Search Results for: town hall
AUDIO: Governor signs Goehner bill, opening the door to duplexes, townhomes in rural growth areas
Washington counties will soon be able to allow duplexes, townhomes, and cottage-style homes in more rural areas. Tracy Ellis explains. ...
Governor signs Goehner bill, opening the door to duplexes, townhomes in rural growth areas
Sen. Keith Goehner/R-Dryden/Credit: Washington State Senate OLYMPIA… Last week, the governor signed landmark legislation sponsored by Sen. Keith Goehner, which gives counties the option to allow middle housing, such as duplexes and townhomes, in unincorporated growth areas and rural communities already poised for responsible development. Goehner’s bill passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support, reflecting a shared commitment to addressing Washington’s housing shortage while maintaining local control and respecting rural character. “This is about unlocking real housing solutions without heavy-handed mandates,” said Goehner, ...
Join us for a town hall meeting this Saturday!
Governor signs off on the largest tax increase in state history Dear Neighbor, Admittedly, the odds were not good that Governor Ferguson would buck his fellow Democrats in the state Legislature by vetoing any of the tax increases they approved in April, in support of the new state operating budget. Still, there was a chance Ferguson would stand by something he had said with little more than a week to go in our legislative session. In a television interview, he had declared that "the ...
12th district legislators to hold town hall in June
Rep. Brian Burnett, R-Wenatchee, Sen. Keith Goehner/R-Dryden and Rep. Mike Steele, R-Chelan/Credit: Washington State Senate OLYMPIA… Senator Keith Goehner, Representative Mike Steele, and Representative Brian Burnett invite community members to a legislative wrap-up and town hall on Wednesday, June 4, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Cashmere Riverside Center, located at 201 Riverside Dr., Cashmere, WA 98815. The event will provide residents with a summary of the 2025 legislative session, updates on key issues affecting the 12th Legislative District, and an opportunity to ...
Lawmakers from the 8th and 16th legislative districts to host joint town hall in Pasco
Lawmakers representing the 8th and 16th legislative districts will hold a combined in-person town hall on Saturday, May 31, to hear from constituents, answer questions, and provide updates on the 2025 legislative session. WHAT: Joint Town Hall Meeting WHEN: Saturday, May 31 | 1-3 p.m. WHERE: Columbia Basin College Gjerde Center (H-Building, near the North H parking lot) 2600 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, WA 99301 WHO: Sen. Matt Boehnke, 8th District Rep. Stephanie Barnard, 8th District Rep. April Connors, 8th District Sen. Perry Dozier, 16th District ...
Brace yourself for the biggest tax increase in Washington history
Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Jeff Wilson's subscribers May 9, 2025. To subscribe to Sen. Wilson's e-newsletters, click here. We adjourned our session April 27, and maybe the best thing we can say about it is that it is done. Now let's hope the governor calls us back for a do-over. Dear Friends and Neighbors, Our 2025 legislative session is over, but Washington state will be living with the consequences for years to come. This year our majority colleagues passed ...
Governor signs Boehnke’s bipartisan bill to strengthen Washington’s climate transparency
Front row, L to R: Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, Gov. Bob Ferguson, and Virginia Hall, SLA, Office of Sen. Boehnke. Back row, L to R: Dawn Boehnke, Derrek Wilson, Dept. of Ecology, Anthony “Tony” Abbot, Dept. of Ecology, Cameron Long, SRC Policy, WA State Senate, Ken Camp, Dept. of Ecology, Micheal Leone, Session Intern, Office of Sen. Boehnke, and Christina McNair, Session Aide, Office of Sen. Boehnke/Credit: Washington State Senate OLYMPIA… Friday, the governor signed legislation sponsored by Sen. Matt Boehnke ...
35th District lawmakers secure millions in capital, transportation investments
Following a months-long legislative session, 35th Legislative District lawmakers Sen. Drew MacEwen and Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture announced they have secured millions in funding for local projects through the newly approved state capital and transportation budgets. The final capital budget includes millions for improvements in the 35th Legislative District, funding everything from public safety and infrastructure upgrades to environmental restoration and youth programs. In addition, critical investments were maintained in the final transportation budget, ensuring key projects like the ...
PFAS bill, local projects are among wins for 2025 session, Wilson says
OLYMPIA – A bill creating a testing program to measure forever-chemical contamination in Washington’s food supply heads the list of wins for Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview in an otherwise-discouraging 2025 legislative session that ended Sunday, April 27. Despite passage of the largest tax increase in Washington history and legislation designed to force liberal urban perspectives on the entire state, Wilson was able to score a number of successes for the 19th Legislative District. Over the course of the session, Wilson passed ...
