Tag Archives: budget

Amid mismanagement, Fortunato blasts governor’s veto of housing crisis study

While the Legislature met earlier this week for a one-day special session to address the controversial drug-possession law known as the Blake fix, Gov. Jay Inslee signed the three state budgets into law.

However, he quietly vetoed bipartisan provisions to look at why housing and homelessness in Washington is so bad.

The ranking Republican on the Senate’s housing committee, state Sen. Phil Fortunato, sponsored a budget proviso in the more-than-$70 billion state operating budget that would have created a task force to study the state’s housing supply and affordability problem.

“Most of the housing policies being adopted in Olympia only make the problem worse,” said Fortunato, R-Auburn. “We aren’t building enough housing units, and the only solution from the majority is to either tax housing production or impose more regulations that make housing more expensive. My proposal would have taken a nonpartisan look at what’s driving our housing crisis.”

While hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars continue to pour into the state’s housing affordability crisis, Fortunato is expressing dismay and suspicion at the governor’s actions to kill any accountability for the state’s housing and homeless policy.

“I find the timing interesting,” said Fortunato. “Within a short period of time, we have The Seattle Times breaking stories about mismanagement at the King County Regional Homeless Authority and the director stepping down. Then, the governor is trying to cover up a bipartisan accounting of the state’s response to the housing and homeless debacle.”

In his veto message, the governor noted that the study didn’t spend enough money on the taskforce and that he didn’t want executive agency staff working on the taskforce.

“It’s a bit ironic because for years I’ve been working on a comprehensive solution on this issue that the majority Democrats have refused to hear, and now they’re actively trying to prevent the public from knowing why we’re in this situation,” added Fortunato. “Since the majority and the Governor have been doubling down on failure, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he wanted to spend more money.”

Fortunato sponsored the American Dream Homes legislation that would reduce government-imposed costs to build smaller starter homes. It would also include tax incentives for builders and requirements on longer-term affordability.

“The state is making construction of homes unsustainably expensive. From permitting costs to other regulatory burdens like the Climate Commitment Act, government is adding tens of thousands of dollars to housing costs. This study would have uncovered what those impacts really are and saved families hundreds of dollars a month on housing,” Fortunato said.

Tax Town Halls

I would like to invite you to share your thoughts at an upcoming Tax Town Hall. There will be discussion on changing the state’s tax structure to make it “more equitable.” There are various options being considered to change the tax code. One such option is to lower the sales tax or property taxes by increasing taxes on “those that can afford to pay more.”

Unfortunately, “those that can afford to pay more” can also move and take their tax dollars with them. When New Jersey increased their income tax rate, one taxpayer moved in 2015 and took his billions of dollars with him. This caused a budget shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars. Income tax revenue is one of the most unstable revenue streams states can use for budgeting.

Another proposal would tax stock transfers and exempt retirement accounts. Connecticut has tried this. They received a windfall the first year, but saw a massive deficit the following year, counting on the new revenue. People simply stopped doing taxable transfers.

There is a bright spot. Deducting $250,000 from your property values to give some property tax relief.

Beware of the government that says they will tax the “other guy” and pass the savings on to you.

I am supposed to just listen during these town halls, and not offer my opinion. I would ask you to participate and voice yours.

 

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

2:30 – 4 p.m. Sign up here | 6:30 – 8 p.m. Sign up here

Learn more at: https://taxworkgroup.org/

The end of the 2021 Legislative Session

Greetings Friends,

The Legislature adjourned Sunday evening on time. It was a 105-day whirlwind of bad bills and misplaced spending priorities for working families in Washington. Leading up the start of 2021 there was expected to be a $6 billion shortfall because of the economic effects of COVID. Not only did the shortfall never materialize, there was a surplus, in addition to federal stimulus relief funds. Did we reduce taxes to give working families a break? No.

The final budget that was adopted increases state spending by over 12% from the previous budget. I encouraged my Republican colleagues to develop our own budget to show we can fund mental health and other valuable safety-net services for vulnerable families. That budget funded the same critical investments without the billions in new taxes. In addition, it fundamentally changed how the state invests in transportation by using the existing sales tax on motor vehicles, resulting in $24 billion for infrastructure needs over the next 16 years. The opposition to the high tax and spend budget was bipartisan. The bill passed by one vote with no Republican support.

