While much attention is being paid to the development of the state’s two-year operating budget, there are other troubling policies working their way through the Legislature in the final days of the 2019 legislative session. As concerning as billions more in general tax increases are, there is a looming, self-imposed...

Majority Democrats in the state Senate on Thursday approved House Bill 1225, which would require law enforcement officers to remove lawfully owned firearms when responding to a domestic violence call. The proposal would prohibit return of any firearms seized in such a response for five business days. Sen. Phil Fortunato,...

92-year old unpaid invoice unearthed for construction of Capitol Officials from the town of Wilkeson have discovered documents possibly indicating that the state of Washington failed to pay an invoice for the construction of the Legislative Building. Originally scheduled for April 1, they came to Olympia Friday collect. State Sen....

Greetings from Olympia, Late last week, the state’s revenue forecast came out, and again tax collections are up, way up. The state is projected to take in almost $1 billion a year more than expected. The Senate Republican lead on the budget has noted that this is the “best budget...

Numerous bills have been introduced in the 2019 legislative session that are aimed obstructing state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts, or granting special privileges to those unlawfully in the state. What is Washington doing about illegal immigration? The Washington Legislature is passing laws that make no distinction between legal...

January 16, 2018 STAY CONNECTED! Due to election year restrictions, I will be limited in how I can communicate with you about what is going on in Olympia. Please be sure to subscribe to my newsletter if you already haven’t. You can also unsubscribe at anytime. Feel free to share this with...

Sen. Phil Fortunato has cosponsored legislation in the first week of session to protect the privacy of concealed pistol license holders in Washington. Senate Bill 6173 would clarify state disclosure laws concerning information of concealed pistol license holders. The state Department of Licensing recently asked the less-than-gun-friendly state attorney general...

Sen. Phil Fortunato responded strongly today to a new rule from the state’s Democrat lieutenant governor that will ban firearms from the Senate’s public gallery. In a hand-delivered letter to the lieutenant governor, whose duties include presiding over the Senate; Fortunato outlines numerous concerns with the ban, including its legality...

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,...

Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, has introduced Senate Bill 5946, which would phase out state funding for The Evergreen State College and ultimately sell the institution.  Fortunato says the controversy over the request for a white professor to leave campus that has embroiled Evergreen in a national media frenzy, reveals a...