Legislature adjourns; here's a snapshot of what happened
It's normal for the new state budgets to be adopted on the final day of our regular legislative session, and this year was no different. This is how the operating budget looked as it sat on the "bar" at the front of the Senate chamber on Sunday. The stack contains the budget adopted by the Senate on March 29, the version approved by the House on March 31 and the compromise between the two chambers, which few people saw until ...
NEWSLETTER: An expensive end to the legislative session -- A $77.9 billion operating budget and billions in taxes
Watch my sine die interview with TVW's The Impact Dear Friends and Neighbors, The regular 2025 legislative session wrapped up yesterday, on schedule – although a “special” session can’t be ruled out if the governor takes issue with the new budget. At times, this session felt even longer than 105 days, especially when fighting against the majority's determination to approve bad policies that will negatively affect people across the state. Being in the minority, it's easy to get frustrated by the limits on our ...
Local senators say new state capital budget funds Odessa water project
The new two-year state capital budget passed unanimously by the Legislature today includes funding for key water-infrastructure projects throughout eastern Washington, including some benefiting the Columbia Basin, according to 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler and 13th District Sen. Judy Warnick. The capital budget provides $69 million for the Columbia River Water Supply Development Program, of which $44 million is for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program, also known as the “EL 22.1 Project.” It aims to provide surface water to deep-well irrigators and ...
Joint Virtual Town Hall
Dear Friends and Neighbors, Our work in Olympia is nearing an end, with the 2025 session expected to adjourn this Sunday, April 27. If you've been receiving my updates, you know that our state has been vigorously debating critical policies and spending decisions, and there is a lot to unpack. I hope you can join this bipartisan, bicameral virtual town hall to discuss what's been happening in your state legislature. Mark your calendars. Tuesday, May 13 at 5:30 PM ...
SRC member resources for town halls and media tours
The items on this page are for SRC members to download, print and/or share during town halls, media tours, coffee chats and legislative presentations to the community.PNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINT*Courtesy of BIAW PNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINTPNG PDF FOR PRINT ...
The attack on parental rights continues in Olympia
Dear Neighbor, Late in a legislative session, the priorities of the majority come into focus. Judging from the two major policy bills that were passed Thursday and Friday by the Senate's majority Democrats, the priorities can be summed up in a word: control. Let's go in reverse order. On Friday afternoon, the big discussion was about parental control -- specifically, a second effort by Democrats to undermine the parents' bill of rights established in 2024's Initiative 2081. I have a special affinity for ...
Senate unanimously approves capital budget ‘for the entire state’
The Senate today unanimously approved its version of the 2025-27 state capital budget, with the Republicans who helped develop the spending plan praising it for addressing needs throughout Washington. “What we have is a capital budget for the entire state,” said 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, the lead Republican for the Senate capital budget. “We looked at this budget and saw fewer resources, so we made tougher decisions every step of the way, working on priorities that made both our ...
Senate unanimously approves capital budget ‘for the entire state’
The Senate today unanimously approved its version of the 2025-27 state capital budget, with the Republicans who helped develop the spending plan praising it for addressing needs throughout Washington. “What we have is a capital budget for the entire state,” said 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, the lead Republican for the Senate capital budget. “We looked at this budget and saw fewer resources, so we made tougher decisions every step of the way, working on priorities that made both our side ...
7th District lawmakers acclaim telephone town hall with widespread constituent involvement and support
7th District lawmakers join in telephone town hall meeting from Olympia: Rep. Andrew Engell, right, Rep, Hunter Abell, center, Sen. Shelly Short, right. Legislators from the 7th Legislative District recently held their annual telephone town hall, and they say it was was once again a wild success. “We had terrific participation in this year’s telephone town hall meeting, just as we always do in the 7th Legislative District,” said Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy. “Our district is so spread out that it takes a meeting ...
Join Me for a Virtual Town Hall April 8
Dear Friends, As we enter the final weeks of the 2025 legislative session, we'll be working late into the evenings voting on bills and negotiating the various budgets (operating, transportation, and capital). This past Saturday the Senate adopted the majority party's $78.5 billion proposal, funded with over $20 billion in new taxes, the largest increase in state history. Click here to watch my remarks and why I voted against that proposal. It is simply unsustainable, and no secret how we got here. As ...
Record-setting Tax Grab
Dear Neighbors, The legislative majority is unveiling their budget for the next two years. The Senate Democrats proposed a near $20 billion, four-year tax package - the largest in state history - to fund their $78.5 billion 2025-27 operating-budget proposal. I want to share my perspective on why this tax proposal is bad news for working families, small businesses, and our shared priorities. We are expected to vote on the proposal this Saturday and it is something I cannot support. Stay ...