Author Archives: ericcampbell

Republican budget leaders on Senate Democrats’ record-setting tax package: ‘a new kind of March madness’

OLYMPIA… Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, and Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, offered this reaction to the $20 billion, four-year tax package proposed by the Senate’s majority Democrats today, ahead of the anticipated Monday rollout of their 2025-27 operating-budget proposal.

From Sen. Gildon, who is Senate Republican budget leader:

“My first reaction was wow – this is a new kind of March madness, especially the new attempt to do away with the 1% cap voters had put on property-tax growth. We keep hearing from Senate Democrats that they want to make the wealthiest Washingtonians pay more. But the property-tax increase they want is regressive. It would fall directly on the backs of families who are far from wealthy and also become a pass-through cost to renters across our state. To me that’s talking out of both sides of your mouth.

“Everyone knows what the Climate Commitment Act has done to their cost of living, yet it’s a lot smaller than any of the taxes the Democrats proposed today.

“Senate Republicans have proven we can have a balanced budget without a single tax increase or a single service cut. Our $ave Washington approach is a better way to support the priorities we all share, including full funding for K-12 and services for our most vulnerable neighbors, without asking working families to pay more.”

From Sen. Torres, who is assistant budget leader:

“How could our Democratic colleagues ‘scrub the budget for savings,’ as they claimed today, and still want $20 billion in new and higher taxes? I’m also very troubled by the property-tax increase, because the annual growth rate would likely be higher than the 3% they proposed in 2023 and 2024, and it would compound over time.

“Republicans brought up the idea of a temporary 1% sales-tax cut in 2022, when the state had a surplus. The Democrats did nothing. Now they’re proposing to cut the sales tax half a percentage point, but only along with the largest set of tax increases in state history – and the sales-tax cut wouldn’t take effect until 2027 anyway. It’s hard to see that as a serious attempt to help the struggling households across our state.

“The Senate Democrats make a point of suggesting each one of their tax increases would help public schools. The $ave Washington budget we unveiled March 11 would fully fund our K-12 schools without any tax increases. The truth is, they’ve wanted tax increases like these for years. The budget shortfall is simply a convenient new excuse.”

STATEMENT: Republican budget leader says drop in revenue forecast confirms need to limit spending, avoid new taxes

OLYMPIA… An $845 million decrease in this year’s initial forecast of state revenue gives legislators more reason to keep a lid on new spending and say no to new and higher taxes, says Sen. Chris Gildon, Senate Republican budget leader.

Today’s forecast will be used by legislative budget writers to put the finishing touches on proposed operating budgets for the upcoming 2025-27 biennium.

Gildon, R-Puyallup, offered this statement about what the first quarterly forecast of 2025 means for the overall budget situation and the no-new-taxes, no-cuts “$ave Washington” budget proposal Senate Republicans presented a week ago:

“Even with today’s forecast the state expects to have $4.5 billion more over the next two years, so the sky is not falling. Still, our chief economist repeatedly cautioned us to expect slow revenue growth. Legislative budget writers should take heed and show restraint going forward, especially with the uncertainty about actions at the federal level that could affect our situation.

“The smart approach is to avoid new and higher taxes, limit new spending to core priorities like K-12 and public safety, preserve social services, and protect the rainy-day fund. Our $ave Washington budget does all of that.

“If our Democratic colleagues deplete the rainy-day fund and abuse their taxing authority this year, it could put us in a very vulnerable position next year.

“Knowing our budget would come out before today’s forecast, we built in several options for adjustments. But it will continue to be the no-new-taxes, no-cuts approach our state needs. Washington families can’t afford more of the tax-and-spend they’ve been seeing from Olympia.”

The predictions from the state’s chief economist, for the 2025-27 and 2027-29 budget cycles, are down $479 million and $420 million respectively from the previous forecast in November. Gildon and other members of the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council adopted them today.

When combined with a $54 million increase anticipated for the remainder of the current budget cycle, the total projected revenue drop is $845 million, or 0.6%, over the state’s four-year budget outlook.

