Search Results for: town hall
Senate passes Goehner bill to expand local housing options
Sen. Keith Goehner/R-Dryden/Credit: Washington State Senate OLYMPIA… Sen. Keith Goehner’s work to give counties more options for promoting affordable housing received a big boost last Wednesday. The Senate gave overwhelming bipartisan support to Senate Bill 5471, Goehner’s effort to let counties authorize at least one “middle housing” unit on every parcel zoned for single-family homes within urban growth areas. “Since the Growth Management Act (GMA) was enacted decades ago, the state has typically gone too far in limiting local government’s ability to authorize ...
Seen and Heard 6
Sen. Braun The Elephant in the Dome Podcast: Washington Senate Republicans Push for Housing Solutions AUDIO: Washington State Senate Republican Leadership Update with Senator John Braun VIDEO: Legislative Republican Leadership Media Availability | Key Issues & Policy Debates AUDIO: Senate committee backs Braun bill to reduce chronic absenteeism Sen. Boehnke SRC On Air: Sen. Matt Boehnke on KONA Radio in the Tri Cities SRC On Air: Sen. Matt Boehnke on KONA Radio in the Tri Cities Sen. Christian SRC On Air: Sen. Leonard Christian on The Commute with Carlson ...
Overcrowding becomes excuse to reduce juvenile sentences
Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Leonard Christian's subscribers Feb. 22, 2025. To subscribe to Sen. Christian's e-newsletters, click here. At work in the Senate Human Services Committee. Wouldn’t you just know it? A poorly thought-out policy in juvenile justice has become yet another excuse to return violent offenders to our communities. This week I found myself doing battle in the Senate Human Services Committee against a proposal that uses overcrowding to justify reduced sentences and early releases for the ...
SRC On Air: Sen. Matt Boehnke on KONA Radio in the Tri Cities
Senator Matt Boehnke joined The Bottom Line on NewsRadio 610 to discuss policy cut-off day, highlighting bad bills that didn’t advance, including bans on wood stoves and certain appliances. He raised concerns about potential federal funding loss due to state policies, especially in education, and criticized efforts to reduce penalties for violent criminals. Boehnke warned of looming tax hikes as the state budget process unfolds and emphasized the need for bipartisan solutions to chronic absenteeism in schools. He invited constituents to upcoming town ...
SRC On Air: Sen. Jeff Wilson on Local Matters on Timber Country 94.7 in Aberdeen
Sen. Jeff Wilson joined Local Matters on 94.7 Timber to discuss emergency powers reform, housing bills, EV policies, and state budget concerns. He emphasized keeping state priorities above political feuds and encouraged public engagement. Town halls coming soon! ...
Senate Majority Leader speaks honestly and puts foot in mouth
Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Leonard Christian's subscribers Feb. 14, 2025. To subscribe to Sen. Christian's e-newsletters, click here. Dear Friends and Neighbors, Members of the Legislature’s majority party are backpedaling this week after comments from their leader in the Washington Senate stirred outrage among parents across the state. The Seattle lawmaker is trying to claim he was quoted out of context. But let’s give credit where it is due. The Majority Leader did an excellent job of explaining ...
No shortage of ideas about shortage of housing
Dear Friends and Neighbors, As of today, we are one month into the legislative session. The deadline for the Senate’s policy committees to act on bills introduced by senators is Feb. 21…a week from tomorrow. The Senate Housing Committee on which I serve is among those committees, so it’s about to get busier. Today, I’d like to share the details of just a few of those bills and then I’ll invite you to follow a link to an online survey that has ...
Joint 13th District Virtual Town Hall!
The legislators representing Washington’s 13th Legislative District – Sen. Judy Warnick, Rep. Tom Dent, and Rep. Alex Ybarra – invite constituents to join them for a virtual town hall on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. via Zoom. As the 2025 legislative session progresses, the town hall will provide an opportunity for constituents to engage directly with their elected officials, ask questions, and share their perspectives on key issues affecting the district and the state. “Affordability and rural ...
Newsletter | Save the Date | March 15 | 8th Dist. Town Hall
On Saturday, March 15, your 8th District lawmakers will host an in-person Town Hall meeting in the Tri-Cities. I will join my seatmates, Representative Stephanie Barnard and Representative April Connors. We invite you to join us. This is an excellent opportunity to hear from you on the essential things and give you a chance to spend time with your local state lawmakers. Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025 Time: 1o a.m. to noon Location: Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, 7130 W Grandridge Blvd Ste C, ...
