Operating Budget

April 29, 2025

NEWSLETTER: An expensive end to the legislative session — A $77.9 billion operating budget and billions in taxes

Watch my sine die interview with TVW’s The Impact   Dear Friends and Neighbors, The regular 2025 legislative session wrapped up yesterday, on schedule – although a “special” session can’t be ruled out if the governor takes issue with the new budget. At times, this session felt even longer than...
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April 24, 2025

NEWSLETTER: A victory on property taxes, but higher local levies

Areas outside Seattle will see an increase of nearly 20% next year and 55% over the next six years.   Dear Friends and Neighbors, At the beginning of the week, the news media reported legislative Democrats had again decided to abandon their efforts to increase your property taxes. This was...
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April 18, 2025

NEWSLETTER: It’s budget week in the Legislature – what does that mean for you?

Legislative budget week — the Tax Day rally     Dear Friends and Neighbors, On Tax Day, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to speak to a large crowd of Washingtonians who came to the steps of the Capitol to protest the billions in new and higher taxes Democrats...
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April 04, 2025

NEWSLETTER: Gov. Ferguson rejects details of Democrat budgets — what now?

Dear Friends and Neighbors, The primary reason for Washington state government’s multibillion-dollar budget shortfall is years of overspending by majority Democrats. This is a bipartisan belief. Our new Democrat governor said as much during his recent press conference, during which he also vowed not to sign any budget that does...
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March 31, 2025

43,153 people sign in to oppose property-tax increase being heard today in Senate budget committee

OLYMPIA…More than 43,000 people have signed in to oppose Senate Bill 5978, a proposal that would drastically raise property taxes — more than four times the opposition received for any previous bill to receive a public hearing in the Senate. SB 5978 is scheduled for a hearing today at 4...
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March 29, 2025

Senate Democrats REJECT opportunity to pass a no-new-tax and no-cuts budget

  OLYMPIA…In a 28-21 vote, the Washington State Senate Democrats today passed their $78.5 billion operating budget proposal, the funding for which relies on the largest tax increase in state history and a raiding of the “rainy-day fund.” Senate Democrats also rejected a striking amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Gildon,...
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March 27, 2025

Braun: Tell the majority “NO” on higher property taxes

OLYMPIA – A Democrat-sponsored bill that could dramatically increase Washington’s property taxes will receive a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee at 4 p.m. Monday, March 31. The public is encouraged to sign in CON, testify against the bill, and/or submit written testimony opposing it. Senate Bill...
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March 24, 2025

Senate Democrat budget proposal raises taxes and overspends – as predicted

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, released the following statement in response to the $78.5 billion operating budget proposal announced today by Senate Democrats: “The Senate Democrats’ budget does exactly what we expected — it raises taxes and overspends. Their plan adds $12.1 billion in new policy spending despite...
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March 21, 2025

NEWSLETTER: The continuing attack on parents’ rights and taxpayers’ wallets

Dear Friends and Neighbors, Parents’ rights are still under attack in Olympia. Both the House and Senate versions of a bill to undo much of the Parents’ Rights Act – created less than a year ago through the bipartisan passage of Initiative 2081 – continue to advance through the legislative...
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