I voted against this budget which relies on another attempt to implement an unconstitutional income tax, higher fuel taxes and a convoluted cap and tax carbon pricing scheme. The people have continually voted against an income tax and a carbon tax, yet the majority party relies on those taxes to increase spending in a year when we were unexpectedly flush with tax dollars. All these policies in effect are taking food off your family’s table for special interests in Olympia.

The Lieutenant Governor sent out an adjournment press release Sunday night. In it he made the statement, “The past 105 days will shape Washington for years to come…” Boy, is he right. Washingtonians can look forward to rising costs of fuel and everything else they purchase. Increased taxes for their cell phones, new home purchases and a new income tax “on the rich.”

It started out as a billionaire tax, then multimillionaires, then millionaires. It will soon be a tax on thousandaires, aka working families.

Here is a comparison to the budget that the Senate Republican Caucus proposed and the final budget. It is a clear and stark contrast in priorities.

Throughout the session, I made principled stands and did everything I could to slow down the process and speak up for your rights. Whether it was religious freedom, your Second Amendment rights or reining in the governor’s emergency powers. I’m proud to have help found the Senate Freedom Caucus, which put an even stronger emphasis on policies eroding your personal liberties.

I will be holding a virtual town hall on May 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to discuss the 2021 legislative session and answer any questions. Please register in advance for this event by clicking here.

Cap and Tax

I believe we can and should do all we can do be good stewards of our environment. For my day job, I’m a leading water quality compliance expert in our state. I know firsthand the effects humans have on our environment and the unreasonable regulations imposed on regular people that government can’t even achieve and do little for the environment while driving up costs.

PollutionThe latest policy is a proposal, Senate Bill 5126, to cap carbon, price it, and sell it. When this bill first came to the Senate floor, I called it a crony capitalism shell game. You’ll be paying more for fuel and consumer goods while businesses will have to pay millions to “buy” credits, adding those costs to you, the consumer, without improving the environment. That’s not a genuine approach to protecting our environment. It’s really a way to take more money from “Main Street” and give it to Olympia special interests that stand to make millions by taking from your paychecks.

As your state Senator, I’m fighting for accountability for programs like this. If we are going to take hundreds of dollars out of your household budget to “protect the environment,” I have to be sure those goals will be achieved. Coming out of a pandemic and the related economic harm, now is not the time to be implementing costly and regressive taxes on the people of Washington.

You can watch my floor speech on it here. 

The ‘Galloping Gerties’

Awards ceremony honors ‘epic fails’ of 2021 legislative session

The new income tax passed by majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature earned top honors in the first annual Galloping Gertie Awards, presented by the Senate Freedom Caucus to honor the biggest fails of the 2021 legislative session.

The awards are named for “Galloping Gertie,” the famed state-highway bridge that briefly crossed the Tacoma Narrows before it collapsed in a 1940 windstorm. A recording of the Wednesday awards ceremony can be seen on TVW, by clicking here. 

Great bill titles, bad policy

Overall, there were so many bills that just ate away at your individual freedom by growing government and taking your tax dollars to pay for it. One big example is the recently passed childcare legislation, the Fair Start for Kids Act. While well intended to give parents some needed support, the fact is that it grows a bloated bureaucracy to subsidize childcare paid for with a new income tax. Why not just allow you to keep more of your money to pay for these necessities the way you want to? Instead, we have a one-size-fits-all approach that requires taxes and regulations that only make the end product more expensive and inefficient. To pay for all these supposedly great things, state government has increased the individual tax burden by 67 percent over the past four budget cycles to $7,732. That is not sustainable.

Religious Freedom

It is my honor to sponsor local religious leaders in my district to provide the opening prayer during the legislative session at the start of our day’s proceedings. We hit a roadblock when the Lieutenant Governor’s Office rejected prayers because they mentioned Jesus’ name. As it turned out, the Lt. Gov himself was unaware of this practice. I am pleased that a local pastor in our district pushed back and brought this to my attention. You can see his letter and the various opening prayers from those in our district by clicking here.

