Tag Archives: taxes

NEWSLETTER: An expensive end to the legislative session — A $77.9 billion operating budget and billions in taxes

Watch my sine die interview with TVW’s The Impact

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The regular 2025 legislative session wrapped up yesterday, on schedule – although a “special” session can’t be ruled out if the governor takes issue with the new budget.

At times, this session felt even longer than 105 days, especially when fighting against the majority’s determination to approve bad policies that will negatively affect people across the state.

Being in the minority, it’s easy to get frustrated by the limits on our ability to advance bills that are important to our constituents. Sometimes, our successes have to come in the form of stopping bad legislation.

This year, we saw the majority attempt to increase taxes by $21 billion and, despite a with a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall, increase spending in an unsustainable way. That same uncontrolled spending is what created the shortfall in the first place – something the Seattle Times and other media outlets conceded.

Thanks to tens of thousands of Washingtonians rising up to oppose a bill that would have resulted in the largest property-tax hike in state history, the 1% annual cap for property-tax increases without voter approval remains in place.

This doesn’t prevent local governments or the state from trying to raise your property taxes to cover increased expenses, but they will have to ask the voters for permission at the ballot box. That’s how it should be. Government shouldn’t be able to increase your property taxes by 4%, 5% or even 10% without your approval.

Unfortunately, the majority did lift a different cap on local school levies, which will ultimately widen the education gap between kids who live in districts with higher property values and those in areas with lower property values. Rural districts and the Latino community will suffer most.

Once again, a child’s ZIP code will affect the quality of their education – and no one should tolerate such discrimination. This means the state will likely end up back in court, being sued again (as it has been twice before) for an unconstitutional overreliance on local levies to fund K-12 education.

I’ll continue the fight against education inequity and will keep you informed on how this develops.

It continues to be an honor to serve as your Senator and fight for our shared priorities.

The 2026 session doesn’t begin until January, but you may email me at john.braun@leg.wa.gov during the interim with questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

John Braun

 

 

20th district projects in the capital budget

 

The state’s capital budget pays for various construction and improvement projects around the state — everything from school construction to historic restoration. The following projects in our district received funding.

Green Hill School security improvements: $4.5 million

Cascade Community Health: $541,000

Improvement to the 4-H barn at the SW Washington Fairgrounds: $767,000

City of Centralia nitrates solution project: $5 million

Austin Point recreation plan: $521,000

Downtown La Center improvements: $400,000

Pioneer Street slope stabilization: $1.5 million

Chehalis River raw water main replacement: $1.75 million

Rose Way extension: $752,000

LG Borst Park ball field lights: $1.1 million

Toutle River fish collection facility matching funds: $6.5 million

 

 

Republican wins

 

The following is not a full list of all the positive things Republicans accomplished this session, but it gives you a good idea of what we were up against.

A Safer Washington

  • Secured $100 million to help law-enforcement agencies hire more officers
  • Stopped the lowering of penalties for sex offenders (SB 5312)
  • Prevented the state from having the power to decertify county sheriffs elected by the people (HB 1399)
  • Kept violent felons from petitioning for resentencing, and possibly release, after serving only 10 years in prison (SB 5269)
  • Preserved tighter restrictions against sex offenders caught in “net nanny” online stings (SB 5312)

An Affordable Washington

  • Protected taxpayers from an additional increase in taxes of $11 billion
  • Stopped the pay-per-mile tax (HB 1921/SB 5726)
  • Prevented a rate change that would allow the largest property-tax increase in state history (HB 2049, in its original form)
  • Made it easier to build housing through zoning reform (SB 5471)

A Better Future for Washington’s Kids

  • Protected new mothers receiving Medicaid by preserving 12 months of postpartum maternity care (HB 2041)
  • Prevented children from being exposed to a harmful, inappropriate far-left agenda in school (SB 5180)
  • Stopped childcare from becoming even more unaffordable by stopping even more unnecessary regulation (SB 5062)
  • Kept the majority from raising college tuition by $2,500

Special Mention

  • Stopped the majority from killing the citizens’ initiative process by putting unreasonable requirements on signature gatherers (SB 5382)

 

 

Democrat missteps

 

The majority made various mistakes this session — bad bills, tone-deaf comments, and a continuing drive to undermine parents’ rights. Here some of the most notable ones.

