John Braun

Late last year I conduced a survey of our legislative district to receive input on issues that the Legislature would possibly be considering this session. Please take a look at how our neighbors responded to the survey.

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia reintroduced legislation, Senate Bill 5329 that would require public employees’ union negotiations to be open to the public. Currently these negotiations are exempt from Washington’s progressive open meetings requirement.   “I believe that this is an important policy for our state because the current process is...

Sen. John Braun, and Rep. Ed Orcutt, invite residents of the 20th District to join them for a live telephone town hall Thursday, January 14. The live, hour-long event begins at 6:00 p.m. The community conversation is much like an interactive radio program, during which listeners may ask questions or just...

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, In order to ensure fair and proper elections, Washington State has stringent rules on the use of public resources during election years. Senators who are up for re-election in 2016, including me, must follow specific rules and laws concerning our written communications with you. As of...

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Washington’s Paramount Duty A look at education funding in our state Greetings, For the past 30 years, starting in the early 1980s, growth in general government spending outpaced the state’s investments in public education. Billions of dollars were diverted from the state’s paramount duty toward other state programs. As the...

Leaders in the state Senate and House have reached a significant bipartisan agreement on the state’s two-year operating budget. Included in the budget is the Senate’s proposal to reduce tuition at state colleges and universities, sponsored by deputy majority leader Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia. Over the next two years the...

May 21, 2015 Budget Update: Day 24 of the Special Session The end of the 2015 special session is just over a week away. The Legislature was convened by the governor for 30 days to finish work on the operating budget that should have been completed in the 105-day regular...

Teacher strikes, education funding, and legislator pay. These three issues have grabbed headlines recently as the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials considered increasing legislator pay by 11 percent while legislators are focused on completing budget negotiations. The independent commission voted Wednesday to enact that pay increase despite...