Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson signed rent control into law last week and the law took effect immediately. House Bill 1217 had an emergency clause on the legislation, so there is no ability for the public to weigh in with a referendum or initiative. The bill 1217 caps rent increases at 7% plus the Consumer Price Index or 10%, whichever is less. Along with the caps, there are new penalties, notification requirements and restrictions on property owners. The effect of the...
Our state is in the grip of a deadly fentanyl crisis that is hurting communities from Pierce County to Spokane County. Yet, while lives are being lost every day, the Democrat majority in the Legislature chose to stand idly by rather than enact meaningful reforms this session. In Pierce County, where I live, we have seen a heartbreaking rise in tragedies. Back in 2017, two people who were 21 or younger died from fentanyl overdoses. By 2022, that number had grown to 19. Even mor...
Washington state lawmakers this year increased the cost to both buy a vehicle and fill the gas tank, adding an additional 0.2% sales tax to car purchases and a $0.06 per gallon tax increase on fuel. They argue the new taxes are needed to maintain highway and ferry infrastructure, yet politicians furthered their efforts to tax drivers and divert a large share of those taxes to other purposes. While an attempt was also made again to tax drivers by the mile to divert money,...
Representing the 13th Legislative District and serving as chairwoman of the Senate Republican Caucus, I have had the privilege of helping shape policy on behalf of families, small businesses, and rural communities across Washington. And while this year’s legislative session included a few bright spots, the broader picture is one of missed opportunities. Let’s start with the new state operating budget. It includes a record $77.9 billion and raised $12.9 billion in new tax...
Too often, elected officials overlook the cumulative costs of regulations, taxes, and fees on taxpayers. However, those added costs come back to bite them hard when people pack up and move, businesses close, or take matters into their own hands and pass an initiative or referendum. Consider what has happened in high tax and cost of living states, such as California, New York, Illinois, and Connecticut. In 2023, the National Association of Realtors broke down migration data...
When the state Legislature began its 2025 legislative session, a Senate Democrat mistakenly e-mailed a strategy memo to the entire membership, outlining her pitch for the largest tax increase in the history of the state. “We have to identify the villain and the problem blocking our progress and how we can take action to solve the issue,” she said. She went on to name the villain – “the wealthy few” who don’t pay their fair share. If we just pounded the rich with new taxes,...
Olympia’s majority party has already made it hard for Washington families to make ends meet through policies like raising the price of gas and home energy and shrinking paychecks. Now it’s pushing the largest tax increase in state history, which would make living in our beautiful state even less affordable. At the start of our 2025 legislative session, Republicans and Democrats agreed there would be a budget gap to resolve. Knowing the state is already expecting to take in...
Since taking office just over 100 days ago, I’ve cast 100 votes–focused on securing our borders, combating fentanyl, strengthening national security, and supporting a responsible federal budget to keep our government open while we start to tackle the challenge of our national debt. I’ve introduced four bills, co-sponsored more than 50, and become the first freshman in Congress to pass a bill through the House. I’ve held seven town halls, and met with hundreds of constit...
Before the Columbia River flood control system, spring blooms often coincided with large muddy floods inundating communities and farms. While the Midwest still faces threats from swollen rivers due to heavy rain and rapid snowmelt, the Columbia River basin does not. Our abatement efforts started with the completion of Grand Coulee Dam in 1942. Although flood control was its primary purpose, Grand Coulee Dam also provides water to irrigate 670,000 acres of farmland....
Washingtonians recall Ralph Munro’s distinctive political advertisements, which featured 30 seconds of bagpipe music followed by a brief tagline stating, “This interlude brought to you by the Munro campaign.” As unusual and refreshing as the ads were, they worked. They spared voters from the merciless pounding dished out by sparing politicians and their band of campaign hacks. As usual and refreshing as they were, they worked! They spared voters from the unmerciful candi...
As lawmakers meeting in Olympia wind up the 2025 session, they face a whopping $15 billion budget deficit—a situation they must address before adjourning and going home. Unlike Congress, state legislators and Gov. Bob Ferguson cannot authorize deficit spending or borrowing to the fund state government. They either raise taxes and fees; or cut costs programs and people. Washington is primarily funded by sales, property, specialized taxes (such as unemployment, workers compensat...
Democrat legislators claim there's a state-government budget shortfall of $12 to $15 billion, yet several of my colleagues in the state Senate just filed legislation to take much more than that through new and higher taxes -- nearly $20 billion. Only in Olympia would anyone think that makes sense. But as Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, I can tell you how unnecessary and wrong their tax scheme is. This would be the largest tax increase in state...
