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...

Dear Friends and Neighbors, Two full academic years have passed since Washington’s governor belatedly ended his pandemic-related closure of the state’s public K-12 classrooms. Data from the state’s latest assessment of Seattle high school students shows those at more affluent schools are close to the pre-pandemic scores of their peers....

CENTRALIA…Upon learning that 114 bags of contraband were discovered at Green Hill School, and that it was necessary for law enforcement to issue a search warrant because school officials refused to turn the items over, Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, shared the following comments. “I strongly support the call...

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, As I shared in my previous newsletter, I suspected the carbon-pricing auction held by the Washington State Department of Ecology on August 30 (as part of the Democrats’ “cap-and-tax” plan) would result in another increase in the price of fuel. The results of that auction were...

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...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun today provided the following comments after the Senate’s narrow passage of legislation that is a half-step toward letting law-enforcement officers engage in vehicular pursuits in more situations than Washington law has allowed since 2021. Senate Bill 5352 was passed with a 26-22 vote, representing the mixed...