What… a budget that doesn’t raise taxes or cut services?

This week Senate Republicans came out with a budget proposal that would effectively erase state government’s budget shortfall while saving the people of our state from the harm of either huge tax increases or devastating spending cuts. That’s why we’re calling our plan the “$ave Washington” budget.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This report is going out a little later than I had hoped, but it has been a busier week than usual.

We spent most of Monday through Wednesday working on the floor of the Senate chamber, debating and voting on bills. The first round of “floor action” wrapped late Wednesday afternoon, on schedule, and starting yesterday the Senate committees are back at work, this time considering bills that were passed by the House.

In between everything else, we did something Tuesday morning that no one thought was possible: propose a new state operating budget that doesn’t raise taxes and doesn’t slash services.

It’s rare for the minority side to introduce a budget of its own, and almost unheard of for any budget proposal to be out this early in a legislative session.

But it was important to us to get this plan on the table for all to see, because our approach goes against what the people of Washington and the news media are hearing from majority Democrats. Their message is that state government’s budget shortfall is too big to overcome unless taxes are raised, because the alternative is to make devastating cuts to life-saving services. Our budget shows neither of those claims is true.

We probably won’t see budgets from either the Senate or House Democrats for the better part of two weeks. That means taxpayers, our Democratic colleagues and the news media have plenty of time to scrutinize our work, and see that this approach is for real. There is a better way!

The proof is all online: visit $aveWashington to see everything from the slide presentation to the balance sheet.

Here are some other links that may be of interest:

Our $ave Washington budget news conference (TVW)
Washington Senate GOP unveils ‘no new taxes’ budget proposal (The Center Square)
WA Senate Republican proposal aims to close budget gap without new taxes (FOX 13)
WA Senate Republicans unveil budget proposal they say is a ‘third way’ (The Spokesman-Review, Spokane/The Columbian, Vancouver)
Interview on The Commute with Carlson (KVI Radio)

The takeaways from our budget are a) it’s affordable, b) it reflects the priorities of Washingtonians, and c) it includes efficiencies and reforms to make government work better.

I’ll be happy to go into more detail tomorrow morning at our town hall meeting. Hope to see you there!

Your Input Matters

I am committed to representing your interests effectively and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. You may contact me at:

Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov
360-786-7648

It is an honor serving you and I look forward to your continued engagement and support!

Sincerely,

Sen. Chris Gildon, 25th Legislative District

NEWS: Republican budget leader welcomes Ferguson’s savings suggestions

OLYMPIA… Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup and budget leader for Senate Republicans, said he appreciates the spending-reduction ideas offered by Gov. Bob Ferguson today and offered this statement in response:

“The governor has vowed to come up with spending reductions, and I appreciate that he has delivered these savings ideas less than halfway into our session. This allows budget writers to consider them while there is still time. Notably, this is a full month sooner than the former governor managed when he first took office.

“Governor Ferguson views the budget shortfall at $15 billion, which was somewhat surprising. According to non-partisan Senate budget staff, the true gap is $6.7 billion if the priority is to maintain current government levels next year. However, I understand how he arrives at this figure; it really boils down to priorities, and a prime example of that is his allocation of $4 billion for state-worker pay raises.

“Some of the cost-saving ideas, particularly the proposal for state-employee furloughs, are concerning. This plan sends a message to taxpayers: public servants will receive higher pay using $4 billion more of your tax dollars, and in return, you will receive 12 fewer days of service from them each year for two years. I doubt the people of our state will see this as a fair deal.

“Overall, if Republicans were to write a new operating budget, we would likely incorporate many of the governor’s cost-savings suggestions. However, we believe there are additional opportunities beyond what he offered today, and we would be glad to share those with the governor as we identify them. He knows, as Republicans do, that new taxes should be a last resort. We will do what we can to help him stand by that belief.”

