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Celebrating Centralia’s George and Mary Washington
In August I enjoyed the opportunity to join with hundreds of area residents at the unveiling of a new statue of Centralia’s founders George and Mary Washington. Click here to read more about the celebration in the Centralia Chronicle. TVW — our state’s version of C-SPAN — also created a short...
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As strong economy drives record revenues, Legislature must protect taxpayers
Legislators should use projected increases in tax revenues to save taxpayers money in the long term and provide financial stability for the state, according to Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia. Today’s meeting of the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council saw the state’s chief economist announce a $348 million increase...
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Students are now missing school, statewide officials absent
For one week and counting top state officials have been unresponsive to a request from Sen. John Braun to help prevent school closures. On Aug. 24 the Senate Republican budget leader sent a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal...
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Braun calls on state’s top officials to ensure school starts on time
With the threat of teacher strikes looming in local school districts throughout the state, Sen. John Braun called on Washington’s top elected officials to fulfill their moral and legal obligation to ensure students can return to the classroom on time. On Thursday Braun sent a letter to Washington state’s governor,...
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Real results for mental-health care requires real leadership
Sen. John Braun continued calling for significant mental-health reforms and effective executive leadership following Monday morning’s announcement that Western State Hospital, the state’s largest mental-health treatment facility, has lost federal Medicare certification and the more than $50 million in federal funding that went with certification. “Washington residents need and deserve...
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Prioritizing students allowed Legislature to amply fund schools, state must protect and maintain investments
With the Washington State Supreme Court announcing Thursday that the state has complied with its constitutional obligation to amply fund public schools, Sen. John Braun offered the following statement. Braun, R-Centralia, served as chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee in 2017 and was the prime sponsor of the...
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School safety special session needed
Following a deadly school shooting today in Santa Fe, Texas, Washington State Senator John Braun called for a special legislative session to improve school safety before students return to class for the 2018-19 school year. Braun said as both a lawmaker and parent, he wants the Legislature to continue building...
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Braun: governor to sign costly legislation stripping rights from home care workers
The governor is scheduled to sign legislation today contracting out employment of the state’s 35,000 individual home care providers, which will cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, take away workers’ rights and hide negotiations from public disclosure, according to Sen. John Braun. The bill privatizing management of Washington’s home...
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Braun: Democrat budget overspends, underperforms
The supplemental operating budget approved today by the Washington State Legislature did so without support from Sen. John Braun, who cited the lack of fiscal responsibility and meager property tax relief as primary reasons. The spending plan passed with the lowest amount of support of any operating budget since 2009....
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