The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Leonard Christian’s subscribers Feb. 6, 2026. To subscribe to Sen. Christian’s e-newsletters, click here.

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I’m sending this e-newsletter a little early today because we need your help in Olympia. Can you take a moment to tell the Legislature what you think about a state income tax?

You can help us set a record. But you have to do it by 12:30 p.m.

This afternoon, my Democratic colleagues will hold a hearing on their plan to force an income tax on the state of Washington. So far more than 40,000 people have signed on to the Legislature’s website to register their opposition.

You can add your voice by following this link to the hearing sign-in page and registering your opinion, pro or con, on Senate Bill 6346. It’s the first bill on the list.

This sign-in page will close an hour before the Senate Ways and Means Committee starts its hearing at 1:30 p.m. So there isn’t much time. You also can use this link to sign up to testify or submit testimony in writing.

Hearing set on short notice

This showdown has been a long time coming. For more than 90 years, advocates of higher taxes and bigger spending have been trying to convince Washington voters to support an income tax. But the people keep saying no, 10 times since 1934. This time our Democratic colleagues won’t be asking. They’re planning to ram the bill through the Legislature, wait for a lawsuit, and ask the state Supreme Court to overturn its 1933 ruling requiring a public vote.

We’ve known for years it would come to this. We’ve known for months that the push would come in 2026. But it wasn’t until Monday evening that we finally saw the bill. And maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by this: Our colleagues scheduled a hearing so quickly that by the time most people hear about it, their opportunity to speak will already have passed.

That means those of who can speak need to do it as loudly as we can.

Can we top this? Last year 43,153 people signed in against a bill that would dramatically increase property taxes. In the pic above, Sen. Chris Gildon showed what a big printout that makes. It was the biggest expression of public opposition Olympia had ever seen, and chastened Democrats backed off. The property tax bill is back again this year, but first things first. The income tax is so anathema to the people of Washington that it deserves our full attention.

At least we have a few details now that we can read the bill. This legislation would impose a 9.9 percent income tax, with a standard deduction of $1 million. That’s why our friends are calling this a “tax on millionaires.” But nothing prevents them from lowering or canceling this deduction in the future. We fully expect them to. Why soak the rich alone when they can soak all of us and generate even more money?

We also can see this would devastate small business, a frightening development in a state where small business generates most of the jobs. Few small business owners can be considered rich, but because most of them report profits as personal income, this legislation would tax them like Bill Gates right from the start. And if you are thinking this will somehow make our tax system more fair, our colleagues are offering no real reduction in other taxes to make up for this new burden, unless you are impressed with a sales-tax deduction for mouthwash and other hygiene products.

Let’s tell Olympia no. Let’s say it as loudly as we can. Let’s beat last year’s record. I hope you will add your click to the thousands that have been recorded so far. And if this catches you late – we’re going to be fighting until the final gavel falls this year. I’ll let you know if there are other chances for you to speak.

‘Listening sessions’ give the people a chance to speak up for parental rights, girls’ sports

Legislative Republicans offer public forums on initiatives when Democratic leaders refuse hearings

Democrats and opposition speakers were invited to afternoon and evening public forums on the initiatives Tuesday, but stayed away. Hearing rooms were packed nevertheless.

 

The people collected 863,000 signatures last year to place a pair of initiatives before the Legislature, and when that many people want to send us a message, I think we should do them the courtesy of listening. That’s why I found myself in a crowded hearing room in the House Tuesday evening along with 32 other Republican lawmakers, as we heard about the importance of protecting girls’ sports and affirming parental rights in public education.

We organized these public forums because our majority colleagues are refusing to give these initiatives a hearing, much less a vote. These measures challenge an odious philosophy that has taken hold of Olympia and its educational bureaucracy, placing trans issues above all else in our public schools, superseding the rights of parents and tossing aside the years of struggle involved in creating viable girls’ sports leagues.

• IL26-001 is a re-run of a parental rights initiative submitted by the people to the Legislature two years ago. This measure ensures that parents have a right to know about medical treatments and other issues involving their children in our public schools. House and Senate Democrats passed this initiative in 2024, then returned in last year’s session and promptly gutted it. This maneuver to thwart initiatives from the people is permitted under a loophole in our state constitution.
• IL26-638 protects fairness in school athletics by preventing boys from competing on girls’ teams. This measure counters an effort by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to force student athletes and elected school boards into submission.

What impressed me was the courage demonstrated by the young female athletes who are willing to speak up about these issues. When boys are allowed to compete in girls’ sports, they have an unfair advantage. It doesn’t matter how they think of themselves. Girls don’t deserve to have their locker rooms invaded and their hard-won athletic opportunities eroded. And on issues like these, school officials have no business substituting their judgment for that of parents.

The wind has already turned against this national movement to deny biology and the facts of life. Across the country the boys-in-girls’ sports issue is being decided in favor of the girls. Just this week the American Society of Plastic Surgeons came out against gender-related surgeries for children 18 and younger. And we are starting to hear an unsettling number of horror stories about confused youths hustled into operating rooms without full understanding of the life-changing decisions they are making.

If the Legislature fails to act on these initiatives before adjournment, they will advance to the November general election ballot. That may be the best solution. Only in Olympia can an issue like this one be considered controversial, and I think we can trust Washington voters to take a more reasoned view.

Courageous student athletes speak at afternoon listening session.

In the news:

Medical Lake School District could receive relief under new state funding bill

This story from KXLY-TV covers my bill to help the Medical Lake School District obtain state construction funds for long-overdue renovations at Hallett Elementary and Medical Lake High School. Current rules block funding because the district operates a school at Fairchild Air Force Base with excess capacity, even though children of civilian families cannot attend. To see story, click here.

Thanks for reading,

Leonard Christian

4th Legislative District

Contact me!

If you have a comment about state government, or a concern with a state agency, I hope you will reach out to my office. My most important duty is to serve you.

Mailing address: Post Office Box 40404, Olympia, WA  98504

Email: Leonard.Christian@leg.wa.gov

Phone: (360) 786-7606

Leave a message on the Legislative Hotline: 1 (800) 562-6000