Tag Archives: Sen. Braun

Report from Olympia: Don’t miss these important updates!

Greetings Friends and Neighbors,

You received this email report because you are a 20th Legislative District resident. Under election-related rules, Senators who are up for re-election later this year – including me – are allowed to send two e-newsletters to those who have not actively subscribed to them. If you wish to continue to receive additional updates you must subscribe. I hope you will take a moment to sign up so I may provide you with more news directly from the Capitol. Just click on the link below.

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Olympia Update

We are halfway through the 2016 legislative session. As you may know, this is a supplemental budget year during which minor adjustments are made to the two-year budget adopted at the end of the 2015 session. That budget is a good, hard-fought plan that prioritizes state spending and keeps government living within its means. This year is about making minor mid-course corrections based on information we didn’t have a year ago, such as actual wildfire fighting costs or actual school enrollments for 2015-16. This is similar to what a family might do for its home budget, where spending may be more in one area or less in another depending on the month.

We do have a couple surprises to deal with. Although K-12 education is being fully funded as required by law, challenges remain regarding reliance on local school levies which are regressive for rural districts like ours. Areas that are more urban with higher property values are able to provide more local resources, while the districts with lower property values are left with gaps in their funding. I am very concerned about this issue and want to find a fair approach that enables all students in our state to receive a quality education – one that isn’t dependent solely on a student’s ZIP code.

Another education policy issue our Senate majority is addressing relates to charter schools. Late last year, the state Supreme Court ruled that the way the state funds charter schools is unconstitutional. The solution for this doesn’t cost the state additional money since our budget already planned to fund school choice options; it’s simply a matter of providing funding in a slightly different way. The Senate approved legislation that I co-sponsored, Senate Bill 6194, which reenacts Initiative 1240 to authorize charter schools with a specified funding source. The state House of Representatives has yet to take action on this legislation.

Adding to our budget challenge is the cost of mismanagement at the state Health Care Authority which has resulted in a half-a-billion budget shortfall over four years. That level of overspending is hard to deal with in a supplemental budget year. In addition to this general mismanagement, we’ve seen multiple failures over the years in providing required reports to the Legislature. The promises we received of cost savings have fallen well short.

Part of our work this year is to go through each state agency’s budget, making minor adjustments that prioritize our investments for Washington and ensure your tax dollars are spent wisely. Aside from K-12 funding and the Health Care Authority, our state must also address its response to wildfires. There must be improvements to how our state prevents and responds to wildfires to reduce the devastating effects on communities around our state. Costs to address last year’s fire season are estimated to be $165 million. This is significant because these are resources that could have been put to better use.

Economic Sense: Who Makes our Laws?

During each legislative session I take an in-depth look at significant economic policy issues. The most recent edition of my “Economic Sense” policy paper concerns administrative rule making. My legislative proposal will rein in executive agencies that have increased the number of rules, which have the force and effect of law, by 38 percent over the past decade. The Washington Administrative Code (WAC) now contains 22,000 pages of rules that impact every aspect of our lives. The problem is that those rules are made by unelected and unaccountable agencies with minimal input from the public. My bill, SB 6396, will require all new rules to automatically sunset the year following their enactment unless legislative action is taken.

Click here to read this most recent edition of “Economic Sense” and take a look at my website to catch up on previous editions on topics ranging from state employee compensation to higher education.

How much in state government should be secret from the public?

I have reintroduced legislation to ensure that Washington citizens get the transparency they deserve when it comes to negotiations with the public’s money. Senate Bill 5329 would require that collective-bargaining negotiations with public employee unions be subject to Washington’s open meetings requirement. Those meetings are currently exempt from public input; however, I believe citizens in our state should have the right to see how those negotiations are conducted when it is taxpayers who are ultimately responsible for paying the bill. Click here to read more. =============

Survey Results

This past December I conducted a district-wide survey on policies that the Legislature might be addressing this year. Thank you to all who took time to respond and provide invaluable feedback on these critical legislative issues. I have posted the results of the survey on my website. Please click here to see the results and don’t forget to subscribe to my e-newsletter updates to continue receiving information about your state government.

Contact Me:

Email:John.Braun@leg.wa.gov

Olympia Office:

407 Legislative Building

PO Box 40420

Olympia, WA 98504-0420

Phone: 360.786.7504

Website: SenatorJohnBraun.org

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District survey results

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.

Brief filed by the Legislature to the State Supreme Court concerning public charter schools

Click on the image above to open the file.