Nearing the end of the 2020 session

Greetings from Olympia,

It’s been awhile since I last sent out an update but have tried to keep folks apprised of what’s happening in Olympia via my legislative Facebook. You may have noticed that in our first round of voting in the Senate, I was marked ‘excused.’ A couple of weeks back, I was admitted to the hospital with some abdominal pain. It turned out to be nothing serious, but I was out for just over a week. The good news is that I’ve been back and have hit the ground running.

Budget season

There have been a few big-ticket items that I’d like to comment on. First, we had news recently that the state revenue continues to grow. Without doing anything, revenue collections are up $1.5 billion more than anticipated. This is on top of the billion-dollar tax bill (the first bill signed into law of the 2020 session) on everything from nursing homes to health-care providers and mental-health facilities. The majorities have unveiled their budgets for this supplemental year and, unsurprisingly, every penny you send to Olympia has been spent growing government.

My colleagues and I have been pushing for tax relief, whether it’s doing the will of the people and passing my bill to give $30 car tabs, or needed property tax relief. The fact is, the state has the money but is choosing other “priorities.”

Just look at how much state spending has increased since 2013. Granted, we had some needed investments to make in education, but it’s out of control. You pay for the state budget with your taxes and the growth has outpaced any gains you or your family may have seen in wages. That’s even worse if you’re outside of King County. Something has to give.

Time for a Washington Prop 13

Some years back, taxpayers in California revolted because of their skyrocketing property taxes. We are reaching that point here. I’ve received countless emails from people around the district who can’t afford the endless property tax increases. The reality is that the Legislature cannot be trusted. I voted in support of historic education funding reform to satisfy the McCleary decision that also resulted in a property tax reduction for over 70 percent of Washingtonians. Less than a year later, the majority betrayed taxpayers and undid that work. They opened the door to steep increases in property taxes and an overreliance on local levies that create inequity in our schools. We are almost back in the same boat that got us the McCleary case to begin with.

We need and can afford property-tax relief. I’ll be pushing for legislation modeled after the California Proposition 13. It froze property tax assessments at a certain date, limited annual increases to inflation, and froze re-evalutions until after change of ownership.

Just say ‘No’ to kindergarten sex ed

I’ve received overwhelming responses from constituents opposing the bill that would mandate sex education starting in kindergarten. Let’s be clear, this is not about good-touch, bad-touch or having healthy friendships. What’s really happening is an agenda pushed by special interests to sexualize our children. Discussing and normalizing alternative lifestyles or teaching about sexual pleasure is not ‘age appropriate’ for young children. You’ve been clear, and I’m in agreement, we need to get sex entirely out of schools and get back to teaching our students how to read, write and do math. Our state has a persistent opportunity gap and introducing this new requirement will only make matters worse by taking up valuable instructional time on something that is the responsibility of parents and families.

Starving transportation

Democratic leaders on the Senate Transportation Committee unveiled their funding proposal last week to deal with what they’re calling the “I-976 crisis” and to restart delayed transportation projects.

I supported this supplemental budget, but it’s really just a Band-Aid. It is needlessly starving our state’s transportation infrastructure and fails to address long-term solutions that we need to act on now. That is being exacerbated by the ill-advised pausing of critical projects by Gov. Inslee, which has cost taxpayers untold millions of dollars. The overwhelming majority of those projects are funded by the gas tax and have nothing to do with this so-called “I-976 crisis.”

Read more…

homelessWhat about homeless and housing?

Last week, those of us working on housing and homelessness in the Senate Republican Caucus held a news conference to discuss what the Legislature is doing about this critical issue. We outlined where we thought we should be going at the outset of the 2020 legislative session, but with just a couple of weeks left to go, not many of those proposals made it through.

The majority is intent on continuing the same failed policies and practices of just throwing more taxpayer dollars at a broken system with no accountability.Here’s a short article on parts of the Republican proposal.We all agree that this problem needs to be addressed. We just disagree on how to get there. I’ve been vocal about my holistic plan to address this problem. To my disappointment many of these components have been simply ignored by the majority in favor of increased spending on policies that have proven they do not work.

Standing up for your rights

The Senate recently approved SB 6288, creating the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention to push unscientific ‘research’ by special interests. What’s worse, they’ll be handing out your tax dollars to nonprofits already funded by billionaires opposed to the Second Amendment.

