December 13, 2018

Governor’s budget demands billions more from taxpayers despite record revenue

With an unprecedented amount of money in state government’s reserves and plenty of tax revenue coming in to address mental-health treatment and other bipartisan priorities, Sen. John Braun saw no need for Gov. Jay Inslee to demand even more from Washington taxpayers. Yet after the governor released his 2019-21 operating...
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October 25, 2018

Charter public schools constitutional, remain an option for Washington students

Voter-approved charter public schools will remain available to students after today’s Washington State Supreme Court ruling upheld their constitutionality. Sen. John Braun said the court’s affirmation that 2016 legislation corrected constitutional infirmities with the original initiative will ensure charter public schools remain one of many tools the state has to...
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October 09, 2018

Progress on new Chamber Way overpass and upcoming road closure

Two years after the Chamber Way overpass of I-5 in Chehalis was damaged by a large truck, the new bridge is complete and the Washington State Department of Transportation is preparing to finish the connections and open it to the public. In order to complete the project Chamber Way will...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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