The Good, the Interesting and the Controversial

The Good, the Interesting, and the Controversial

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I know from talking with constituents how they are sometimes surprised by the sheer number and range of ideas that become legislation, for better or worse. Even when people don’t pay close attention to what happens in Olympia, a few sentences about what a particular bill would do are all it takes to help them decide whether that legislation is good, interesting, or controversial.

Nearly 2,000 bills have been introduced by Senate and House members since the 2025 legislative session began 39 days ago. Many will come to the end of their road tomorrow, when the policy committees hit their first deadline for taking action on legislation. Bills that don’t get the support needed to move forward will be considered “dead” for the rest of the session.

Here are a few examples of bills I would consider to be good, interesting, or controversial, and their status as of today.

Good

This doesn’t include any of the 18 bills I’ve introduced – because if they weren’t good, I would not be the prime sponsor!

Rare-disease advisory council: A “rare disease” is defined in federal law as any condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the nation. I have constituents with such conditions – which can include certain infections, some rare cancers, autoimmune diseases and genetic conditions. That’s why I’m co-sponsoring Senate Bill 5064, which was filed by a Democratic senator from Snohomish County.This bill would create an advisory council on rare diseases within the University of Washington’s School of Medicine to advise the Secretary of Health on research, diagnosis, treatment, and education related to rare diseases. It’s cleared the health-care committee in the Senate and already had a public hearing in our Ways and Means committee.
Protect kids from fentanyl exposure: In 2002, when “meth labs” began popping up in homes and rural areas, one of Pierce County’s Democratic legislators successfully introduced a bill that basically made it a crime for adults to endanger children by exposing them to the poisons associated with the cooking of methamphetamine.If you have seen news reports about infants and young children being injured – sometimes fatally – by exposure to fentanyl, then you can understand the desire to pass SB 5071, which would add fentanyl and synthetic opioids to the child-endangerment law. I’m a co-sponsor of this bipartisan bill, which was passed by the Senate on Feb. 5 by a 42-7 vote and is awaiting action in the House.
Incentive to build multi-family housing: SB 5679 would allow more of our state’s cities and counties to encourage the construction of affordable housing by offering a multi-family property-tax exemption. The exemption is already available in counties with larger populations (Pierce and four of the counties bordering it qualify, for example, but neighboring counties like Mason and Lewis do not).I’m a co-sponsor of this bill, filed by the senator from Walla Walla County, and as a member of the housing committee I took part in the public hearing it received Feb. 19. Unfortunately, opposition from an environmental-activist group may end up derailing this practical proposal.

Interesting

Restrict mobile device use by public-school students: SB 5346 would require the superintendent of public instruction to produce recommendations that go to the state school directors’ association, which would develop a model policy and procedures for school districts to consider. By the start of the 2026-27 school year, each of Washington’s 295 school districts would have to have a policy and procedures in place that are “consistent” with what the state school directors’ association produces.The bill was referred to the Senate committee on K-12 education more than a month ago but hasn’t budged since.
Ban flavored vapes: To quote from the bill, SB 5183 is about reducing youth usage of flavored tobacco and nicotine products and what it calls “entertainment vapor products” (which are defined as “any vapor product that has interactive gaming or entertainment features including, but not limited to, allowing a user to play music or audio, display photos or video, play virtual games, or display other animations on the device.) It would accomplish this goal by completely prohibiting the sales of such products in Washington.The bill received a public hearing from the Senate health-care committee on Feb. 14, but at the moment, a committee vote has not been scheduled. However, an identical version (House Bill 1203) was approved Wednesday by the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee.
Special “Smokey Bear” license plates: This bill was requested by the state Department of Natural Resources, to generate money to benefit the agency’s wildfire prevention programs. SB 5320 was referred to the Senate transportation committee but hasn’t received a public hearing. That might be because this year seems to be a big one for proposing new special license plates.Besides the Smokey Bear plate, I see bills that would create license plates for “donate life” (to promote organ donation), Mount St. Helens, the Seattle Reign FC, the United States Naval Academy, working forests, pollinator research and education, and “nautical Northwest.”
Considering our state offers 44 special license plates already, it will be interesting to see what happens with any or all of these proposals.

