by Sue | Jan 15, 2020 | Legislative News
Democrats are busy in Olympia for the next 60 days passing laws that will hurt taxpayers and constituents. They hold the majority in both houses and the governor’s mansion. There is no balance there, and folks are stuck (for now) with what is passed as law. Here are a few on the table moving forward to become law by the Democrat majority. Let YOUR voice be heard – follow and contact the state “representatives” to let them know what you think. They are “supposed” to be working FOR us, not against us. Work HARD for Republican candidates to change (term limit by voting) those who are not truly representing you.
What Democats want for you:
- Restaurants closing because of requirements for “predictable scheduling,”
- pay-per-mile tax on our cars,
- income tax,
- gun restrictions,
- sexual education (including teaching gender fluidity) in kindergarten,
- making restaurants offer only water, milk, or low-cal milk alternative on a kids menu;
- making sure there are no independent contractors (no more freelance journalists, no more independent hairdressers, no more independent contractors in construction, etc).
- Ignoring the voter’s wishes for $30 tabs.
There are many more. Stay tuned as we get word out about upcoming bills and how to contact representatives and senators in Olympia.
by Sue | May 2, 2019 | Legislative News, Olympia News and Views, Republican Party News
from Caleb Heimlich, Chair, WSRP
The Legislative Session ended on Sunday April 28th, with a flurry of bad bills. Democrats voted to implement a new payroll tax, taxes on small business, doctors, banks, real estate transactions, and opened the door to much higher property taxes. They also passed policies that will lead to higher utility rates and higher gas prices. All while we are experiencing record revenue growth. The State budget has swelled by $5 Billion with new revenue, but the Democrats insisted on raising taxes by an additional $2 Billion.
And to add insult to injury, they did this under the clouds of darkness. Pushing through tax bills at 4AM while the people of Washington were sleeping and couldn’t comment. That arrogant dismissive display for the concerns of the voters of Washington State shouldn’t stand. We posted a FB video that has now received over 13K views! https://www.facebook.com/WAGOP/videos/1482643421866776/. Thanks to all the county parties and individuals that have shared that video to help increase the reach and get out the word on what the Democrats did in the dark of night!
Inslee Trip: We have launched a brand new website called www.insleetrip.com. We will hand deliver copies of the petitions to Governor Inslee’s office. Please share the link! People are really enjoying the gif of Inslee flying around the country on his plane, while we the taxpayers are forced to subsidize his security travel costs.
Capital Gains Income Tax Efforts: In the midst of the negative news coming out of Legislative Session, there was one bright spot, the Democrats did not force through a bill to create an income tax on capital gains. We organized a significant campaign to oppose that effort and succeeded in applying pressure to certain swing district Democratic Senators.
by Sue | Mar 27, 2019 | Legislative News, Olympia News and Views
from https://www.washingtonvotes.org
Governor’s climate agenda bills advance in the legislature. State supreme court to decide on whether the Ecology Department has authority to impose harsher emission rules.
Lawmakers in Olympia are continuing their rounds of committee hearings this week, while budget writers work behind the scenes on state spending and tax plans for the 2019-21 biennium. The revenue forecast released Wednesday shows legislators have $50.5 billion to work with— 9.6 % more money than current spending levels of about $46.1 billion. Records show Washington residents now pay the highest tax burden ever. ?
The Governor and Democrats in the legislature have called for tax increases on top of these higher revenues, including a $3.7 billion capital gains income tax and hikes in business taxes, boosting spending to nearly $55.0 billion if the governor’s plan is enacted.
In contrast, Republican lawmakers are calling for tax cuts to ease the burden on businesses and consumers.
House Democrats have said they will release and start acting on their budget proposals as early as next week.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy and Technology voted to advance HB 1110, the clean-fuel standards bill, along a party-line vote. Democrats passed the bill, which is a key component of Governor Inslee’s climate-change agenda, in the House last week by a 53-43 vote. It would require the Department of Ecology to impose harsh limits on future greenhouse gas emissions generated by transportation fuels to 10 percent below 2017 levels by 2028, and 20 percent below 2017 levels by 2035.
In voting for the bill, majority Democrats on the Senate committee praised Governor Inslee for “taking the lead on carbon policy and doing the heavy lifting.” Republican committee members, however, argued that, like in California, the restrictions proposed in the bill would cause fuel prices to rise, resulting in an additional tax on gas. Rep. Andrew Barkis (R-Olympia) said: “The taxpayers in this state know there are better solutions in creating a clean energy future without increasing taxes and higher energy costs. House Bill 1110 goes directly against everything the voters, the taxpayers, have said ‘no’ to for the past several years.”
The bill was referred to the Senate Transportation Committee for further consideration.
Also this week, the House Committee on Environment and Energy voted to advance SB 5116, which would eliminate all coal-fired resources for generating electricity by 2025 and require all electricity supplied by utilities to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030. The bill is another part of Governor Inslee’s climate-change agenda, and passed the Senate by a partisan vote of 28-19 earlier this month, on the same day the governor announced his campaign for U.S. President. The bill was referred to the House Finance Committee for review. An executive session by the committee to consider the bill is scheduled for March 26th.
The Washington Supreme Court this week took up a case on whether the state Department of Ecology has the authority to order utilities, oil refineries and other energy suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The department tried to impose such rules in 2016, after the legislature rejected the so-called “cap-and-trade” system proposed by Governor Inslee in 2015. A trial court ruled later ruled that the department exceeded its authority.
The court is expected to rule on the case in the coming months.
Visit washingtonvotes.org to keep up with happenings in Olympia and follow us on Facebook and Twitter #waleg.
by Sue | Mar 9, 2019 | Legislative News, Sex Ed in the Schools
The Washington State Legislature is moving toward passing a bill for “comprehensive” sex education, K-12. Senate Bill 5395 has passed the Senate, and the House is addressing its version of the bill (HB1407).
The Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW) has warned about the bill, which Republicans strongly opposed:
“SB 5395 requires that every school district and every school teach dangerous Comprehensive Sexual Education starting in Kindergarten. This bill requires that instruction and materials be inclusive of, and use language and strategies that recognize, all protected classes – that would include Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender ‘protected classes.’ Further, the Comprehensive Sexual Education must be an integral part of the school’s curriculum and be ‘skills-based.’ (more…)
by Sue | Mar 1, 2019 | Alerts about pending WA State Legislation, Legislative News
A number of bills are making their way through the Washington State Senate.
The Substitute to Senate Bill 5062, sponsored by Senator Patty Kuderer (D-48), was filed at the request of Attorney General Bob Ferguson. It would ban the possession of ammunition magazines with a capacity greater than 10, encompassing most standard capacity magazines commonly used by law-abiding citizens, such as with handguns popular for self-defense. Those who own non-compliant magazines prior to the ban would only be allowed to possess them on their own property and in other limited instances such as at licensed shooting ranges and nationally sanctioned sport shooting events. These magazines would have to be transported unloaded and locked separately from firearms and stored at home locked, making them unavailable for self-defense. (more…)
by Sue | Sep 14, 2017 | Legislative News
Posted Sept. 14, 2017
Water-rights decision could have disastrous consequences for Washington families, workers
OLYMPIA…The Senate Majority Coalition Caucus shared the following statement in response to a report released today by the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) detailing the statewide economic impact of the Hirst water-rights decision.
Some of the details revealed in the study include: (more…)
