Phil Fortunato

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...

It’s budget season as we enter the final weeks of the 2019 legislative session. Watch my latest video update where I discuss the dueling budget proposals and where our state is headed.

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...

Greetings from Olympia, It’s been a busy week in your state Capitol. We’ve been working late into the evenings voting on all kinds of bills, mostly proposals by the majority party to increase energy costs, raise property taxes, impose new taxes on consumers, and grow government. You can be assured...

Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, to clean up Washington’s highways was approved Tuesday by the state Senate. Senate Bill 5093, known as the “Welcome to Washington” act, would prioritize litter control on state highways and require coordination of the state’s agencies, including the departments of Ecology, Transportation...

Watch my latest video where I discuss my work to address affordable housing.

Washington state’s housing problems spurred the creation of a housing-policy committee in the 2019 legislative session. However, tax efforts by legislative Democrats may undermine the committee’s work to address affordable housing. Too many solutions legislative Democrats are promoting to address affordable housing are focused on raising taxes to subsidize ever-increasing...