April 18, 2025

The themes coming out of Olympia: more taxes and government control

Click here to view this week’s report from the legislative session. Dear Friends and Neighbors, It’s day 96 of this year’s 105-day legislative session. By now we’ve been able to see which bills are considered priorities by the majority, and which are not. The majority has approved several bills that...
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April 17, 2025

Republican budget leaders agree with governor: latest Democrat tax plan is wrong for Washington

OLYMPIA… The Republican senators who crafted the no-new-taxes “$ave Washington” operating budget say they agree with Gov. Bob Ferguson’s view that the $12 billion package of tax increases proposed by Senate Democrats this week is too large. From Sen. Chris Gildon of Puyallup, who is Senate Republican budget leader: “We...
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April 15, 2025

On ‘Tax Day,’ Senate Democrats propose billions more in tax increases

OLYMPIA… As Washingtonians mark Tax Day, Olympia is seeing a second wave of tax proposals from the state Senate’s majority Democrats, to go with the $21 billion in new and higher taxes wrapped into the operating-budget proposal they endorsed two weeks ago. The majority’s new tax legislation emerged today –...
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April 03, 2025

Democrats to go behind closed doors to cut final budget deal

  Click here to view this week’s report from the legislative session. Dear Friends and Neighbors, My video report focuses on two of the taxes being proposed by Senate Democrats that would cause the most harm to the budgets of families in the 25th District and statewide. One is a...
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April 01, 2025

Republican budget leaders appreciate governor’s stance on budget situation

OLYMPIA… The senators behind the no-new-taxes, no-cuts operating “$ave Washington” budget proposed by Senate Republicans offered this reaction to comments made today by Gov. Bob Ferguson about the operating budgets adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives in the past few days. From Sen. Chris Gildon of Puyallup, who...
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March 29, 2025

Republican budget leaders shocked by Democrats’ rejection of no-new-taxes, no-cuts budget proposal

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...
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March 24, 2025

Democrats’ budget proposals don’t justify massive tax hikes, say Republican budget leaders

OLYMPIA… Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, and Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, offered this reaction to the operating budgets proposed today by the Legislature’s majority Democrats. The Senate majority’s plan would spend $78.5 billion in the 2025-27 budget cycle – $3 billion more than the Senate Republican “$ave Washington” proposal – while...
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March 20, 2025

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...
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March 18, 2025

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...
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