Thank you for the opportunity to serve our community in the 31st Legislative District. In Olympia, I’m focused on practical solutions that keep Washington affordable, ensure accountability, and reflect the common-sense priorities of the people I work for every day. Today marks another deadline — Policy Committee Cutoff in the opposite...

In this update, Sen. Phil Fortunato explains how bills must clear specific deadlines, from committee hearings to executive action, through Rules, and onto the Senate floor, in order to stay alive. Miss a step, and the bill is dead for the session. Fortunato also walks through what unfolded in the...

Testifying before the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. Phil Fortunato, 31st Legislative District, speaks in support of his Senate Joint Memorial 8016, which addresses the prolonged closure of the Fairfax Bridge. The shutdown has severely affected emergency response, tourism, and small businesses in Wilkeson and the surrounding communities near Mount Rainier....

In this legislative update video, Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, explains why fast-tracking the Fairfax Bridge replacement is critical for communities in the 31st Legislative District and access to Mount Rainier. Fortunato outlines his push to move the project to a design-build process — a step that could shave a year...

OLYMPIA — Legislation sponsored by Sen. Phil Fortunato to fast-track the emergency replacement of the Fairfax Bridge will receive a public hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Senate Bill 5987 is in response to the closure of the Fairfax Bridge on State Route 165, which cut...

Encourages cities to start submitting estimates for reimbursement Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Phil Fortunato to clean up Washington’s littered highways was signed into law today. Senate Bill 5040, known as the “Welcome to Washington Act,” goes into effect in 90 days. The bipartisan measure seeks to improve litter control on...

In a Wednesday news conference, members of the Senate Freedom Caucus unveiled their new transportation-funding proposal, pushing back on a package recently put forth by the Democratic Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and building on the plan from the ranking Republican on the committee. Senators Phil Fortunato, Doug Ericksen, Mike...

Transportation policy leaders have been working to address Washington’s ailing infrastructure since the passage of the last major package, known as “Connecting Washington,” in 2015. Despite record increases in the state gas tax and other transportation-related fees and charges, the state’s transportation needs have remained woefully underfunded. State. Sen. Phil Fortunato...

Democratic leaders on the Senate Transportation Committee unveiled their funding proposal this week to deal with what they’re calling the “I-976 crisis” and to restart delayed transportation projects. I offered the following statement to the press. “I supported this supplemental budget, but it’s really just a band-aid. It is needlessly...

Before the 2020 legislative session, state Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, advocated for a special session to address the $30 car tab legal challenge that placed the needed tax-relief measure on hold. Now, Fortunato’s “clean” bill to avoid single-subject concerns that precipitated the Initiative 976 lawsuit will receive a public hearing...