Sen. Braun’s E-newsletter – October 6, 2015

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 state’s portion of education funding declined, that burden shifted to school-district taxpayers and their ability to raise funds through local levies. These two issues have culminated in the McCleary decision where the state Supreme court found the state was not meeting is constitutional duty to adequately provide for K-12 education.

In just a few short years, our Senate majority has been able to change that and make education the first priority in the state’s budget. Since 2013, education spending has increased by $4.5 billion and 47 percent of spending in the most recent budget is going to our K-12 system. However, funding is only part of the challenge. We also need common sense reforms to give teachers the freedom to do their jobs well and help schools and students succeed.

Looking ahead at the upcoming legislative session, we have more work to do to make the right investments for our students and provide a more equitable solution for school funding by the 2018 deadline. As we continue to prioritize schools in our state there will be many issues to address, but funding is a major piece of the puzzle. State Sen. Andy Hill, our lead budget writer, recently put out a series of policy papers that goes in depth on education funding and reform. Please see below for links to the three-part series.

Windows into the Budget

The Paramount Duty Series

Part I: 30 Years of Shirking the Paramount Duty & Understanding the Ruling that Followed

“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders[.]”

– Article. 9, Sec. 1 of the Washington State Constitution

Despite being ascribed preeminent importance in Washington’s Constitution, education was a decidedly declining state budget priority over the last generation as non-education spending dominated budget growth from 1983 to 2013… Click Here to Read More

Part 2: Turning the tide–state spending radically reprioritized under Majority Coalition Caucus

The Majority Coalition Caucus (MCC) took the reins of the Senate in 2013, determined to turn the tide of the previous 30 years and reprioritize education. The results are as follows… Click Here to Read More.

Part 3: What’s left? Bringing fairness to K-12 funding via levy reform,debunking the myth that new taxes are needed,and the vital importance of education policy reforms

The quality of a child’s education should not depend on their ZIP Code.That is a fundamental principle that unites all of us in the Legislature, and while we cannot ultimately control the quality of a child’s education, we in the Legislature must ensure the funding system in place is equitable, regardless of where a child lives in our state.Sadly, that is not the case at present–and it must be remedied… Click Here to Read More.

Contact Me:

Email:John.Braun@leg.wa.gov

Olympia Office:

407 Legislative Building

PO Box 40420

Olympia, WA 98504-0420

Phone:(360) 786-7638

Website: johnbraun.src.wastateleg.org

Share my E-newsletter

Do you know others who live in our district who may not be receiving my e-news updates? Please feel free to forward this e-mail to them or click on the share button below.

Braun lauds bipartisan budget that cuts tuition, funds education without new taxes

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 legislation reduces college tuition by 15 percent at research institutions like the University of Washington, 20 percent at regional universities such as Western Washington University, and 5 percent at community and technical colleges. The budget includes significant investments in basic education, with over 47 percent of the state’s spending going to K-12 education.

“This budget is a bipartisan compromise but it is one that speaks to our values,” said Braun, a lead Senate budget negotiator. “The Senate stopped the biggest tax increases in state history. We focused our state’s spending on education at all levels: early learning, K-12 and higher education and led the nation by reducing tuition at our state universities and colleges. Our budget is balanced, sustainable and lives up to the values of our community.”

Going forward, college tuition will be tied to growth in the state’s median wage; that change and the immediate tuition cut are expected to help 200,000 college students.

“The tuition cut is the equivalent of a quarter-billion dollar tax reduction for working families and students in our state,” said Braun. “I have been fighting for this policy, fighting to make sure we have no new taxes, and fighting to ensure that our budget makes the best use of taxpayer resources. I believe that we have done that. We can go back to our communities having made significant statewide investments without raising taxes. That’s a very good thing.”

The budget, Senate Bill 6052, was approved in time to take effect July 1, avoiding a state government shutdown.

Sen. Braun’s E-newsletter – May 21, 2015

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 session. During that time the Senate passed a complete, no-new-taxes budget that puts education first by increasing education spending by $2.7 billion, including $440 million for teacher pay raises and pensions.

Twenty-four days into the special session budget negotiators continue working to build a balanced and sustainable budget that reflects the priorities of our state. I believe that we can accomplish that task without additional taxes. The state is projected to receive an additional $3 billion and the latest revenue forecast showed that economic growth is continuing to fill the state’s coffers.

Monday the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council announced that revenues continue to grow, without raising taxes. The state is projected to bring in an additional $400 million over the budget cycle.

