News from the Caucus

Expect to pay more to heat your home in the future as the state Legislature hands Washington’s largest private utility a gift. Tracy Ellis reports.

State Legislative Republicans – Sens. John Braun and Mike Padden and Reps. Drew Stokesbary and Jacquelin Maycumber – hold a weekly media availability to discuss the very latest in the 2024 legislative session.

OLYMPIA – Republican proposals to tackle skyrocketing fentanyl usage and overdose deaths in Washington state are funded in the operating budget passed by the Washington Senate Friday. The $71.6 billion budget bill contains funding for local law enforcement task forces, a public education campaign focused on opioids and tribal opioid prevention and recovery programs. The...

Sen. John Braun gives us a deeper look at the true impact of the initiatives to repeal the income tax on capital gains, the Climate Commitment Act and the long-term car payroll tax. The sky is not falling. We can afford to repeal these policies that are digging deep into taxpayers’ wallets and hurting the...

Initiative 2081’s aim is for the state to recognize that parents are the primary stakeholder in their child’s upbringing.

State Legislative Democrats agree to hold hearings on some of the initiatives, but many are asking, why not all of them? Tracy Ellis explains.

State Legislative Republicans – Sens. John Braun and Lynda Wilson and Reps. Drew Stokesbary and Chris Corry – hold a weekly media availability to discuss the very latest in the 2024 legislative session.

Initiative 2124 to the Legislature would allow you to opt out of the long-term care payroll tax. The tax is expensive and burdensome. The benefit is minimal. You can’t collect it if you retire in another state.

Sen. John Braun provides an update on where key bills from the Senate Republican Caucus stand in the legislative process.

OLYMPIA – With a vote Tuesday afternoon, the state Senate declared Washington to be “The Evergreen State” and attempted once again to clear up an oversight that dates back 131 years. It’s the second try for Senate Bill 5595, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview. His bill passed the Senate last year, but did not...

OLYMPIA – Washington state’s fast-rising rate of opioid addiction and overdose deaths are targeted by a pair of bills that emerged from the state Senate this week, sponsored by Sens. John Braun, R-Centralia and Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver. Both measures passed the Senate 49-0 and now move to the House. The bills launch a coordinated statewide...

The fight against income taxes is heating up with two initiatives to the state legislature. Initiative 2109 would repeal the capital gains income tax. Initiative 2111 would ban all state and local income taxes.