Controversial

The “initiative killer”: SB 5382 would have a chilling effect on the ability of people to exercise their constitutional right to make or overturn laws through voter initiatives. For instance, it would require those gathering signatures on petitions to attest, to the best of their knowledge, that signers provided correct names and addresses, even though gatherers have no way to verify that information.I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this bill was introduced at the first opportunity since a record seven initiatives were qualified in 2024 – all of which challenged policies adopted by the majority party. The Senate committee on elections passed it with a party-line vote Wednesday, and now it has come to our Ways and Means Committee.
Save money by shortening prison sentences: This bill would allow a court to significantly shorten certain prison sentences, contending it would be in the interests of justice and “result in significant cost savings to the state.” But there’s a very good reason criminals receive lengthy prison sentences, and it’s an affront to their victims for anyone to advocate reducing those sentences as a way to reduce government spending. What price do the sponsors of this bill put on public safety?Thankfully, it appears SB 5269 is not going to advance this year – but for those who seem more concerned about the criminals than the victims, there is always next year.
Government checks for striking workers: Just as there’s a difference between being laid off and quitting, there’s a difference between being let go and choosing to go out on strike. I understand why SB 5041 is a high priority for leaders of organized labor in our state, because if striking workers can collect unemployment benefits, they have less incentive to stay at or return to the bargaining table. That would give them a distinct advantage over the employer, but it hardly seems like a good use of taxpayer dollars.This bill came out of the Senate labor committee on a partisan vote and is before our Ways and Means committee.

Take my 2025 Housing Survey!

Your Input Matters

I am committed to representing your interests effectively and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. You may contact me at:

Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov
360-786-7648

It is an honor serving you and I look forward to your continued engagement and support!

Sincerely,

Sen. Chris Gildon, 25th Legislative District

Contact me!

PHONE: (360) 786-7648

E-MAIL: Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 40425, Olympia, WA 98504

LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000

NOTE: Written communications are subject to disclosure under the Washington Public Records Act.

No shortage of ideas about shortage of housing

As of today, we are one month into the legislative session. The deadline for the Senate’s policy committees to act on bills introduced by senators is Feb. 21…a week from tomorrow. The Senate Housing Committee on which I serve is among those committees, so it’s about to get busier.

Today, I’d like to share the details of just a few of those bills and then I’ll invite you to follow a link to an online survey that has two housing-related questions. Finally, be sure to save the date for our town hall meeting, coming March 15! Details are below.

Permit streamlining: When certified architects or professional engineers put their stamp or seal on a permit-related document, they are basically certifying the document complies with all applicable regulations. That should mean something to the city or county involved, yet it’s all too common for a local government to delay approval by asking for more information or seeking modifications. The time and cost caused by permitting delays is a common reason that developers give up on housing projects.

I’ve introduced Senate Bill 5729 to help streamline one part of the permitting process. It would allow local governments no more than three opportunities to review, or request more information, once a project permit application is submitted. After the third time, the application is considered approved.

Detached ADUs outside urban areas: Our state allows for the placement and construction of detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on parcels within urban growth areas. These units can be used as caregiver housing, or allow older adults to “age in place,” or as rentals. The bottom line is, they add to the housing supply which we need so desperately.

It’s never made sense that rural areas are forbidden to allow such ADUs – but Senate Bill 5470, which I’m co-sponsoring, would end that restriction and increase the supply of these much-needed units.

Transit-oriented development: While the Democratic senator from Lynnwood and I may disagree on some issues – like his bill to require a permit to exercise Second Amendment rights – we’re of similar minds when it comes to promoting the construction of housing in areas served by transit.

I’m co-sponsoring his Senate Bill 5604, which would reduce fees and taxes for such development, reduce the cost of construction, and make the resulting housing more affordable.

Kit homes as emergency housing: Kit homes are built at a factory and can be designed specifically for permanent housing or temporary housing. Senate Bill 5249, which recently came before our housing committee for a public hearing, has to do with the temporary-housing kind. It tries to clarify how long these structures may be used as emergency housing and avoid conflict with state-level building codes.

