Legislation increases ability of lawmakers to contact voters and diversifies geographic representation in Legislature With this year’s Legislature set to review a variety of voting reforms, Sen. John Braun is calling for the state to divide legislative districts into two distinct House districts under a bill released today. Two House...

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia and the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, gave this statement after Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled his 2018 supplemental budget proposal Thursday morning.   “I’m encouraged by a few components of the governor’s budget plan. I’m glad he is finally adhering to the...

The Washington State Senate is currently accepting applications for the 2018 Senate Page Program, where students ages 14 to 16 spend one week at the Capitol working in the Senate. Sen. John Braun encourages students to apply for the program, which provides a front-row seat to the legislative process. “With...

A ruling today by the Washington State Supreme Court largely endorses the bipartisan school-funding reforms recently adopted by the Legislature in line with the 2012 McCleary ruling, according to Sen. John Braun. “Providing students with the support they need and deserve required us to solve a generational problem with a...

It’s final call to college juniors and seniors interested in the Legislature’s 2018 internship program. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, October 18th at 8 p.m.  Each year, 70 students are selected to participate and spend the legislative session on the Capitol campus working in legislator offices. Students are paid...

With all of the attention on K-12 education this year, some other important issues didn’t always receive the public discussion and recognition they deserve. One of the many important items we continued tackling this year was our state’s tuition policy. As I’ve mentioned in previous emails, the decade before 2013...

Earlier this year the Oregon Legislature approved a new transportation budget that calls for the state to toll Interstates 5 and 205 at the Oregon-Washington border. Under the legislation, Oregon would need to request federal approval to implement the tolls by 2018. I joined a group of Southwest Washington lawmakers...

With state tax collections and projected revenues continuing to rise (see chart), I have proposed using up to $1 billion of unexpected tax dollars coming into the state to smooth next year’s transition to Washington’s new education-funding system. While more than 70 percent of state taxpayers will see a net...

The Legislature’s failure to address a 2016 Washington State Supreme Court ruling known as the “Hirst” decision harms not only families wanting to build a home, but also our overall state economy. As a refresher, the ruling changed how building permits are issued when the home relies on a small...