Since the governor announced his budget that required $1.4 billion in tax increases last December, economic growth has increased revenue projections by $1.1 billion. Gov. Inslee recently said that his tax package was no longer necessary.

Raising taxes wasn’t necessary to fund the priorities of state government during the regular session, and now, more than ever, it is time to end the special session with a budget that lives within the state’s means.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your state senator.

John Braun,

20th District Senator

Contact Me

Email:

John.Braun@leg.wa.gov

Olympia Office:

407 Legislative Building

PO Box 40420

Olympia, WA 98504-0420

Phone:

(360) 786-7638

Website:

www.SenatorJohnBraun.com

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Braun rejects pay increase until budget work is finished

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 protests from Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia.

“When the commission began discussing legislator pay raises at the beginning of 2015, I was adamant this is not the time to have that discussion,” said Braun. “I continue to believe that. We need to focus on the real priority of funding education and finishing the new state operating budget.”

Braun, a lead budget negotiator for the Senate majority, has been working to build a sustainable budget that prioritizes state spending on education while remaining within available revenue – which is projected to be $3 billion more for 2015-17 compared to the two-year budget cycle that ends June 30.

“I sent a letter to the commission outlining my opposition to the proposed pay raise. I disagree with its decision to adopt an 11 percent increase and I won’t be accepting any pay raise until we finish work on the state’s budget and put education first,” he said.

The governor called a special legislative session April 29 to finish work on the state’s $38 billion operating budget, a task that Braun says “should have been completed in the 105-day regular session, as we passed a complete, no-new-taxes budget.” The special session is scheduled to end no later than May 28.

Click here to read Braun’s letter to the commission, dated May 6.

My letter to the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials

May 6, 2015

To the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials:

As you may be aware, this has been a tough budget year. Both parties in the House and Senate are working to create a balanced budget that prioritizes our state’s spending.

Part of that prioritization is investing in our state employees. Although the two houses have some philosophical differences to what extent state employee pay will increase, we must be mindful of the importance our commitment to state employees plays in our budget negotiations.

Our main priority is funding education. We’ve worked vigorously to reverse trends that have put general government growth ahead of the state’s paramount duty for 30 years. This means that the budget does not allow for large pay increases for public employees, and that should include state legislators.

Now is not the time for the Commission to increase our pay by 11 percent. Collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the Governor and the proposal in the Senate provide more realistic guidelines for providing pay increases. If the Commission wants to consider increasing legislator pay, it should be more reflective of what other state employees would receive.

A recent report by the National Conference of State Legislatures notes that in the past 12 months only nine states have increased legislator salaries. Additionally, raises in other states were more reflective of cost of living increases. For example, Oregon, whose legislator pay is tied to the consumer price index, increased legislator pay by only $336.

In light of our current budget situation and national trends around this issue, I urge the Commission’s reconsideration of their proposed increase in legislator pay. I understand that we want to attract good candidates to public office and pay is a component of that; however, this is not the time to give legislators an 11 percent raise.

Best regards,

Senator John Braun

20th Legislative District

Tuition-cap bill approved by Senate

College affordability one step closer for Washington Families

Senators Mark Schoesler, John Braun, and Barbara Bailey meet with students, April 8, 2015.

The Senate Majority’s College Affordability Program, Senate Bill 5954 passed with bipartisan support but surprising opposition from half of Senate Democrats. The bill, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor would reduce tuition by as much as 30 percent at state-run research institutions and cap tuition to a percentage of the state’s average income.

“I have been making this case since we introduced this bill, college access and affordability should be a priority for our state again,” Braun said. “We’ve had years of underinvestment in higher education and the results are bad for our economy. Our state faces significant challenges, but this is a long-term policy solution that middle-class families in our state deserve.”

Higher Education and the rising cost of tuition have been a focal points since the inception of the Senate Majority Coalition. The Coalition lead the charge on freezing college tuition for two consecutive years, something that had not been done in nearly three decades. Opposition democrats would not support reducing tuition without a dedicated funding source similar to the attempted $170 million tax hike they proposed during the committee process. The Majority Coalition made it clear that higher education should be a budget priority and that this policy can be implemented without new taxes.

“Making higher education affordable for all our state’s students is a win for everyone,” Bailey said. “I’ve been working to ensure that our students have access to an affordable and quality post-secondary education. The tuition freeze was great but we need a real paradigm shift in what college affordability means for students. By passing this bill we are sending a message that students are a top priority by making college affordable in our state.”