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OLYMPIA–By the time you read this, the Washington Legislature's 2021 session will be in its final week. Our 105-day session is scheduled to adjourn, or finish, on Sunday, April 25. While many bills already have been passed, and many more "killed" so far this session, there is still plenty for legislators to do between now and the time we leave Olympia. The highest priority will be for the Senate and House to agree on a new two-year state operating budget. The operating budget funds the d...
OLYMPIA–This past week was an important one in the Senate, as the majority Democrats released their operating budget, capital budget and transportation budget proposals for 2021-23. As its name implies, the operating budget covers the daily operations of our state, including early learning, K-12 education, higher education, health and human services, criminal justice, natural resources, and other areas. Unfortunately, the Senate Democrats' operating-budget plan relies on the creation of a s...
OLYMPIA–The state Senate’s approval of a bill today is the first step toward the possibility of a state income tax on all Washingtonians, argues 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler. Schoesler voted against Senate Bill 5096, the proposal would impose a 7% state income tax on capital gains. The proposal passed 25-24. It now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration. “This isn’t the first time we’ve heard a myth that this kind of tax proposal will take care of certain needs,” s...
OLYMPIA–Agriculture isn't only a way of life and a key job provider in Garfield County, the 9th District and other rural parts of our state, it also is a huge part of Washington's economy. According to the state Department of Agriculture, Washington is the top producer in the U.S. for apples, hops, blueberries, pears, sweet cherries and spearmint oil. Our state ranks second nationally in production of asparagus, apricots, grapes, potatoes and raspberries. And we are the third-ranking state in d...
Times sure have changed in my nearly 30 years as a Washington state legislator. When I was a freshman member of the House of Representatives in 1993, one of the top issues facing the Legislature was public safety. Crime, especially violent crime, had been rising both in Washington and nationally. Many citizens were demanding tougher punishment on criminals, including juvenile offenders. Although both chambers in the Legislature were controlled by the Democrats at that time, there was a...
OLYMPIA–Pandemic restrictions are preventing Washington's citizens from setting foot inside the state Capitol during this year's legislative session, but they aren't stopping people from voicing their opinion on bills before the Legislature. A good case in point is Senate Bill 5114, a bipartisan proposal that I'm proud to co-sponsor. Right now, no county in Washington has made it past Phase 1 of Gov. Jay Inslee's latest COVID-19 recovery plan, announced Jan. 11. This bill would move all of W...
WASHINGTON STATE–The government roll-out of vaccine distribution which began before Christmas, has met management issues fostering inoculation delays or holds. The federal government's "Operation Warp Speed" to develop a COVID-19 vaccine certainly wasn't secret. Governor Inslee and his Department of Health had many months to prepare for distributing the two approved vaccines received by our state before Christmas. Yet by the middle of this week Washington ranked 38th of the 50 states in a...
OLYMPIA–Like many of you, I’m encouraged by the news in recent weeks that COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna have been approved by the federal government and that doses of these vaccines are being shipped throughout our nation, including doses delivered to Washington. But I was unhappy to read a report earlier this week in the Spokesman-Review that inmates at the Airway Heights Corrections Center near Spokane and the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center near Connell were receiving the...
OLYMPIA–When about two-thirds of legislators and I voted in 2015 for the “Connecting Washington” transportation package, we did so despite also passing a large gas-tax increase. We voted for this package–and gas-tax hike–mainly because it would fund needed highway projects throughout the state, including some in our very own 9th District. So, you can imagine how unhappy I was to learn that Gov. Inslee’s recent state transportation budget proposal might result in the delay of several road projec...
OLYMPIA–State law requires the governor to put a budget proposal on the table for legislators to consider, and that typically happens at this time of year. After seeing what Governor Inslee wants in a new state budget for 2021-23, and how he would pay for it, I was reminded of what my political hero Ronald Reagan said to Jimmy Carter in a debate during the 1980 presidential campaign: "There you go again." The state budgets run two years at a time–a biennium–so this is the fifth time Insle...
OLYMPIA–Employers across our state have been looking to government for a plan to begin reopening Washington’s economy–and Republicans have delivered. Our Safe Economic Restart Plan lays out three tiers of actions–starting with things that should be done now, and can be handled by the governor alone. These are sectors that can return to safe operations with minimal risk to workers or customers. Examples are auto dealers, solo landscape services, car washes, remodeling companie...
OLYMPIA–The Small Business Administration (SBA) has updated its website to include some new resources for small businesses affected by COVID-19 including: •Paycheck Protection Program •Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Loan Advance •SBA Debt Relief •SBA Express Bridge Loans •Guidance for Businesses and Employers •SBA Products and Resources •Government Contracting •Local Assistance One of the new temporary programs is the Paycheck Protection Program. It’s a loan designed to provide a direct in...
OLYMIA–The COVID-19 situation leads to budget vetoes. The last day, under our state constitution, for the governor to act on legislation passed during the 2020 session was Friday April, 10. Because his stay-at-home order clearly is going to mean a big hit to state revenues, it makes sense to lower the cost of state government as much as possible, and as soon as possible. Governor Inslee took a step toward that today by vetoing nearly 150-line items in the supplemental budget before signing i...
OLYMPIA–I've seen Democrats raise taxes several times during my many years in the Legislature. They'd increase spending to unsustainable levels, then, when the economy slowed and tax revenues fell, claim tax hikes were necessary to maintain important services. Incredibly, we're now seeing Democrats trying to increase taxes and expand the state operating budget like a balloon even when the state's coffers are stuffed with money. When state government's first quarterly revenue forecast for 2020 w...
Each legislative session, many bills are introduced by my fellow lawmakers. This year is no exception. As of February 6, more than 1,300 bills had been offered, not counting bills held over from 2019. But only a small number of these have a chance to become law. When a bill is introduced its immediately referred to a committee. February 7 was the cutoff date for Senate policy bills to be passed by the committees to which they’d been sent. Senate bills dealing with the three state budgets (operat...
OLYMPIA–Until nearly a decade ago, people could visit Washington’s state parks for free. Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler R-9th, Ritzville, hopes to make access to state parks free again for Washingtonians and others. Schoesler has prefiled legislation, Senate Bill 6174, that would eliminate the need for people to purchase a Discover Pass if they wish to enter a state park with a vehicle. The Legislature authorized the creation of the Discover Pass in 2011 as a way to help fund Was...
OLYMPIA–Much of the talk about our state's business climate has to do with the tax burden–and rightfully so. For example, early in this year's legislative session the governor's budget director told our Senate budget committee that providers of professional services (such as veterinarians and accountants) are undertaxed, which is why Governor Inslee was proposing to hit them with a huge increase in the state B&O (business and occupation) tax they pay. Sure enough, Inslee's political allies use...