When the Democrat-led Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act (other opponents and I prefer to call it “cap-and-tax”) a few years ago, one of the promises made by Democrats was that the state’s agriculture, shipping and aviation industries would be exempt from the fuel tax created under the law. However, as farmers in the 9th District can tell you, that promise has not been kept. Despite numerous meetings and repeated requests by me and other Eastern Washington legis...
Senate Republicans have put forward a responsible, pragmatic solution to Washington's budget challenges. The Save Washington budget plan prioritizes public safety, education, and essential services - without raising taxes or raiding the state's rainy-day fund. Unlike the false choice presented by majority Democrats - either massive tax hikes or catastrophic cuts - we've proven a third way exists: a balanced, efficient, and fair budget that serves all Washingtonians. The facts...
The state’s agriculture has long been a cornerstone of American farming. As our nation’s number one producer of apples, blueberries, hops, and sweet cherries, our agricultural industry makes vital contributions to our economy and food security. Despite these achievements, our farmers are in jeopardy. Over the past five years, Washington has seen a 10 percent decrease in the number of farms and a 6 percent reduction in farmland. These alarming trends point to an industry under...
Dusts ups with our North American trading partners pop up periodically especially when there is global financial trouble. They can be acrimonious and strain relationships as President Donald Trump is learning. Trump, faced with excessive federal spending and our skyrocketing national debt ($36.6 trillion), re-launched his “Make America Great Again” initiative. It is a blueprint to stimulate job creation in America’s private sector and government efficiency. He wants inves...
In August 2002 during one of the worst fire seasons to that point in recent history, President George W. Bush launched the Healthy Forests Initiative aimed at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. It was a solid, common-sense plan intended to remove wood debris which fuels infernos and rehabilitate diseased, dying, and dead forests. It would generate revenue from wood sales which would be used to pay for healthier timberlands. The impetus came from the severe wildland...
The tide may be turning in the right direction for the four lower Snake River dams. I realize I’m applying a saltwater expression to a freshwater situation, but as the salmon at the heart of the dam conversation spend time in both saltwater and freshwater, let’s go with it. Those who believe salmon recovery depends on dam breaching have not gone away. But halfway through the 2025 legislative session, I’m sensing the leadership changes in Washington, D.C. and Olympia have...
Any battle over tariffs between the United States and Canada, China, and Mexico is worrisome, but if it escalates, it will hit Washington farmers particularly hard. Avoiding that possibility should be a primary goal. Tariffs could trigger new trade wars. The last retaliation in tariffs eight years ago hurt agriculture. "A trade war with economic partners is the last thing our farmers and ranchers need," said Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA4), whose family owns and operates an 8...
Crime continues to be a growing problem throughout our state. In fact, Washington ranks in the Top 5 in the overall crime rate among states. Washington ranks among the worst states in several categories, including murders, auto theft and retail theft. A key reason is that we also rank 51st nationally – dead last – for the number of law-enforcement officers per capita. This chronic shortage of officers in our state has created major consequences for public safety, such as reduc...
A foundational element in our Democratic Republic is the idea that everyone has a voice. The voters of a particular area or legislative district elect a person to represent their collective values, principles and priorities. Do voters agree with every decision or vote their elected officials make? Impossible. But through our election process voters choose someone to propose bills and amendments, vote for and against legislation, and advocate for or against other proposals...
In his first month as President, Donald Trump has shaken our federal government to the core. Many argue that his “meat ax” approach to cutting government waste, abuse and spending is as harmful to our country as the current “runaway “spending and borrowing. Regardless, America needs a strong wakeup call. The question is where to go from here. Is there a better way? In short, we need good comprehensive audits of current programs to determine how and where our tax dollars...
Gray wolves are here to stay. Changing how we manage the population will improve relationships between agencies, ranchers and activists. House Bill 1442 proposes a new approach that gives counties in which gray wolves are recovered the flexibility to begin developing localized approaches to depredation response, poaching, impacts to ungulate habitats and more. At last count, there were at least 260 gray wolves in the state in 42 recognized packs. That’s a 20% increase in year-...
Our state Legislature is philosophically divided when it comes to reducing violent crimes and so-called "gun violence." Republicans believe it's possible to do both without undermining Second Amendment rights and the even stronger language in the Washington Constitution – which declares the right to own and bear a firearm "shall not be impaired." When our colleagues across the political aisle fail to win through the court system, they resort to chipping away through legislatio...
When the Legislature's majority Democrats joined Republicans to pass the parental-rights initiative during our 2024 session, did they do so to keep the popular measure from being passed by voters in November, making it possible for them to gut the new law this year over Republican objections? Perhaps. But one thing is certain: Democrats in the state Senate have acted quickly to undermine Initiative 2081 law less than a year later. Senate Bill 5181 was hustled through the Senat...
