OLYMPIA… The state Senate’s majority Democrats today passed a $78.6 billion operating budget that relies on the largest tax increase in state history, after rejecting the smaller, no-new-taxes, no-cuts budget proposed by Senate Republicans. The “$ave Washington” budget, which doesn’t outspend the state’s anticipated level of revenue, was offered in...

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...

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,...

Dear Neighbor, Just recently, my father came for a visit from New Mexico and I took him on a tour of the Capitol Building in Olympia. I found the tour guide’s explanation of how the building was designed especially profound. The main floor houses state-wide elected officials such as the...

Dear friends and neighbors, This year’s 105-day legislative session came to an end on Sunday and to say it was a wild ride is an immense understatement. This session was record breaking in so many ways. We had more people testifying in committee from all across the state than any...

Just like that, 60 days have come and gone, and the 2020 legislative session officially adjourned on Thursday, March 12. It was a whirlwind two months. During this session we saw more than 2400 bills introduced in both the House and Senate with more than 380 passing both chambers and...

It was a long night on the House floor Wednesday, as legislators gathered to consider Senate Bill 5395, the controversial comprehensive sex education bill that would require all public schools in Washington to teach sex education to every student K-12. House Republicans introduced a number of amendments, which were debated...

Rep. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, 25th District, talks about his bipartisan work to make daycare more affordable, by reducing the regulations childcare providers must pass in order to operate.