Budget Priorities

Funding for Chehalis Basin, behavioral health lead list of 20th District investments in state’s new capital budget

April 22, 2023

OLYMPIA… State government’s capital budget for 2023-25 has full legislative approval after receiving unanimous support today from the 49-member Senate. Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, says the new spending plan will invest almost $133.5 million in the 20th Legislative District, including $70 million for property- and habitat-protection efforts in the Chehalis... Read More...

Braun: Bipartisan Senate budget addresses ‘equity issue of our time’

March 23, 2023

Provides nearly $70 million for to address students’ learning loss, additional $800 million for special education OLYMPIA…The 2023-2025 Senate operating budget proposal released today includes nearly $70 million to help Washington’s students recover from learning loss resulting from remote learning and school closures during the pandemic. It also includes... Read More...

STATEMENT: Republican leader says California tax refunds make Washington Democrats look heartless

October 06, 2022

CENTRALIA… Tomorrow, middle-class households across California will begin receiving tax-refund payments to help with what one state official calls “inflated costs for everyday necessities.” Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, responded by pointing out how in Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic legislators have refused all year long to offer... Read More...

STATEMENT: Republican leaders repeat call for action as inflation rates continue to climb

July 13, 2022

OLYMPIA… Another jump in price inflation at the state and national levels has Senate Republican leaders calling again for legislative action to provide financial relief to Washington families. New numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show the June inflation rate in Washington was 10.1% higher than a year earlier,... Read More...

STATEMENT: Republican leader renews call for legislators to suspend gas tax

May 16, 2022

OLYMPIA… There is one sure way to lower the cost of gasoline, says Senate Republican Leader John Braun, and that’s for the Legislature to suspend the 49.4-cent state portion of the gas tax. Braun, R-Centralia, said legislative action makes even more sense now considering how gas prices continue to rise,... Read More...

Legislators should reconvene and suspend gas tax, Republican leader says after seeing revenue report

April 19, 2022

OLYMPIA… As the nation’s inflation rate hit 8.5% this past week, a report from the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council indicated state-revenue collections are running more than $255 million above what it projected in February. Senate Republican Leader John Braun of Centralia responded by calling again on the Legislature... Read More...

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

March 10, 2022

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,... Read More...

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

January 20, 2022

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... Read More...

Revenue forecast makes $30 car tabs even more viable, says Braun

February 19, 2020

OLYMPIA…Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia and budget leader for Washington’s Senate Republican Caucus, made this statement following today’s adoption of the first quarterly state-government revenue forecast for 2020. The forecast indicates revenues for the 2019-21 budget cycle are $606 million ahead of the November 2019 forecast, for a total estimated revenue... Read More...

Don’t replace botched tax hike, says budget leader, just abandon it

January 21, 2020

Tax would balloon to $1 billion from $773 million under Senate majority proposal The state Senate’s majority Democrats should simply repeal the badly flawed business-tax increase that took effect Jan. 1 rather than pursue a new plan that would take far more money from professional-service providers, says Sen. John Braun.... Read More...

Senator John Braun

Senate Republican Leader — 20th District

Budget Priorities

Legislative Tools