OLYMPIA… Leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus offered these reactions to today’s announcement by Gov. Bob Ferguson that he will support the proposed state income tax if a rewrite suggested by House Democrats is approved. From Senate Republican Leader John Braun, of Centralia: “Washingtonians have voted down an income tax...

OLYMPIA… The Senate’s majority Democrats today adopted a supplemental operating budget that would raid Washington’s rainy-day fund and other accounts to push state spending above $80 billion for the remainder of the 2025-27 biennium. Republican budget leaders are disappointed that billions of dollars are being pulled from one-time sources to support...

With just two weeks left before adjournment on March 12, budget negotiations are taking center stage. Washington operates on three primary budgets — the operating, transportation, and capital budgets. The first two tend to grab the headlines, but today I want to focus on the one that quietly makes long-term...

OLYMPIA… The budget leaders for the state’s Senate Republicans offered this assessment of the supplemental 2025-27 operating budget from majority Democrats, which will have a public hearing this afternoon before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The proposal would push state spending above the $80 billion mark for the first...

OLYMPIA… The agenda for today’s meeting of the Senate Ways and Means Committee has Senate Republican budget leaders suggesting only one party in Olympia is committed to making Washington more affordable. If the seven tax or fee bills on deck for committee votes today all become law, the combined annual cost...

This is my second update of the 2026 legislative session, and just two weeks in, things are already heating up in Olympia. As the session got underway, I spent the first week moving between committee hearings, a joint session with my House and Senate colleagues, and meetings with constituents and...