OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, says Washington teachers don’t deserve to have incentive bonuses cut in half by Democrats. Educators in Washington currently qualify for a bonus for achieving certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. They can receive an additional bonus for teaching in a school...

OLYMPIA – Senate Republicans released their $ave Washington budget proposal Tuesday, proving the state budget that lawmakers must adopt for 2025-27 can be balanced without new taxes—despite a multibillion-dollar shortfall. Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, issued this statement about the Republican budget and Democrats’ push for billions in new...

OLYMPIA… A bill introduced by Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, to help school districts address chronic absenteeism has been approved by the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee and now awaits consideration by the full Senate. Senate Bill 5007 is aimed at supporting students at risk of falling...

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...

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,...

Friends and Neighbors, I am pleased to report that the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives voted today to pass three of the citizen initiatives to the Legislature. They will become law 90 days after March 7 — the day we adjourn. And because they are initiatives, the governor...

OLYMPIA…Bills sponsored by Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, that would increase small-school access to special-education funding and student-transportation funding were passed by the House of Representatives today. Senate Bill 5852 was passed with a unanimous vote and now heads to the governor’s office for a signature. Senate Bill 6031 passed with...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, released the following comments after the conclusion of the hearings for three of the 2024 initiatives submitted by the people of Washington to the Legislature. The initiatives receiving hearings yesterday and today are I-2111, to ban an income tax; I-2081, to protect parents’ rights...

Fighting for public safety while others fight for the rights of offenders   Watch my legislative video update   Dear Friends and Neighbors, We have reached the point during the legislative session when the Senate is back to meeting as committees, having hearings on bills that passed the House of...