 

Causing and overstating the budget shortfall

The budget shortfall was never $12 billion, $15 billion, $18 billion or $21 billion. The true gap was never more than $8 billion, according to our nonpartisan budget staff, which had no incentive to inflate the numbers to support an argument for higher taxes. But the cause was clear – years of the majority’s reckless uncontrolled overspending.

 

Trying to raid the “rainy-day fund”

The “rainy-day” fund (formally called the Budget Stabilization Account) is not the Democrats’ slush fund. We need to protect it for a real “rainy day” caused by a recession or other disastrous event, not to fund new pet projects and programs.

 

Pursuing $21 billion in new and higher taxes

Our $ave Washington budget proved that we could pay for current government programs without raising a single tax. Even though the majority ended up imposed $9.6 billion in taxes, it’s less than half what they wanted.

 

Undermining parents’ rights

Democrats continued to interfere in the parent-child relationship, assume parents are the enemy and expose children to damaging ideas/content.

 

Failing to stand by women

The majority refused to allow the Senate to vote on a resolution honoring women in sports.

 

Worsening the education gap

By lifting the cap on school levies, the majority has set the state up for another court battle over overreliance on local levies, which creates an unconstitutional imbalance in the education opportunities available to kids in wealthy areas compared to kids in areas with lower property values.

 

Giving unemployment benefits to striking workers

Taxpayers are now on the hook to pay up to six weeks of unemployment benefits to workers who have chosen to go on strike. These benefits are supposed to go to workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own.

 

NEWSLETTER: A victory on property taxes, but higher local levies

Areas outside Seattle will see an increase of nearly 20% next year and 55% over the next six years.

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

At the beginning of the week, the news media reported legislative Democrats had again decided to abandon their efforts to increase your property taxes. This was the third consecutive year in which they had proposed to increase the annual rate by which state and local government can increase your property taxes without a vote of the people – which has been capped at 1% since Initiative 747 passed in 2001.

This is a tremendous win for
everyone across our state.

 

Thank you to those who spoke out against making housing more expensive. Your efforts made a big difference.

What was not immediately reported, however, is that Democrats are still pushing to allow significant increases in the school-levy cap, and that levy dollars are collected through property taxes.

 

Read my full statement.

 

This policy opens the door to the same reliance on local-levy funding that led to the Supreme Court ruling in the K-12 funding case McCleary v. State of Washington in 2012.

If it becomes law, this also will be a huge step backward because it creates inequitable funding among school districts. Our state constitution requires the state to provide for the education of all children within its borders; “all” does not mean a child’s educational opportunities should be influenced by his or her ZIP code.

 

Listen to my interview with Brandi Kruse on her Undivided podcast about this issue.

 

This policy will benefit the wealthier areas of our state but will only deepen the education-funding inequities across Washington — particularly in rural areas with larger Latino populations.

When discriminatory policies like this move forward, it’s hard to take Democrats seriously when they claim to be prioritizing equity or considering the real impact of their legislation on low-income communities or people of color.

It’s very likely that if this policy passes, the state will end up back in court because the resulting reliance on local levies will be just as unconstitutional today as it was before.

 

Sincerely,

John Braun

 

 

An assault on women: Cutting postpartum maternity care in half

 

 

One of the truly incomprehensible measures being advanced by Democrats (House Bill 2041) would cut in half the length of time that the state will pay for postpartum care for Medicaid patients who have delivered a baby.

In 2021, through the bipartisan Senate Bill 5068, the Legislature extended that time from six months to a year based on the following statistics quoted in that bill, which was sponsored by a Democrat.

  • 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, primarily through postpartum follow-up care for women’s health and behavioral-health.
  • More than 50% of pregnancy-related deaths in Washington state are women enrolled in Medicaid.
  • The Center for Disease Control found that pregnancy-related deaths occur up to one year postpartum, and data shows that critical health needs continue through that year.
  • Gaps in postpartum maternity care have been found to contribute to preventable pregnancy-related deaths.

It turns out that 58% of maternal deaths by suicide and 65% of maternal deaths by overdose occur between 43 days and one year postpartum.

 

Providing 12 months of postpartum
maternity care saves lives.

 

Reducing this coverage would put more women, and their babies, at risk, and it will make Washington one of only two states in the country not to provide 12 months of post-partum maternity care.

 

This is a step backward.

And for what?