It’s an example of how addressing the need for housing is not always as simple as one might think, due to regulatory concerns.

Take my 2025 Housing Survey!

Your Input Matters

I am committed to representing your interests effectively and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. You may contact me at:

Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov
360-786-7648

It is an honor serving you and I look forward to your continued engagement and support!

Sen. Chris Gildon, 25th Legislative District

Contact me!

PHONE: (360) 786-7648

E-MAIL: Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 40425, Olympia, WA 98504

LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000

NOTE: Written communications are subject to disclosure under the Washington Public Records Act.

When taxes on WA businesses go up… all of us pay more

Click here or on the image to view this week’s report from the legislative session.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

While Republicans are busy compiling a list of proposals for eliminating wasteful government spending — more on that next — some in Olympia are considering an increase in the tax paid by Washington businesses. As I explain in the video linked above, it’s the consumers across our state who would ultimately be hit by such a tax hike. I hope you can take a few minutes to view it!

Targeting wasteful spending
This morning the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee endorsed my bill about reducing “improper medicaid concurrent enrollment payments.” That’s the official title of Senate Bill 5258; in plain English, this bipartisan legislation would stop making Washington taxpayers pay Medicaid premiums for people who no longer live in our state.

It’s not clear whether the lax management by the agencies that oversee Medicaid services in our state has been wasting tens of millions or hundreds of millions, but the reforms in SB 5258 are long overdue. The bill’s next stop is our Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Reduce state payouts
Also, my video report from Jan. 24 explained the bill I’ve introduced to reduce the costly explosion in “tort” cases that result in big payouts — more than $500 million in just the past two years. Yesterday The Seattle Times published an in-depth report on the issue and our proposed solution, Senate Bill 5144.

Check it out online: $ave Washington!
Check our $ave Washington webpage for more cost-saving ideas like these. No one should be talking about raising taxes when agencies are doing a poor job of managing and protecting the dollars already allocated to them.

The state Capitol grounds were free of snow today, so our 25th District delegation was able to step outside of the Legislative Building (the Capitol dome) for this photo with a group of visiting Pierce County fire chiefs.

Your Input Matters

I am committed to representing your interests effectively and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. You may contact me at:

Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov
360-786-7648

It is an honor serving you and I look forward to your continued engagement and support!

Sincerely,

Sen. Chris Gildon, 25th Legislative District

Contact me!

PHONE: (360) 786-7648

E-MAIL: Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 40425, Olympia, WA 98504

LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000

NOTE: Written communications are subject to disclosure under the Washington Public Records Act.

Majority puts priority on undermining new parental-rights law

Note: This was distributed Jan. 30, 2025. To subscribe to Sen. Gildon’s e-newsletters, click here.

I always appreciate seeing students from our legislative district, like these 12th-graders from Chief Leschi School. We met in the State Reception Room during their visit to the Capitol this past week.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The state Senate didn’t vote on the parental-rights initiative until there were just four days left in the 2024 legislative session. Still, Initiative 2081 was passed, with every Democrat and Republican senator voting in support. The vote in the House wasn’t unanimous but it was overwhelmingly positive, and very bipartisan.

Knowing that, it’s almost unbelievable that legislation to dismantle the parental-rights law could be the first bill to be passed in the Senate this legislative session.

This is despite declarations made by prominent Democrats, prior to the March 4 votes on I-2081, that they did not see the initiative posing a threat to LGBTQ+ youth.

Today they portray Senate Bill 5181 as an effort to “clean up” the language in the parental-rights law, but that claim doesn’t stand up when you see how their changes would delete parental rights related to medical care of their children during school hours, and significantly alter other rights guaranteed by the initiative.

Here’s how important parts of the parental-rights law would change under the partisan SB 5181. Words with lines through them (like this) would be deleted from the parental-rights law, and the underlined words would be added.

