News from the Caucus

A bill to increase the penalty for hard drug-possession failed in the House of Representatives in the final hours of the legislative session. No Republicans voted for the bill and legislative Democrats say that surprised them. Senate Republican Leader John Braun doesn’t understand how that’s possible.

State Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, issued this statement after Democratic majorities in the Legislature passed House Bill 1240, which would ban the sale of semi-automatic weapons in Washington, and House Bill 1143, which would prohibit someone from buying a firearm from a dealer unless the buyer has passed a background check and has completed a...

 OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun today provided the following comments after the Senate’s narrow passage of legislation that is a half-step toward letting law-enforcement officers engage in vehicular pursuits in more situations than Washington law has allowed since 2021. Senate Bill 5352 was passed with a 26-22 vote, representing the mixed feelings about the bill on...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun today offered this statement following the Senate’s narrow passage of legislation that would let law-enforcement officers engage in vehicular pursuits in more situations than Washington law has allowed since 2021. Senate Bill 5352 was passed with a 26-23 vote on the final day of this session for the Senate...

Senate Bill 5599 removes parents from health and mental health care decision-making process OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, made the following remarks after the state Senate’s majority Democrats passed legislation that would give youth-related facilities a troubling new excuse for withholding the whereabouts of runaway children from their parents. Under Senate Bill 5599, those...

Senate Republican Leader John Braun from the 20th legislative district gives an update on Republican priorities for the 2023 session and where the real work lies.

Sen Mike Padden talks to KONA Radio’s The Bottom Line about a repeat offender convicted of killing his girlfriend in a DUI crash when he was supposed to be in prison. He was resentenced after lawmakers changed the 3-strikes rule.

OLYMPIA…During their reorganization meeting this morning in Spokane, members of the Senate Republican Caucus elected 13th District Sen. Judy Warnick as their caucus chair and 10th District Sen. Ron Muzzall as caucus vice chair. Warnick had served as caucus vice chair since 2017. As caucus chair, Warnick will preside over internal meetings of the Senate...

Inslee’s vaccine mandate on K-12 could backfire, hurt students   OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, issued the following statement in response to the governor’s announcement requiring teachers and other K-12 education employees to get the COVID vaccine or risk losing their jobs and jeopardizing their district’s funding. “I am vaccinated and urge others to...

Democrat sponsor of legislation admits fixes are necessary OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, and House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, issued the following statement in response to continued Democrat insistence in the press that law enforcement and legislators are overreacting to controversial new laws on policing that lack clarity and endanger the public,...

  New proclamation indicates governor will maintain tighter grip at least through September OLYMPIA… With the state of emergency linked to the COVID-19 pandemic now past the 16-month mark, the state Legislature’s top Republican leaders say Gov. Jay Inslee needs to be up front with the people of Washington about how much longer he intends...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, offered the following remarks after Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed parts of two bills he signed today — House Bill 1091, referred to by Republicans as the High Cost Fuel Standard, and Senate Bill 5126, also known as Cap & Tax. Together the two bills set the stage for a...