The Washington Senate is poised to approve a bill Thursday that would allow the annual growth in property taxes to triple, flouting the will of Washington voters who approved a cap on property taxes in 2001. Republican senators say they plan to raise stiff opposition when the bill comes to...

As majority Democrats sought to impose a state income tax with Senate Bill 5096, state Sen. Phil Fortunato fought to ensure taxpayer fairness by offering four amendments to slow the bills progression through the Legislature and ensure any new revenue collected would benefit working families in Washington. “Let’s be clear,...

  In a news conference Wednesday, Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, expressed his desire to return taxpayer money in the form of relief from the Democratic property tax increases as part of the state’s biennial budget that was adopted in 2017. Fortunato spoke in support of Senate Bill 6439, which seeks...

During the 2017 legislative session, Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, sponsored a state constitutional amendment to prohibit the imposition of an unpopular income tax on citizens in Washington state. Although the measure had bipartisan support, Senate Joint Resolution 8204 needed a two-thirds majority to pass. Most Senate Democrats voted against the...

By now, you should have received my final legislative update for the year.  Unfortunately, Senate rules governing election-year communications required that my final update be mailed prior to the end of our legislative business this year.  You can read the entire newsletter by clicking the picture below. In the newsletter,...

By now, you should have received your 2017 Legislative Newsletter.   In case you missed it, you can read it by clicking on the photo below.

Gov. Jay Inslee and his fellow Democrats are pressing the Washington Legislature to adopt a new income tax on capital gains, but before they go any further, they might want to check with their colleagues in the Connecticut General Assembly, says Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn. A brand-new $1.8 billion budget...