I know no parent who would want to be kept in the dark about any medical services offered to or arranged for their child by the school. And who would appreciate waiting up to 2 days to learn that their child had contact with law enforcement during school hours on school property?

It’s also insulting that the supporters of this attack on the parental-rights law included language in SB 5181 that would prohibit a voter referendum, if the bill passes. Do they fear giving parents an opportunity to express themselves at the ballot?

This legislation seems to be a blatant example of acting in bad faith. When the sponsors of SB 5181 voted to pass I-2081, which kept it off the November ballot – and may have affected the outcomes of the other initiatives in that election – did they do so planning to come back in 2025 and undo the very law they had professed to support? It sure makes you wonder.

This would also explain why the state superintendent of public instruction, just one day before the law took effect, instructed school districts to avoid making changes to policies and procedures covered by I-2081. It’s as though he was in on the plot as well.

Each of the sponsors of SB 5181, which would eliminate many of the rights guaranteed in the I-2081 law, had voted “yea” (yes) on the initiative only about 10 months earlier.

Democrats on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee, which is chaired by one of SB 5181’s sponsors, acted quickly to move the bill forward. Perhaps they figured a lawsuit filed in King County against the parental-rights law would fail – and it did, this past Friday.

Republicans are preparing for SB 5181 to come to the floor of the Senate for a vote next Wednesday. If it does, that would be very telling about the true priorities of the majority.

This isn’t happening only in the Senate; a similar anti-parental rights bill is moving through the House. You have to question who the Democrats are listening to – because it can’t be the parents I know, or the 454,000 voters who signed the petitions leading to the passage of I-2081.

I’ll finish with this: When a child is facing a crisis, the results don’t improve when parents are removed from the situation. However, keeping parents at a distance is the goal of SB 5181.

A new approach to encouraging participation in drug treatment
Most of the legislation I have filed this session has to do with the state budget, which is in keeping with my position as Senate Republican budget leader – but I’m also offering ideas on important issues like public safety, which is another Senate Republican priority.

The latest example is Senate Bill 5569, which would streamline the process for getting people into drug treatment after they’ve run afoul of the law.

If a court were to have the ability to release a defendant from jail directly to a facility for substance-use disorder, it seems to me that would be both more humane and better for the community. I’d rather have someone who needs treatment to get started down that path instead of sitting around in jail – or being free to commit other crimes because they had been released on their personal recognizance.

Your Input Matters
I am committed to representing your interests effectively and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. You may contact me at:

Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov
360-786-7648

I appreciate your continued support and look forward to representing your interests and working towards positive outcomes for our community. Thanks for reading — it is an honor serving you!

Sincerely,

Sen. Chris Gildon, 25th Legislative District

Contact me!

PHONE: (360) 786-7648

E-MAIL: Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 40425, Olympia, WA 98504

LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000

NOTE: Written communications are subject to disclosure under the Washington Public Records Act.

Washington needs real solutions for renters and housing providers

Click here or on the image to view this week’s report from the legislative session.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The cost of buying or renting a home has a major effect on the level of affordability in our state. Republicans and Democrats agree that Washington simply doesn’t have enough affordable housing, but we have different approaches for responding to that need. Although I understand why a rent-control bill has been getting attention here at the Capitol, it’s not the real answer we need.

As Senate Republican budget leader, I am working to control state spending — which also has an effect on affordability — and have found a real trouble spot: the sharply increased cost of mistakes and mismanagement by agencies that cause harm to Washingtonians, and lead to big financial payouts. This is an area where more oversight could conceivably save hundreds of millions of dollars!

More details about both of these important subjects are in the video linked above. I hope you can take a few minutes to view it!

Your Input Matters
I am committed to representing your interests effectively and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. You may contact me at:

Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov
360-786-7648

It is an honor serving you and I look forward to your continued engagement and support!

Sincerely,

Sen. Chris Gildon, 25th Legislative District

Contact me!

PHONE: (360) 786-7648

E-MAIL: Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 40425, Olympia, WA 98504

LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000

NOTE: Written communications are subject to disclosure under the Washington Public Records Act.