 

Democrats claim the bill will save the state $11 million over four years, but while they are cutting post-partum care, they have another bill, House Bill 1043, that proposes spending $11 million by continuing a “Commute Trip Reduction Credit” which provides state payments to employers who give their employees financial incentives to use alternatives to cars in their commute.

 

What are their priorities?

 

The Senate Republican “$ave Washington” budget written by Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, and Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, would not cut postpartum maternity care. In fact, it would not cut ANY services at all. It would protect the most vulnerable in our state while still not raising taxes.

 

That’s not just rhetoric. That’s fact. 

 

As for the Democrats who support this bill, they can’t claim they “put people first” when they put low-income mothers and their babies LAST.

 

Listen to me talk about this assault on women during our recent media availability.

 

 

 

CTE will be extended to 6th graders

 

 

 

Currently, 7th- and 8th- graders in middle school get to participate in career technical education (CTE) courses that allow them to explore the different options they have for their future. However, middle schools also include 6th-grade students who, up until now, haven’t been given the opportunity.

This week, my bill to extend CTE to 6th-graders in middle school was signed by the governor and will become law 90 days after this legislative session ends Sunday. It will be in effect for the 2026-27 school year.

I’m very pleased that Senate Bill 5382 will become law, and I’ve heard from many constituents who feel the same.

Read my full news release about the bill. 

 

 

Majority blocks effort to honor girls’ sports

 

 

A very controversial topic lately is whether biological men should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.

Although everyone should be treated with respect and dignity, women fought too hard for Title IX and for the recognition that women’s sports deserve – they should not be forced now to accept biological men into their arena.

My colleague, Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, recently sponsored Senate Resolution 8647 to honor women in sports. Like me, she has daughters who were athletes and simply wanted to recognize the commitment of young women like them.

The Democrat majority refused to let the Senate adopt this resolution during our “floor action,” in the Senate chamber, despite having allowed other somewhat controversial resolutions to come before us this year. While that is their privilege as the majority, it is not equitable, tolerant or fair.

In a recent statement, Senator Warnick said, “This is not a fringe issue, it is a mainstream concern shared by athletes, coaches and families across Washington and the country. Washington should be leading the way in supporting women’s sports, not silencing efforts to recognize and protect them.”

Listen to Sen. Warnick speak out about this issue during our latest media availability.

Braun: Tell the majority “NO” on higher property taxes

OLYMPIA – A Democrat-sponsored bill that could dramatically increase Washington’s property taxes will receive a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee at 4 p.m. Monday, March 31. The public is encouraged to sign in CON, testify against the bill, and/or submit written testimony opposing it.

Senate Bill 5798 would remove the 1% cap on the annual rate at which state and local governments can increase property taxes without voter approval. A similar bill in 2024 proposed tripling the cap to 3%, but SB 5798 goes even further—tying increases only to inflation and population growth, with no limit, which could result in annual hikes far exceeding 3%.

Local governments support the bill because it would let them collect more money. However, current law already allows them to exceed the 1% cap, if their voters approve—a fact not advertised by the bill’s advocates.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, strongly opposes the bill, stating:

“This policy would blow the doors off everyone’s property taxes. Had this been in effect over the past decade, Washingtonians would be paying double what they pay now. If the state or local governments want to raise property taxes beyond the 1% cap, they can already do that—they just need voter approval. That’s a critical check against excessive government growth. I’m opposed to this effort to bypass the will of the people to take more of their money.

“Washington is in the middle of a housing crisis. Homeowners and renters alike are worried about rising costs pushing them out of their homes. Larger annual property-tax hikes under this policy could lead to more foreclosures and evictions. It would also force many homeowners to sell, increasing demand for rental housing and driving rents even higher.

“Renters often think policies affecting property owners won’t touch them, but that’s not true. Landlords will have to pass tax increases on to their tenants. And if the Democrats also succeed in imposing rent control on our state , many rental-property owners—unable to recover their losses—will sell, taking those homes off the rental market permanently.

“Everyone should be concerned about this bill. If both state and local governments fully exercise the authority granted under SB 5798, property taxes could rise by 8% or more each year. The compounding effect of this tax policy over multiple years will result in billions of dollars in new property tax.”

