Uncategorized

October 09, 2018

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...
Read More
September 26, 2018

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...
Read More
August 30, 2018

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...
Read More
August 24, 2018

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,...
Read More
June 25, 2018

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...
Read More
June 07, 2018

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...
Read More
May 18, 2018

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...
Read More
March 27, 2018

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...
Read More
March 08, 2018

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....
Read More