STATEMENT: Police-pursuit bill narrowly passed by Senate today is ‘half step’ in the right direction, says Republican leader
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...
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STATEMENT: Republican leader encouraged by Senate passage of bill to strengthen drug-possession law
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...
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STATEMENT: Bipartisan special education funding bill step in right direction
OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, shared the following comments upon the passage of Senate Bill 5311, which provides $800 million in additional funding for special education programs in Washington schools. “Special education programs in Washington’s schools have been chronically underfunded. Although the funding in this bill still doesn’t go...
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STATEMENT: Bill threatening rights of parents passes Senate
Senate Bill 5599 removes parents from health and mental health care decision-making process OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, made the following remarks after the state Senate’s majority Democrats passed legislation that would give youth-related facilities a troubling new excuse for withholding the whereabouts of runaway children from their parents....
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STATEMENT: Police-pursuit bills favored by Democratic legislators still fail to respond to auto-theft epidemic
OLYMPIA… Senate Republican leaders are encouraged by a House committee’s approval of legislation to loosen restrictions on police pursuits, but concerned that the bill still would not restore the ability of officers to pursue suspected car thieves. This morning the House Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee passed House Bill...
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Leadership Video Update – Day 23
Sen. John Braun updates us on the progress of the 2023 Legislative Session. Unfortunately, the highlight is the lack of progress on police pursuit. Learn more:
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STATEMENT: Scarce storage for Seattle-King County’s dead shameful, preventable
Record increase in fentanyl overdoses due to lax Democrat approach to hard drugs OLYMPIA…Properly storing the dead is proving to be more than the Seattle-King County Morgue can handle. Public Health Director Dr. Faisal Khan attributes the shortage of morgue space to record increases in fentanyl overdoses across the county...
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STATEMENT: Senators for southern Thurston County stand with residents outraged by planned sex-predator home near Tenino
OLYMPIA… The state senators who represent southern Thurston County reacted today to an effort to convert a residence near Tenino into “less restrictive” housing for convicted sex predators – thought to be Level 3 sex offenders now in custody in a Department of Social and Health Services facility on McNeil...
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STATEMENT: Republican leader says California tax refunds make Washington Democrats look heartless
CENTRALIA… Tomorrow, middle-class households across California will begin receiving tax-refund payments to help with what one state official calls “inflated costs for everyday necessities.” Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, responded by pointing out how in Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic legislators have refused all year long to offer...
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