The bill even says that as a condition of receiving those grants, organizations must include how they’d “implement evidenced-based firearm reduction.”

It’s not about research, it’s not about safety. It’s about restricting rights of law-abiding citizens and it’s unacceptable. It was even a fight to include language in the bill that directed this new state agency to look at suicide prevention, which is the largest percentage, by far, of firearm-related deaths.

It is an honor serving as your state Senator.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any concerns you have about your state government.

Sincerely,

Fortunato Signature

Phil Fortunato,

Your 31st District State Senator

More thoughts on the end of session

March 23, 2018
floorGreetings Friends and Neighbors,

What a difference one vote makes. Last year I was the 25th vote in the 49-member Senate, giving the Republicans the majority. Taxpayers were safe from the proposed income tax, carbon tax and mileage tax. All the anti-Second Amendment bills never saw the light of day.

With the change in the majority to the other party, by one vote, the floodgates have opened.

Last year we passed a bipartisan budget after much wrangling and compromise. But this year, after taxpayers gave the state over $2.3 billion of their hard-earned tax dollars more than was expected, Republicans never even got to see the budget. We fought to give you back $1 billion in property tax relief this year. The opposition’s shell-game budget diverted $700 million of your money from the constitutionally required savings account. They spent all of your money and gave you 60 percent less of a tax cut next year, when taxes are already going down. This “dangerous precedent,” as the state treasurer said, could result in higher interest on our bond payments, costing the taxpayers millions under the guise of lowering your taxes.

In the end, the carbon tax was barely defeated, which would have added 20-30 cents a gallon at the gas pump and $30-50 a month to your heating bill. There are never enough tax dollars. They spent all your tax money plus some of your savings.

In addition to bad budgeting, there were a number of bills affecting individuals’ moral principles, such as an abortion insurance mandate. The mandate forces individuals and companies to pay for the abortions of others. Ironically, I gave a freedom of choice speech on this issue. No matter how you feel about the controversial topic, no one should be forced to pay for something they don’t want. If you want abortion coverage, you can add it to your policy. Why force others, who may be morally opposed, to pay?

You can also now “rent a womb” under state law. In the past, women have volunteered to help other couples have a child by being a surrogate mother. There is grave concern that this could put low-income women at risk for human trafficking or coercion, with nowhere to turn. While the rest of the world is moving away from this practice, in our state you can now hire a woman to carry a child for you.

Keeping our Students Safe

students

One major piece of legislation was the Student Safety and Protection Act, Senate Bill 6622. My bill would require the same agency that trains our police to develop a standard response-training program that school districts can use to protect our children in an active-shooter situation. Some school districts in Washington are already allowing school staff to be armed and trained; we should ensure such training is standardized across that state. You would not hire a school administrator to fix your car. Why would you expect them to know the proper response in case of an active shooter?

Click here to see my press conference and numerous news stories on the proposal. You can also view my other videos on variety of topics by clicking here.

It’s an honor to serve as your state Senator. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns about your state government.

Sincerely,

Fortunato Signature

Phil Fortunato,

Your 31st District State Senator

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 by clicking here. Feel free to share this with others that live in our district.

Bookmark and Share

Connect with me on Facebook!

Please follow me @SenatorPhilFortunato to receive updates on my work here in Olympia. Invite others in our district to follow and like my new page!

Contact Me:

Mail: PO Box 40431 Olympia, WA 98504

Olympia Office: 201 Irv Newhouse Building Olympia, WA 98504

Phone: (360) 786-7660

Email: Phil.Fortunato@leg.wa.gov

www.SenatorPhilFortunato.com

Committee assignments

During the 2018 legislative session, I am serving on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee and the Senate’s Transportation Committee.

They can’t do anything simple

President Reagan notably said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” That plays out all the time in Olympia. Doing something simple for the people of our state turns out to be a complex maze of shell-games and gimmicks. Take property tax relief. We know that the House Democrat property taxis hurting retirees and families THIS YEAR. We had over $2 billion more coming to the state than expected and should have provided relief. However, the majority decided they needed to spend all the extra money you sent us and divert $700 million from the voter-approved rainy day fund to give you a small tax break NEXT YEAR, when property taxes are already going down.

