July 07, 2017

Governor rejects statewide manufacturing jobs

Sen. John Braun shared great disappointment that Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed legislation that supports middle-class families by improving job opportunities in the manufacturing sector throughout the state. The Legislature overwhelmingly approved a new state budget that included a uniform statewide business and occupation tax rate for manufacturing businesses, the only...
Read More
June 30, 2017

Braun-sponsored state budget approved, makes historic education investments

Public education will account for more than half of state spending for the first time since 1983 under a new budget sponsored by Sen. John Braun, which today passed the Washington State Legislature. The $43.7 billion two-year operating budget will cover the day-to-day costs of state government from July 1,...
Read More
April 28, 2017

Regular session recap, next steps

Lawmakers are currently in a special session to complete work on education funding and a new state budget. While it’s disappointing we were not able to get done on time, it’s important to understand what happened during the regular session to get us to this point. In January, I sponsored...
Read More
April 27, 2017

News and notes

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to sit down to talk about the budget with The Daily News. State budget update – The Daily News, April 19  I also had a chance to speak with the Centralia Chronicle on a variety of items including funding for local flood protection...
Read More
April 12, 2017

Economic Sense: Education Equality Act

Repairing an Unconstitutional K-12 Funding System Education Equality Act: Ample, Equitable & Student-Centered “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.” – Art. IX, Sec. 1 of the Washington State Constitution. Bottom Line Up Front Unconstitutional...
Read More
March 27, 2017

Braun says House budget asks taxpayers to pay more for same results

Sen. John Braun says the 2017-19 operating budget proposal released today by House Democrats asks for $8 billion more from state taxpayers without promising much in the way of improved outcomes. “Demanding that working families and job creators send $8 billion more to Olympia, without expecting much in the way...
Read More
March 21, 2017

Senate budget puts priority on education – protects vulnerable, taxpayers

The Senate Majority Coalition Caucus released a two-year operating budget proposal Tuesday that puts its emphasis on education and services for the state’s most vulnerable, while avoiding general tax increases. The Senate proposal boosts K-12 education funding by $3.7 billion, raising its share of the state budget to more than...
Read More
March 14, 2017

Education funding discussion on TVW

I recently had the opportunity to appear on TVW’s “Inside Olympia” program to discuss the Education Equality Act alongside a member of the House of Representatives and host Austin Jenkins. TVW is Washington’s version of C-SPAN, and the 30-minute segment provided us with a chance to discuss the important details...
Read More
March 14, 2017

Protecting the right to hunt and fish

Hunting is a major part of our state’s heritage and a generations-old activity for many families in the Pacific Northwest. However, sportsmen constantly see more government regulations affecting where and how they can hunt or fish. As demand for public lands increases, they want to know their rights are respected...
Read More