1396: Would reduce sentences for certain criminals serving life without parole sentences, including those convicted of aggravated murder.
  • HB 1268: Would reduce time served for sentencing enhancements for violent offenders, firearms offenses, and gang members.
  • HB 2001: Would reduce prison sentences for violent offenders.

 

 

Fighting for an affordable Washington

NO NEW OR HIGHER TAXES

I am not surprised that your top priority is to prevent new and higher taxes. The economy is hurting everyday people right now and increasing taxes and fees, or imposing new ones, is a bad idea.

A recent report shows that Washington’s economy, which ranked last year at 37th out of 50 states, dropped three places and now ranks 40th. The report cites a heavy tax burden as one of the primary reasons for this.

There are many deserving programs and policies, but when the people say they can’t afford to give the state another dime, legislators need to listen.

Fortunately, the 2024 operating budget did not include any new taxes. And Republicans were able to stop a bill that would have tripled the annual allowable growth rate for your local property taxes. However, the very expensive and burdensome cap-and-tax program (known by some as cap-and-trade) continues to affect family budgets.

It’s been a rough start for Washington’s cap- and-trade bill, with costs far exceeding early estimates. Consumers are seeing major increases to gasoline and energy prices as businesses pass on the new costs they are facing under the Climate Commitment Act.

– Association of Washington Business

 

DEREGULATION

Also high on your priority list is to reduce the many unnecessary regulations that are driving up the cost of living. One key area where this is important is in the home-construction industry. We should be doing everything we can to increase the supply of housing that regular, everyday people can afford.

Across the state, people earning the median income in their county can’t afford the median-priced home in the same county. Housing prices, including rents, are so inflated that it’s nearly impossible for families to buy their first home. 

Contrary to what some believe, additional regulation in the form of rent control is not the answer. Rent control actually reduces the supply of affordable rental housing by motivating housing providers to sell their properties and get out of the rental business. Often, this means that the new owner evicts the tenant so they can live in the home. Or, they take the property off the rental market and make it an Air BNB. Some property owners will default on the loans because they can’t charge a rate that will cover the cost of owning and maintaining the home.

The answer is less regulation, not more. Make it less expensive to build, own and rent.

 

 

Building a better future for Washington’s children

While the lowest-ranking priority in the survey was to provide additional funding for early education and K-12 education, I suspect that this is due to education funding fatigue and continued poor student performance.

Public education is the state’s paramount duty, according to our constitution, but when people feel squeezed in other areas, they can’t help but want to hold onto more of the money they earned for their own families.

However, learning loss continues and studies show that this is going to affect our kids for many years into their future, even reducing their lifetime earnings. 

I have proposed legislation to reduce chronic absenteeism so more kids are at their desks and ready to learn. The House killed this bill, despite bipartisan support in the Senate. The House also killed my bill to allow schools more flexibility in how they use their transportation funding, which would have provided a cost savings to our schools.

My bill to allow easier access to money for special education did pass. I’m happy about this because children receiving special-education services suffered the most academically, socially, and emotionally during the pandemic. The state owes them better educational opportunities.

Aside from education, other notable legislation to build a better future for Washington’s kids includes Initiative 2081, which protects parents’ role in their children’s education.

 

Important News Clips

Braun appalled by Seattle teacher’s blatantly antisemitic comments

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, today shared his reaction to comments made by Seattle school teacher Ian Golash during an interview posted Friday to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

When asked if the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israeli citizens was justified, Golash responded, “Yes.” As the interview continues, the reporter asks him if the murder of innocent women by Hamas was justified. Golash again responded “yes.” When asked if the rape of women at a music festival was justified, Golash asked, “Where’s the evidence of rape?”

“Mr. Golash’s comments are blatantly antisemitic. They are hard enough for me to hear; I can’t imagine how terrible it is for Jewish parents and children to hear them. It’s disturbing that someone entrusted with influencing our youth can speak with appalling approval of the attack by Hamas. His endorsement of the murder and rape of innocent Israeli women and children should be an embarrassment to the Seattle Public School District. It’s even less acceptable if he is making similar statements in class, spreading his racist mindset to young people. The school district should investigate his classroom conduct, and if he has shared antisemitic comments in class, he should be dismissed.

“People wonder how an atrocity such as the Jewish Holocaust could have taken place – how so many people became complicit in the horrors suffered by Jews during World War II. Mr. Golash’s comments, and the apparent support for them by many of those around him, demonstrate exactly how minds can be twisted and radicalized to carry out terrible crimes against humanity.”

Sen. Braun on Sen. Rivers’ decision not to seek reelection: ‘We will deeply miss her leadership and service’

CENTRALIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun offered this response to today’s announcement by Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, that she will not be seeking a new term as the 18th Legislative District’s state senator:

“Having served with Senator Rivers for more than a decade, from a neighboring district, I know how hard she has worked for the people of the 18th District, and our state. I also appreciate how she has been fearless in taking on our state’s most difficult problems, like making our roads safer by passing distracted-driver legislation, improving our criminal justice system by addressing the backlog in rape-kits, and being one of the leaders in the successful multi-year effort to come up with a new funding approach for our public K-12 schools.

“Because of her focus on finding solutions without concern for who receives the credit, she will leave the Senate with a legacy of policies aimed at improving the lives of all Washingtonians.

“I was very pleased that the City of Longview worked with her so that we at the Senate could benefit from her service for a few more years. Ann has always been someone who gives every commitment her all, so it is with appreciation and understanding that we wish her all the best as she moves on from the Senate. We will deeply miss her dedicated service, leadership, humor and energy.”

Braun: Retiring Sen. Mike Padden Legislature’s strongest advocate of public safety

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, shared the following sentiments after an announcement by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, saying he will not seek reelection to the 4th District Senate seat he has held since 2011.

Sen. Padden is currently the lead Republican on the Senate Law & Justice Committee. He was previously the chair of the committee when Republicans held the majority in the Senate. Before serving in the Legislature, Padden was a member of the House of Representatives and a Spokane County district court judge.

“Senator Padden has been a powerful voice for the defenseless. He has been the Legislature’s strongest advocate for public safety, always prioritizing the rights of victims over the rights of criminals. He’s been particularly effective at getting legislation passed that deters drunk driving. Time and again, the Senate passed his bill to increase the DUI lookback from 10 years to 15 years. And although the House always failed to pass it, he never gave up. His tenacity on the issue is admirable and this policy was passed as part of the budget in 2024. It will save lives.

“Accountability is a top priority for Senator Padden. He led the first Senate investigation since the 1940s to hold the Department of Corrections accountable when it was revealed that more than 3,200 prisoners had been released early. This is one of the few times where the Legislature has exercised sober and effective oversight of the executive branch.

“More recently, Senator Padden played an integral role in restoring the ‘reasonable suspicion’ standard for police pursuit, fixing a mistake made by Democrats in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. The impact of his dedicated public service on behalf of his constituents and people across our state will live on in the law long after his retirement.

“Senator Padden is a fantastic legislator. I will very much miss his principled conservative leadership. I am honored to have served alongside him in the Senate. He has put in decades of hard work making our state a better place for everyone.  I wish both him and his family the best in retirement.”