How about Sound Transit’s outrageous car-tab taxes? Again, a simple fix to change the valuation schedule could have been done. Not only did they do NOTHING, one proposal actually would have increased the costs by charging you to get on a payment plan. Sometimes, government just needs to get out of the way.

Government guide

We have updated the 31st Legislative District government guide to make it easy for you to contact your federal, state and local officials. It’s a one-stop tool that gives you the phone numbers, emails and information you need for everything from schools and senior centers to members of Congress and the President.
You can access the online version of the guide anytime by clicking here or you can call my office for a physical copy while supplies last.

Let’s have coffee

Coffee

Now that the legislative session is over, I want to meet with you.  Feel free to reach out to my office to schedule a time to grab coffee and talk.

The end of the 2018 session

March 12, 2018
floorGreetings from Olympia, 

The 2018 legislative session is finally over. I’m looking forward to getting back in district to meet with you and discuss the mostly low points of the session. It was a bad year for taxpayers, for the legislative process and common sense. The new majority wasted no time implementing budget gimmicks and ramming through half-baked legislation to appease special interests and grow government.

Even though the state is bursting at the seams with your hard-earned tax dollars (over $2 billion more than we expected), the majority spent all the extra money. Then they diverted $700 million from the voter-approved rainy-day fund, circumventing the law against the advice of our state Treasurer. This move risks our state’s bond rating which could result in higher interest rates. I guarantee the current majority will be looking for a tax increase next years to cover increased costs of borrowing.

Using a shell game to give you back 40 cents on a dollar?

We had the resources to provide needed property tax relief of $1 billion this year, increase education funding for McCleary, and deposit $700 million into the rainy day fund savings account. The majority chose a different path – voting down our budget proposal for 1 billion in tax relief this year, choosing instead $400 million next year. They spent much more than we needed and set a “dangerous precedent” regarding the state’s savings account.

Imagine, you get a bonus, and instead of paying down your debt, you take out another mortgage on your house, deplete your savings, buy a bunch of stuff and then spend your bonus – that is what the majority did.
2AYour Second Amendment rights

I warned early on that the new majority would make a big deal about guns. The recent tragedy in Florida gave them an impetus to act. Fortunately, they could not muster the votes to significantly impact your ability to exercise your rights. I was able to get the original bump stock bill amended so it only applied to the actual piece of plastic, not all semi-automatic firearms. The ban is just symbolism over substance. My question is how does that make our students any safer tomorrow? All the proposals that have now died in Olympia would just add more layers of bureaucracy without fixing the problem. Click here to watch one of my video updates on the subject, and a proposal that I was championing in the wake of the Florida shooting to keep our students safe.

Process matters

pages

Aside from poor budgeting, the majority also took great liberties with the legislative process this year. They chose to debate important bills in the dead of night, limited debate on other bills and circumvented the legislative process to rush through legislation for special interests. Late in the evening, the majority even pushed through legislation that no one had even read! It was supposed to be a simple concurrence with the House but devolved into a dispute because changes were made to the bill without anyone knowing what was in it. Since they have the votes, the bill was approved. My seat on the Senate floor is near where the Senate pages sit. I make a point to discuss the legislative process with these young students who have taken an interest in state government. The last night of the legislative session provided quite the lesson.

Government needs to get out of the way!

Sometimes in Olympia, there are far too many solutions in search of a problem. The reality is that government often just needs to get out of the way. Here are a couple examples. We teach motorcycle riders to back into a parking spot, but local jurisdictions have been fining people $125 for doing what they are taught! The fact is we needed a law change that (I sponsored Senate Bill 6070), instead of just using common sense.

Taxpayer money is still taxpayers money no matter which budget it comes out of!

We have a problem bridge in our district between Buckley and Enumclaw.  In the last 10 years, the bridge has been hit three times with over height construction equipment. The transportation budget that was approved included repainting that bridge for $2 million (from transportation budget). I had an amendment to stop the painting until we determine if the bridge could be replaced. The response? “We have to protect our infrastructure.” When the bridge is repaired, it is a 17-mile detour for emergency services to get the hospital.  The solution? Upgrade a proposed pedestrian trail bridge to handle emergency vehicles. That costs $8 million (from the capital budget). How much is a new bridge? $10 Million. So, we are painting a bridge before we replace it. Your tax dollars at work!

