Priorities for Washington

Jan 6, 2022

Priorities for Washington:
Senate Republicans announce 2022 agenda

Restore public safety │ Return affordability │ Rebuild trust

 

OLYMPIA…The Washington State Senate Republicans announced their agenda for the 2022 Legislative Session, which begins Jan. 10. “Priorities for Washington” seeks to right the policy wrongs that have led to a more dangerous society, a higher cost of living and a state government that people increasingly find does not adequately represent them.

 

RESTORE PUBLIC SAFETY

“Anti-police policies passed by the majority last year completely missed the target,” said Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia. “Instead of improving the equity in law enforcement activities, these policies have emboldened criminals to steal from and hurt law-abiding people and businesses. Police are treated like the enemy and hamstrung by the new laws. Offenders are given more rights than their victims. And now we are seeing prefiled bills that would make matters even worse. House Bill 1692 would reduce the sentencing terms for those who commit drive-by murders by preventing it from being charged as aggravated first degree murder. The majority have thrown common sense out the window. People feel helpless and abandoned. We must repeal or fix the legislation causing this chaos.”

We will fight to:

  • Fix anti-police laws (SB 5521, SB 5522 [Padden])
  • Repeal the bill that allows criminals out of jail and into community custody early
  • Stop the legalization of hard drugs (SB 5523 [Padden], SB 5524 [Honeyford])

 

RETURN AFFORDABILITY

“Inflation is the number one concern nationwide,” said Senate Caucus Chair Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “People are struggling with higher prices for food, housing, transportation and home-heating fuel. Overregulation, heavy taxation and supply chain problems are making it harder for people, especially those with lower incomes, to feed and house their families. The majority doesn’t seem to grasp that business owners must pass along the increased costs of more regulation and higher taxes onto the consumers – you, me and the single mother struggling to put food on her table pay dearly for their inflationary policies. Even the new $0.80 hourly increase in the minimum wage will be passed on to the people. Someone who might receive that increase will end up paying for it through higher prices.”

We will fight to:

  • Repeal the Long-Term Care Payroll Tax (SB 5234 [Padden])
  • Reform policies that make renting or buying a home more expensive and more difficult
  • Block efforts to impose a state income tax

 

REBUILD TRUST

“We’re seeing an erosion of the public trust in our education system, the Employment Security Department and the Department of Corrections,” said Senate Republican Floor Leader Shelly Short, R-Addy. “Parents want school choice, but they get accused of undermining public education. They want input in what their children are learning, but they get accused of being terrorists for voicing their concerns. We need more local control of our schools and we need to empower parents to be part of our solutions.”

“Taxpayers were defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars through the mishandling of funds that were intended to help Washingtonians feed their families and keep a roof over their heads during the shutdowns,” said Senate Republican Whip Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Wooley. “And we’re still being ruled by an autocratic governor who refuses to relinquish his emergency powers after nearly 700 days. This isn’t how representative government is supposed to work.”

We will fight to:

  • Expand local control in education
  • Protect school choice and parents’ rights (SB 5205 [Schoesler])
  • Empower people via The Balance Act: Require all gubernatorial orders issued during a declared state of emergency to be subject to legislative approval after 30 days (SB 5039 – L. Wilson)

The 21 members of the Washington State Senate Republican Caucus, which includes Democrat Tim Sheldon of Shelton, are sponsoring additional legislation to address a variety of issues facing the Legislature in 2022. You can search bill information here.

 

Additional resources:

 

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