Newsletter | My committee assignments for the Legislative Session
As I begin my first term in the Senate, I am honored to have been selected for three Senate committees as well as the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC), the Joint Administrative Rules Review Committee (JARRC), and the Legislative Committee on Economic Development and International Relations (LCEDIR). These assignments provide an exciting opportunity to focus on key issues for our district and the state. As the ranking Republican on the Housing Committee, my primary focus will be improving the ...
Legislative Latte Rescheduled – Update
We have rescheduled the Legislative Latte for Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Tri City Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Center. Last Friday night I was caught up in a five-car pileup on Manastash Ridge on I-82 heading home to Kennewick. Thankfully no one was seriously injured. However, the incident caused me to miss both of my Legislative Latte events Saturday morning, which was a disappointment to those that arrived for the meeting. It was difficult ...
E-Newsletter: The 'freeze' is coming!
Dear Neighbor, Greetings from… here in the 16th District! Let me begin with a quick piece of housekeeping. Legislators who declare their candidacy for public office (like being re-elected to the Senate) must abide by a strict set of rules when it comes to communicating using official tools. For me, those tools include my Senate website, my legislative Facebook page, and e-newsletters. Therefore, I can’t update my website and FB page or send you another report like this until after the November election. ...
Sen. Jeff Wilson to host town hall meeting in Longview Saturday, April 27
Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview. OLYMPIA – Jeff Wilson, senator from Southwest Washington’s 19th Legislative District, will host a town hall in Longview Saturday, April 27. The meeting is from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lower Columbia College Student Center, 1600 Maple Street in Longview. The event is free and open to the public, and questions and comments are welcome. Wilson, R-Longview, said he looks forward to discussing the 2024 session and prospects for next year. “This year the people showed how powerful ...
An April update from Rep. Leonard Christian
Dear Friends and Neighbors, Saturday, April 20th is the physical deadline for those impacted by the Grey and Oregon wildfires to fill out U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan paperwork to ensure they qualify for all Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) benefits. Those registered with FEMA who have questions or have received correspondence that appear to be denial letters, or need help to start or finish an SBA loan application, are encouraged to visit one of the two in-person disaster outreach centers ...
SRC On Air: Sen. Jeff Wilson on Local Matters on Timber Country 94.7 in Aberdeen
Topics include his upcoming town halls meetings; the high-capacity magazine ban; and legislation he plans to sponsor on rent transparency, property tax relief, affordable housing, squatters’ rights, bridge safety, salmon, election integrity, and more. ...
Supplemental budget passes legislature, adds $2 billion in spending
Record spending continued in the nearly $72 billon dollar supplemental operating budget the legislature passed this year. The good news is the two-year spending plan does not include any new taxes. Unfortunately, it also does not include any real relief for middle-income families who are struggling. Under Democratic leadership, state spending has doubled over the past decade, all while Washingtonians face an increasing number of crises, including affordability, housing, education, childcare, public safety, and the fentanyl emergency, with little to no ...
Sen. Jeff Wilson to host town hall meeting in Aberdeen Saturday, April 13
OLYMPIA – Jeff Wilson, senator from southwest Washington’s 19th Legislative District, will host a town hall meeting in Aberdeen on Saturday, April 13. Wilson, R-Longview, will appear at the Bishop Center for the Performing Arts at Grays Harbor College, 1620 Edward P. Smith Drive, from 10 a.m. to noon. The event is free and open to the public, and questions and comments from attendees are welcome. Wilson said he looks forward to taking questions about the 2024 legislative session. “I call it ...
E-News: Join your 16th District lawmakers for town halls next week!
As a farmer I'm very familiar with hand tools, but I have to say -- helping to break ground for a community project is one of my favorite uses for a shovel! This is from the recent ceremony for the Prosser Clubhouse, for which I secured $105,000 in the Senate's version of the supplemental capital budget. That money remained in the final capital budget adopted during the final week of the 2024 session. I've visited the other Boys and Girls ...
Torres-sponsored bills signed into law by the governor
Today Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres that is aimed at making Washington safer and supporting access to criminal justice. The new law joins three additional Torres-sponsored measures signed by Inslee since the 2024 session ended earlier this month. “I am pleased to see these important bills receive such broad bipartisan support and be signed into law,” said Torres, R-Pasco and a member of the Senate Law and Justice Committee. “Our state has a public-safety crisis, ...
The people set the pace for the 2024 session, and the Legislature followed
The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Shelly Short’s subscribers March 15, 2024. To subscribe to Sen. Short’s e-newsletters, click here. Scene on the Senate floor in Olympia March 7 after the final gavel came down to end our 60-day 2024 legislative session. Dear friends and neighbors, This was the year the people started taking Olympia back. That’s how I sum up this year’s legislative session. And it certainly was refreshing to see! This session demonstrated how powerful the people can be when they ...