John Braun

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun offered this comment following Rep. J.T. Wilcox’s announcement today that he is stepping down as House Republican leader, a position he has held since March 2018: “Representative Wilcox and I have similar experiences as legislators, from when we were elected and our budget-committee backgrounds to...

OLYMPIA… State government’s capital budget for 2023-25 has full legislative approval after receiving unanimous support today from the 49-member Senate. Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, says the new spending plan will invest almost $133.5 million in the 20th Legislative District, including $70 million for property- and habitat-protection efforts in the Chehalis...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun today provided the following comments after the Senate’s narrow passage of legislation that is a half-step toward letting law-enforcement officers engage in vehicular pursuits in more situations than Washington law has allowed since 2021. Senate Bill 5352 was passed with a 26-22 vote, representing the mixed...

OLYMPIA… In what amounts to the ninth inning of the 2023 legislative session, more than two-thirds of the state Senate’s majority Democrats have slid an extreme tax-increase proposal into the lineup of bills still in play. Senate Bill 5770 would raise the limit on increases in state and local property...

OLYMPIA… The state Senate voted more than five weeks ago to make possession of hard drugs a gross misdemeanor, and improve on the Legislature’s disastrous response to the state Supreme Court’s 2021 Blake decision. The state House of Representatives just passed a version of Senate Bill 5536 that would lower...

Provides nearly $70 million for to address students’ learning loss, additional $800 million for special education   OLYMPIA…The 2023-2025 Senate operating budget proposal released today includes nearly $70 million to help Washington’s students recover from learning loss resulting from remote learning and school closures during the pandemic. It also includes...

              Learn more about what the Legislature is working on to deal with student learning loss and the needs of special education students.

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun today offered this statement following the Senate’s narrow passage of legislation that would let law-enforcement officers engage in vehicular pursuits in more situations than Washington law has allowed since 2021. Senate Bill 5352 was passed with a 26-23 vote on the final day of...

OLYMPIA… Little more than two years after the landmark State v. Blake court decision, a bipartisan majority of state senators today approved legislation that would make possession and use of hard drugs a gross misdemeanor, and significantly restore the legal leverage that can compel people to seek and complete substance-use...