Friends and Neighbors, This will be my final e-newsletter for 2023. You will receive my next one during the first week of January, so I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The 2024 Legislative Session begins Monday, Jan. 8. It will end Thursday,...

Several of my e-newsletters have highlighted news about the governor’s cap-and-trade program that would be more appropriately titled “cap-and-tax.” This is the policy that has resulted in a 50-cent increase to a gallon of gas — an increase that could climb much higher. As I shared before, the governor was...

CENTRALIA… Efforts to build a behavioral-health treatment facility in Lewis County are being pushed back another six months by what Lewis County lawmakers say is another broken promise from Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration. Sen. John Braun and Rep. Peter Abbarno, both R-Centralia, are particularly frustrated because the governor’s office assured...

Dear Friends and Neighbors, The state of Washington’s K-12 education system remains one of my top priorities as we approach the 2024 legislative session. And, according to the Seattle Times, significant learning loss remains a critical problem.   The equity issue of our time Last year, I worked to get...

Dear friends and neighbors, Although the legislature isn’t in session, it’s important to continue updating you on developments that will affect your families. At the moment, Washington has the second-highest gas prices in the nation. On Aug. 30, another carbon credit auction for the Democrat-sponsored cap-and-tax program will take place....

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun offered this comment following Rep. J.T. Wilcox’s announcement today that he is stepping down as House Republican leader, a position he has held since March 2018: “Representative Wilcox and I have similar experiences as legislators, from when we were elected and our budget-committee backgrounds to...

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)....

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, In this newsletter you will find the eighth edition of my policy letter, Economic Sense. This edition looks into the Governor’s historically expensive proposed collective bargaining agreements and examines whether they are the best use of taxpayer funds. It addresses lost opportunities, and provides context around...

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, The Legislature finally adjourned after a 20-day special session to conclude work on the state’s supplemental budget.  As the lead budget negotiator in the Senate this year, I worked to ensure a sustainable and responsible budget that would allow us to live within our means. I...