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Greetings Friends and Neighbors,The Legislature finally adjourned after a 20-day special session to conclude work on the state’s supplemental budget. As the lead budget negotiator in the Senate this year, I worked to ensure a sustainable and responsible budget that would allow us to live within our means. I believe we accomplished those goals with the budget we passed. The final agreement meets the requirements of Washington’s 4-year balanced budget law, preserves the rainy day fund, and refuses to go back to the irresponsible budgets of years past. This is in contrast to the original proposal from House Democrats that drained the state’s rainy day fund, reduced K-3 class-size spending by $500 million, and proposed news taxes to pay for new state programs. Instead, we continue our investments in K-12 education, fully fund historic tuition cuts, and improve treatment for our state’s most vulnerable including the disabled and mentally ill. We said no to higher taxes and insisted on a sustainable budget with no gimmicks. Unfortunately, some of our work was undone when Governor Inslee vetoed several cost-saving measures in the budget before signing it.The result was the loss of over $200 million in cost savings. The governor’s vetoes undercut this work and will make our job building a balanced two-year budget next year much more difficult. I firmly believe that without the influence of the Senate Majority Coalition, the future of our state would be much different. Over the past four years, we have brought needed discipline to our state’s budgeting process. We have consistently lived within our means, funded our state’s real priorities such as education and our most vulnerable, and held the line on new taxes.
 My work in the Legislature
In addition to working on the state’s budget, I had the opportunity to sponsor a number of bills aimed at improving our state and local community. Several of these bills were requests from constituents and local businesses who have already experienced benefits from this legislation such as changing the way the state provides industrial insurance for students and volunteers as well as expanding access to mental health services by allowing qualified physician assistants to deliver critical services. Click here for more information on bills that I have sponsored. I have also been developing a policy newsletter, called “Economic Sense,” that takes an in-depth look at issues facing the Legislature. Please take a moment and read highlights from the latest editions and visit my website for more information.
Staying in TouchYou 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 about your state government. Just click on the link below. Due to those restrictions this will be the last communication you will receive from my legislative office until after the 2016 elections. Click here to subscribe!It is an honor to serve as your state Senator. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office with questions or concerns regarding your state government.
Sincerely,
John Braun, 20th District State 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: SenatorJohnBraun.org Share my E-newsletterDo 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. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to continue receiving my e-newsletter updates.
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Tag Archives: taxes
Deputy Majority Leader Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia voted Friday to let Washingtonians have the final word on requiring a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to raise taxes. Senate Joint Resolution 8211, which would let voters decide on a constitutional amendment requiring a supermajority to raise taxes, failed to receive support from the Senate’s minority Democrats, falling short of the 33 votes needed to move to the House of Representatives.
“The voters in our state have said numerous times that it should be more difficult for the Legislature to raise taxes and I’m disappointed that the measure failed,” said Braun. “Today’s vote was about letting the taxpayers exercise their right to amend their constitution concerning taxes.”
Voters approved Initiative 1185 in 2012 which would have limited the Legislature’s ability to raise taxes, requiring a two-thirds majority vote. However, the state Supreme Court ruled that initiative unconstitutional in 2013.
“I believe that Washingtonians deserved an opportunity to vote on an amendment to our state’s constitution on this issue,” said Braun. “In 2012, 75 percent of the voters in my district supported making it harder for the state to take more of their hard-earned money and I don’t think that sentiment has changed. I’m disappointed that some here in Olympia think the only solution to the problems facing our state is more taxes and are unwilling to let the citizens vote on this constitutional change.”
SJR 8211defined “raise taxes” as any action or combination of actions that increase state tax revenue deposited into any fund, budget, or account. It also required a simple-majority vote in both legislative chambers to impose or increase a fee; that change would end lawmakers’ practice of delegating the fee-setting authority to various state agencies.
Taxpayers in Washington can face a lengthy and challenging process when disputing a tax assessment. To create a more open and fair process Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, introduced Senate Bill 5449 which would create a statewide elected Tax Appeals Division of the appeals court and eliminate the executive agency comprised of political appointees that currently hears tax appeals. The bill has bipartisan support and has already received a public hearing in the Senate before a joint meeting of the Trade and Economic Development and Law & Justice Committees.
“This bill is about fairness in the tax system,” Braun said. “The Council on State Taxation gives our state a ‘C’ grade for the appeals process. Washington is behind many other states in modernizing its tax appeals process. We need to streamline our process and create a fair and level playing field between the taxpayer and tax collector.”
Washington has a complex tax-appeals system that requires filing with different agencies depending on the type of tax. It also requires taxpayers to pay all taxes, fines, penalties and interest before seeking relief from a court.
“This legislation would not only improve the appeals process but also enhance our state’s business climate and reputation as a good place to do business. This bill sets high standards for those who will be reviewing these cases, lowers standards of evidence and has fewer steps for appellants. The result is a more transparent, simple and fair process that helps property owners and small businesses.” Braun said.
The current tax appeal agency, the Board of Tax Appeals, is comprised of gubernatorial appointees that may or may not have expertise in tax law. Under Braun’s proposed legislation, the Tax Appeal Division would consist of elected judges from each of the three divisions of the Court of Appeals. The new court would hear cases involving excise taxes, property taxes, estate taxes, and adverse rulings from a taxing authority.
Forest land management more efficient now that Braun bill signed into law
OLYMPIA… Today the governor signed Senate Bill 6180 into law which changes how counties administer forest land and open space timber programs. This legislation authorizes counties to merge programs for more efficient and cost effective administration. Both programs are forestry related and the legislation will remove duplicative accounting while maintaining levels of tax revenue.
“The state should be doing everything it can to let communities plan and manage their forestry programs. This legislation is a simple fix to burdensome land management practices and allows counties to better manage their forestry programs without negatively impacting residents,” said Braun.
Lewis County Assessor Dianne Dorey noted the benefits to her county should commissioners choose to participate. “This bill will save time for us. We don’t know the direct savings yet as the Board of County Commissioners will decide whether or not we participate. If we do, we will be able to manage parcels with more efficiency by not having to dually assess property values and have property owner’s transfer between programs. Lewis County has 1/5 of the acreage that is currently in the Open Space Timber program in Washington State. Property owners will not have to deal with the cost and time of transferring between programs when their land falls below 20 acres.”
The bill places no requirements on counties to adopt changes; rather it lets them opt in. The bill also reduces the minimum size for land to be designated forest land from 20 acres to five.
While Sen. John Braun has no interest in tax increases, he is interested in bringing more cooperation and bipartisanship to the state Capitol – and that’s why the 20th District lawmaker will spend part of Valentine’s Day listening to proposals from the Senate minority that would raise taxes on Washingtonians by more than $38 billion.
“The voters sent a strong no-new-taxes message in November. Still, several of my colleagues in the Senate minority think this would be a great time to go for everything from new income taxes to a tax on plastic bags,” said Braun, R-Centralia.
“Those of us from the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus who serve on the Senate budget committee are going to let them make their case Thursday – and frankly, I suspect the public will be shocked and disappointed to realize how eager some legislators are to add to the tax burden on job creators and working families.” Continue reading