Senate Democrat budget proposal raises taxes and overspends – as predicted

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, released the following statement in response to the $78.5 billion operating budget proposal announced today by Senate Democrats:

“The Senate Democrats’ budget does exactly what we expected — it raises taxes and overspends. Their plan adds $12.1 billion in new policy spending despite Washington already facing a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall. Instead of living within existing revenue, Democrats are pursuing unsustainable spending, leaving the state vulnerable. As the saying goes, ‘If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.’

“The proposal relies on more than $17 billion in new or higher taxes, including an increase in the amount state and local governments can raise property taxes annually without voter approval. Last year, Democrats wanted to triple the allowable growth rate from 1% to 3%, but didn’t succeed because of such strong opposition. But this proposal eliminates any cap. Property owners could face annual increases of 8% or more — year after year — with no recourse. This could force many homeowners and renters out of their homes.

“While the plan includes a 0.5% cut in the state sales tax, it’s too little to make an impact. The cut wouldn’t take effect until 2027, and Democrats could repeal it in 2026. Local governments could also increase their sales taxes, canceling out any savings for consumers. It’s no wonder House Democrats didn’t include this token cut in their own budget proposal.

“In addition to raising taxes, Senate Democrats are hiking fees that will dig even deeper into family budgets. They propose increasing college tuition by $3,000 per family and eliminating financial aid for around 17,000 students. They’re also doubling annual long-term care fees, adding $90 million in costs that will be passed on to private-pay residents, making their ‘Washington Cares’ program an even worse deal.

“One of the biggest disappointments is the failure to fund hiring grants for more law-enforcement officers, despite Democrats’ repeated claims about prioritizing public safety. Fortunately, Governor Ferguson has pledged to veto any budget that doesn’t include this funding. I hope he keeps that commitment if necessary.”

Republican leader calls for new path toward housing affordability

20th District senator says Democrat colleague’s proposal
to reduce pain at pump also deserves consideration

CENTRALIA… The excessive financial windfall from Washington’s cap-and-tax policy should be used to address the affordability crisis facing the state’s homeowners and renters, says Senate Republican Leader John Braun.

As of last month, state government had already raked in $919.5 million from the combination of quarterly and other auctions of “carbon allowances” allowed under the cap-and-tax policy – formally known as the Climate Commitment Act. The state Department of Ecology announced Wednesday that nearly 8.6 million more allowances sold at a “settlement price” of more than $63 apiece at its third-quarter auction, held Aug. 30. The exact proceeds from that auction will be announced later this month.

Under the cap-and-tax law, roughly $720 million in cap-and-tax proceeds are to be reserved for transportation purposes each fiscal biennium. Braun says the remaining auction proceeds, which could easily top $1 billion before legislators convene for their 2024 session, should be turned into financial relief for property owners and renters.

“While Republicans are determined to address our state’s affordability crisis, many on the majority side seem content to let the cost of living climb even higher,” said Braun, a Centralia resident who serves the 20th Legislative District. “The governor and majority Democrat leaders apparently believe they must discourage fossil-fuel emissions by any means available, even though their climate policy is functioning just like another one of the regressive taxes they often complain about. It’s obvious to everyone but Governor Inslee that cap-and-tax is the reason Washington has had the highest or next-to-highest gas prices since June – which are blowing up the budgets of working people and families, with low-income families hit hardest of all.

“As Democrats are clearly unwilling to join Republicans to reduce the cost of gas in our state, let’s at least bring housing costs down instead,” Braun said. “Take the excess proceeds from their cap-and-tax policy – meaning the money not promised for transportation – and commit those to providing property-tax exemptions and credits to renters, as Republicans had proposed during this year’s legislative session.

“Those who truly believe Washington’s tax system is regressive and are convinced that higher gas prices mean less consumption and therefore fewer emissions should jump at this. They can be true to their climate agenda while putting those carbon-pricing dollars to work making housing more affordable, especially for low-income people. It is inexcusable not to do this.”

Braun also voiced support for a new proposal from Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, that is aimed at reducing the cap-and-tax policy’s inflation of Washington gas prices.

“Senator Mullet has put a thoughtful package of ideas on the table. It appears to respond to concerns I’ve heard and also is in line with some of what a group of lawmakers proposed to Ecology in July. I appreciate that he also is proposing tax relief, in the form of a temporary reduction in car-tab costs, and following through on the fuel-cost exemption that was promised but has not been delivered to our state’s agricultural and maritime industries.

