Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of over 200,000 Washington citizens who took their time to sign and gather the required signatures, we now have five initiatives certified by the Secretary of State and before the Legislature:
- Initiative 2113 would fully restore the ability of law enforcement officers to engage in vehicular pursuit.
- Initiative 2117 would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, the state’s new carbon tax program.
- Initiative 2081 would establish a parental bill of rights, so that parents would have authority over their child’s school and medical records.
- Initiative 2109 would repeal the state’s new capital gains tax.
- Initiative 2111 would prohibit state and local personal income taxes in Washington state.
The Legislature has three options:
- Approve the initiatives as submitted;
- Offer alternative measures that would appear on the ballot in November alongside the original initiatives; or
- Do nothing, in which case voters would decide whether to approve or reject the initiatives in November.
House Bill 2459 passes out of committee
In an effort to affect outcomes on initiatives, the majority party hurriedly drafted and passed House Bill 2459 out of committee, a bill that would allow the Attorney General’s Office to draft an impact statement for alternative measures proposed by the Legislature to initiatives. I believe this bill is trying to change the rules after the game starts and is disrespectful to the citizens who sign and gather signatures.
Town hall meeting on Feb. 17
Mark your calendar: I will be hosting an in-person town hall meeting on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley (2426 N Discovery Pl).
I look forward to sharing a brief session update and answering your questions. Citizen involvement in government is crucial to good public process.
Thanking our servicemembers in the Washington National Guard
I had the privilege of speaking on the House floor in favor of House Resolution 4661, a measure honoring members of the Washington National Guard for their service and sacrifice to Washington state and the nation.
The roots of the Washington National Guard extend deep into our state’s history, tracing back to 1855 when the Washington Territorial Legislature enacted the first law creating the organized militia. Since achieving statehood in 1889, the Guard has played a pivotal role in safeguarding America, both on our home soil and abroad.
You can read the text of my speech here.
Gift card bills
I have received a lot of emails about a pair of bills – House Bill 2094 and House Bill 2095 – that have been proposed this year that would require Washington businesses to:
- Send unclaimed gift card funds to the state government;
- Report consumer data to the Department of Revenue;
- Cash out gift cards to customers when the balance is below $50; and
- Honor gift cards even if the funds have been turned over to the state.
My concern with these measures is that they expand government tracking of citizens and make it harder and more costly to do business in Washington state. Living in a border district, I often say that these kinds of anti-business proposals are a gift to Idaho’s economy. Every time we make it more challenging for industries to operate in Washington we’re making our neighboring states more attractive alternatives.
Natural gas ban
On Monday, House Republicans fought hard to stop a measure that would prohibit natural gas in new residential and commercial construction including rebuilding after a disaster: House Bill 1589.
The bill would prohibit any large gas company that serves more than 500,000 retail natural gas customers in Washington as of June 30, 2023, from providing natural gas service to any commercial or residential location that did not receive gas service or have filed applications for gas service as of June 30, 2023.
Sadly, House Bill 1589 passed the House 52 – 45.
These regulations are out of touch with the average rural citizen. Heat pumps don’t work when it’s extremely cold or when the power is out, and we need diverse energy sources for those kinds of emergencies. And, while the House Democrats claim this measure is intended to fight climate change, natural gas is largely responsible for our nation’s reduction in CO2 output.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration: “Burning natural gas for energy results in fewer emissions of nearly all types of air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) than burning coal or petroleum products to produce an equal amount of energy.”
There is no perfect energy, and we shouldn’t pass short-sighted measures that could leave our constituents out in the cold.
Thank you
Please contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or comments. I am here to serve you and everyone in the 4th Legislative District.
It’s an honor to serve you.
Sincerely,