News from the Caucus

Senate Republican Leader John Braun and House Republican Leader Drew Stokesbary released a joint statement today following the certification of Initiative 2117 (Concerning carbon tax credit trading) by the Secretary of State on Tuesday. “Governor Inslee and Democrats misled the public about the costs of the carbon tax on working families, farmers and small businesses. Now...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, today responded to public comments recently made by Gov. Jay Inslee that attempt to divert attention from evidence in a Washington Policy Center blog showing the governor knew it was false to claim his “cap-and-trade” tax on carbon-dioxide emissions would not increase gas prices, or would do so only...

WSDOT actions latest example of executive mismanagement, lack of accountability OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, offered the following comments in reaction to a KING-TV story about a lawsuit that reportedly will be filed soon on behalf of a former employee of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The employee, an economist and formerly...

By Sen. Chris Gildon and Sen. Drew MacEwen   Our state’s Climate Commitment Act was passed in 2021 with the stated goal of reducing and eventually phasing out carbon emissions. Among other things, the law promises protections for Washington’s agricultural sector and marine trade, and we were assured revenue resulting from the “cap-and-trade” approach would...

Sen. Curtis King, Republican leader on the Senate Transportation Committee, said the state’s latest carbon-pricing auction will cause gasoline prices to continue rising, further hurting Washington drivers and businesses. This will also raise the prices for all things being shipped, which is about every item consumers use, further adding to high inflation. “Since the carbon...

Sen. Curtis King, the ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee, said Gov. Jay Inslee is trying to deflect criticism aimed at him due to the major role that the state’s cap-and-trade program has played in Washington having the highest gas prices in the nation. Inslee announced today that he wants legislation in 2024 targeting...

CENTRALIA… The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Washington is now worst in the nation, and Senate Republican Leader John Braun says the state’s controversial cap-and-tax law is clearly the main driver of the price jump. Braun, from Centralia, serves Washington’s largely rural 20th Legislative District. He offered this statement regarding the...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, issued this statement in response to Monday’s announcement by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and California Gov. Gavin Newsom that they have an agreement on a shared vision for reopening their states’ economies and controlling COVID-19 into the future. “If Washington shares a vision with...

Before he adjourned a recent working session of the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. King urged Sound Transit officials to consider the impact their car tab tax valuations were having on soldiers.  Sen. King related how soldiers had come to him and described struggling to make ends meet.  He said they told him that they didn’t...

Statement from Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, on passage of the Senate transportation package. “We said we would deliver and we did. Today’s bipartisan vote on a statewide transportation package creates 200,000 jobs, gets our economy moving, fixes our crumbling highways and provides more accountability in the way we manage our transportation dollars. That’s a...

During a meeting of Senate majority lawmakers Monday, Sen. Curtis King was chosen to chair the Senate Transportation Committee. As head of the committee, King will steer the transportation agenda and bill proposals, as well as write the biennial transportation budget. It is anticipated that the agenda will focus on passage of a reform and transportation-revenue package....