“Like our housing-affordability proposal, his deserves serious consideration sooner rather than later from the leaders on his side of the aisle. We must do better.”

STATEMENT: Republican leaders call foul on Democrats’ late-session bid to raise property taxes

Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-17

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 taxes to 3% per year, without voter approval. It would replace the 1% annual cap established by Washington voters in 2001 through Initiative 747, and reenacted by a Democrat-controlled Legislature in a 2007 special session after the state Supreme Court invalidated the I-747 law.

The 20 Democrats sponsoring the new tax scheme include five of the eight Democratic senators behind SB 5618, a similar tax increase that died in the Senate local-government committee in mid-February. A similar House bill, HB 1670, has been parked in the House Rules Committee since Feb. 23.

Because Democrats include the state property tax in the bill, which affects state revenues, it is exempt from today’s cutoff for non-budget legislation. Because it was filed today, SB 5770 is also exempt from a constitutional provision that requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to introduce bills during the final 10 days of the session.

Sen. Lynda Wilson of Vancouver is Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee. She offered this reaction:

“Governments can always find more ways to spend the taxpayers’ money, but come on – state government already takes more from the people than it needs, and local governments can’t plead poverty either. Over the past decade the 30 largest cities in Washington and state government itself have seen their revenue grow more than 6%, and county governments are not far behind. The high rate of inflation alone is having the opposite effect on family incomes.

“A survey by the Tax Structure Work Group created by the Legislature found people dislike property taxes even more than even an income tax. I keep introducing legislation to lower property taxes for everyone by exempting the first $250,000 value of a home from the state property tax. The Democrats keep killing it. This year they came up with a ‘me too’ bill to offer property-tax rebates, then killed it also. It’s revealing that most of the sponsors of that legislation are behind this new tax bill.

“The Democrats got their capital-gains tax. Their deeply unpopular payroll tax, which was delayed for reasons we can all guess at, is back on track for collection starting in July. They killed their own Senate bill to lift the property-tax cap to 3%, and now it’s back with a text tweak that keeps it alive through the end of the session. The Democrats keep claiming Washington’s tax code is so regressive, then they support a scheme to triple the growth rate of a regressive tax. On top of that, they drop hints in the bill that the tax would go to support public safety and criminal justice… as though they’re the party of law and order. Unbelievable.”

Senate Republican Leader John Braun of Centralia made this comment:

“Reducing the cost of living is a Republican priority for 2023, This tax would significantly increase the affordability crisis in our state. On average residents of our state already pay $6,220 annually in state and local taxes. That’s in the upper third nationwide, nearly $1,000 more than Oregon and nearly $2,100 more than Idaho. A property-tax increase not only means a higher cost of living, but when we talk about the need for housing people can afford, it also affects the ability of people to continue affording the homes they already own. Enabling property taxes to go up 3% per year instead of 1% is going to be the tipping point for some homeowners.

“As much as I would like to dismiss SB 5770 as a late-session stunt, we must take it seriously. The senators sponsoring this bill include a member of the Senate Democratic leadership team, and one of the Democratic leaders on the Senate budget committee. Also, the Democrats have a history of approving big new taxes at the last minute, as our state’s banking industry learned in 2019 – the public had not even seen that tax proposal until there were 48 hours left in the session, and yet it was pushed through.

“The opening section of this bill suggests the tax would be used to help support special education. The Legislature absolutely should be supporting special education more, and I’m proud of the bipartisan work being done this year on that, especially in the Senate – but there is no way our special-education students should ever have to depend on the passage of a new tax. They’re covered under the constitutional mandate to support basic education that is the Legislature’s paramount duty. It’s wrong for the Democrats to use them to try justifying an unjustifiable tax increase.”

Legislators should reconvene and suspend gas tax, Republican leader says after seeing revenue report

OLYMPIA… As the nation’s inflation rate hit 8.5% this past week, a report from the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council indicated state-revenue collections are running more than $255 million above what it projected in February.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun of Centralia responded by calling again on the Legislature to support tax and inflation relief for the people of Washington:

“State government’s financial picture keeps getting better while the affordability crisis keeps getting worse. If you’re younger than 40, you have never had to contend with an inflation rate this high. Higher costs for food, gas, housing and energy are predictably harder on gig-economy and hourly-wage workers, and older people with fixed incomes. For younger people looking to become first-time homeowners or start a family, it’s a real shock – and the Democrats don’t seem to have any useful answers.