You can see a complete list of transportation and capital projects by clicking here.

It’s an honor to serve as your state Senator. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns about your state government.

Sincerely,

Fortunato Signature

Phil Fortunato,

Your 31st District State Senator

Contact Me:

Mail: PO Box 40431 Olympia, WA 98504

Olympia Office: 201 Irv Newhouse Building Olympia, WA 98504

Phone: (360) 786-7660

Email: Phil.Fortunato@leg.wa.gov

www.SenatorPhilFortunato.com

Committee assignments

During the 2018 legislative session, I am serving on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee and the Senate’s Transportation Committee.

Government guide

We have updated the 31st Legislative District government guide to make it easy for you to contact your federal, state and local officials. It’s a one-stop tool that gives you the phone numbers, emails and information you need for everything from schools and senior centers to members of Congress and the President.
You can access the online version of the guide anytime by clicking here or you can call my office for a physical copy while supplies last.

SB 6617 Public Records Disclosure

Many have written to my office about the public records bill, Senate Bill 6617. The media has been whining that the passage of the bill usurped their lawsuit, which they filed this past fall in Thurston County. They claimed the Legislature improperly denied their requests for records, which would include constituent correspondence and e-mails and my negotiations with other members about legislation, which is exempt under the 1972 Public Records Act.

To clarify what records should be disclosed and what shouldn’t, SB 6617 was drafted. The outrage came when the majority party rushed the bill through without a hearing, jammed it through the legislative process, and rushed it to the Governor’s desk.  While there was nothing especially controversial about the bill, the process the other party used sent a message that there was something to hide.

I want to protect the privacy of constituents. Unlike the Seattle Times and News Tribune, I do not want my constituents’ information disclosed in their newspapers. Public disclosure requests in the past have sought to disclose signers of the traditional marriage initiative and concealed carry permit holders.

Let’s have coffee

Coffee

I always appreciate constituents coming down to Olympia to visit. It is my pleasure to meet with you and hear about your concerns. When the 60-day legislative session concludes, I want to connect back in district. Feel free to reach out to my office to schedule a time to grab coffee and talk.

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 by clicking here. Feel free to share this with others that live in our district.

Bookmark and Share

Connect with me on Facebook!

Please follow me @SenatorPhilFortunato to receive updates on my work here in Olympia. Invite others in our district to follow and like my new page!

House, Inslee offer “death sentence for rural Washington,” Fortunato says

Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, issued the following statement in response to the news that the House has refused a permanent Hirst fix:

House Democrats are being led by Seattle special interests that think that city water magically appears out of pipes in the wall but rural water taken from wells is a threat to the environment.  Newsflash to urban dwellers—your water comes from rural areas.  The differences are that no court suddenly decided you need to pay $20,000-$30,000 to hook up to city water and unlike the majority of well-water, the city water you use doesn’t return to the aquifer from which it came.

Neither the House nor the governor showed any real interest in solving the Hirst issue.  In late April, our absentee governor admitted to no real understanding of the Hirst fix. Ironically, the governor that constantly warns of global warming causing drought is aiding the court-ordered manufacturing of a water shortage. The House has been moving the goalposts up to their pre-planned press conference where they shed crocodile tears at not getting a Hirst fix they never wanted.

The governor displays a total lack of understanding of how lending works. Who in their right mind thinks that lenders will want to loan money on a property that could have water rights revoked in 24 months?  House Democrats holding a two-year delay up as a solution are fooling themselves and selling out rural Washington.  Unless they are willing to open up a bank to loan money on these properties, I would not call their plan a fix but a complete, predestined, purposeful failure.

Failing to fix Hirst means lower property values which means lower revenues for state and local services that House Democrats claimed to champion.  But when push came to shove, they chose their special interests groups over the working men and women in the rural areas of Washington. This means up to a $200 million property tax shortfall over 4 years with the devalued properties hurting schools and local economies—and no, a bottled water tax is not going to make up the difference.

To open this session, Inslee commuted death sentences for murderers and rapists. To close the session, he is ushering in a death sentence for rural Washington. It’s a shameful slap in the face to those of us living outside urban centers.