OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, issued the following statement today in response to escalating violence and harassment during protests at the University of Washington: “The events unfolding at the University of Washington have crossed every line of decency and legality. Last night, protesters threw human feces at attendees...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, issued the following reaction to Monday’s violent occupation of the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building at the University of Washington by anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protesters. The protests were in opposition to the university’s ties to The Boeing Company. “Violent antisemitic protests intended to intimidate Jewish students and...

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...

OLYMPIA…A bill sponsored by Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, to expand exploratory career and technical education (CTE) to sixth-grade students was signed today by Gov. Bob Ferguson. It will become law 90 days after the Legislature adjourns. Currently, K-12 education funding provides exploratory CTE to students beginning in seventh grade. Exploratory...

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...

OLYMPIA… On the final day for Senate bills to be considered by the House of Representatives, the majority Democrats in the House — including the Speaker of the House — fumbled a critical opportunity to alleviate dangerous overcrowding in Washington’s juvenile-justice facilities, leaving both residents and staff members in crisis....

OLYMPIA…As if proposing the largest tax increase in Washington state history wasn’t enough, Senate Democrats in Olympia doubled the number of taxes proposed by introducing five tax bills just in time for Tax Day. Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, offered this reaction: “On Tax Day, no less, Democrats have...

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...

Largest tax increase in Washington state history Dear Friends and Neighbors, As Washington faces the largest tax increase in state history, I wanted to explain the worst ones to you here. Senate Bill 5798 would remove the 1% cap on the annual rate at which state and local governments can...