“Republicans offered idea after idea during this year’s session for helping families with the rising cost of living. In spite of a 15-billion-dollar budget surplus we couldn’t get our Democratic colleagues to agree. They just poured most of those billions into making government even larger.

“Right before the Legislature adjourned in early March, the current majority said no to a Republican proposal to suspend the 49.4-cent state gas tax through the end of 2022. Fortunately, the latest revenue report is keeping that opportunity alive. If Democrats would just drop their resistance to providing inflation relief, we could easily meet in a one-day, remote special session to suspend the regressive gas tax and maybe also consider a veto override or two.

“Democrats can talk about ‘Putin price hikes’ all they want – gas prices have been increasing all year long, so much that one in our state’s own congressional delegation called for a gas-tax suspension well before the invasion of Ukraine. The new transportation package they pushed through in Olympia this year may mean more bicycle lanes, and free transit for children, but it won’t do a thing to help parents afford the gas to get to their jobs or to their kids’ soccer games. The governor supports the idea of Washington refineries helping ensure gas is available to meet the needs of families and employers; he and Democrat legislators should now join Republicans to make gas more affordable.”

STATEMENT — Republican leaders: Call special session to fix or repeal long-term care tax before tax collections begin

Governor’s delay of ‘Washington Cares’ tax won’t prevent January deductions from paychecks

OLYMPIA…In response to new information about how the governor’s delay of the long-term care tax won’t stop tax collections in January, Senate Republican Leader John Braun of Centralia and House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm issued this statement:

“The governor’s announcement last week that the ‘Washington Cares’ long-term care tax would be delayed led everyone to believe that the tax would not be collected from their paychecks come January. State employees received notice that only those who have already been granted an exemption to the program will not have the tax deducted. Otherwise, the tax will be collected as originally planned. How is this a delay? How has the governor helped matters? He hasn’t. The governor’s announcement changed nothing. The only thing it did was publicly acknowledge that the program is a mess.

“We need to go into a special session before the state begins collecting the tax and repeal this bill – even if it’s over the holidays, using virtual technology to meet on short notice. The program is so unpopular that more than 400,000 Washingtonians applied for an exemption and thousands of others want out but couldn’t get a private policy before the deadline. Why? Because the way the law is written drove insurance carriers to pull out of Washington.

“Under the current law, it is legally questionable if anyone who has the money deducted from their paycheck won’t receive it back – not even if they are granted an exemption. People are angry. The governor stands to make them even angrier if he fails to have the legislative branch address this before January 1.”

Braun heads bipartisan call for veto of new $133 million tax

Governor will block hastily approved tax ‘if he’s consistent’, says budget leader

OLYMPIA… A bipartisan group of high-ranking state legislators today asked Gov. Jay Inslee to veto a new $133 million tax that came out of nowhere to zoom through the Legislature just before its annual session ended April 28.

“This was bad policy to start with, and the fact that it was hustled through in little more than 48 hours makes it even less defensible. That’s not how our state constitution intends for laws to be made,” said Sen. John Braun, Senate Republican budget leader.

Joining him in the veto request are Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, who heads the Senate committee on banking; Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler of Ritzville; House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm; and Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, who is Republican leader on the House budget committee.

Inslee has until May 21 to veto House Bill 2167, which would effectively double the business-and-occupation (B&O) tax on out-of-state banks; otherwise it becomes law and takes effect July 28.

In their veto-request letter the lawmakers detail how the policy in HB 2167 wasn’t made public until the final Friday afternoon of the 2019 session, yet was through the Democrat-controlled Legislature and on its way to Inslee just two days later. Along the way it bypassed both the Senate and House committees that address policies concerning banks.

They also cite Inslee’s veto of a 2017 manufacturing tax-fairness bill that had moved rapidly through the Legislature. In his veto message the governor wrote that the “tax reductions should be considered in a thoughtful, transparent process that incorporates public input and business accountability.”

“If he’s consistent, the governor will veto this tax increase for the same reason. And in doing so he’ll also protect the taxpayers from any chance of a lawsuit on the grounds that this tax is in violation of the U.S. constitution,” said Braun, R-Centralia.

“It’s as though the majority simply wanted more money to spend and said ‘let’s go after the big banks’ without giving any consideration to the legislative process envisioned by the state constitution.”