Tag Archives: Email Updates

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 can be collectively described as efforts to increase government control over more parts of our lives.Click on the video above for my report on those.

Unfortunately for the families across our state that are struggling just to get by, Democrats also are clearly determined to push a number of tax increases through this year. Keep reading for more about those.

Where we are in the session

All but one of the deadlines for taking action on bills have come and gone (the final deadline arrives April 27… because we’ll adjourn that day). Much of what we do on the “floor” of the Senate chamber from here on out will fall into one of two categories.

One category is debating and voting on budget-related bills. Those include the massive tax increases that are being hustled through the process.

The second is called “concurrence.” Suppose a bill passed by the Senate goes to the House, which also approves the bill but after making a change to it. The next step is for the bill to come back to us to see whether we “concur,” or agree, with the change made by the House.

If the vote is to concur, the bill will have received approval from both chambers, and will head to the governor for what is typically a ceremonial signing (although sometimes the signing is mandatory to put the new law into effect). If we don’t agree with the House’s change, a few other things can happen. One way or another, the differences of opinion usually get worked out.

Majority party is moving its new tax bills quickly

On Wednesday the majority Democrats in the Senate and House joined forces to introduce a another tax package — five bills costing around $18.5 BILLION in all, to go along with the other taxes they had introduced separately about a month ago.

Those five bills were rushed through public hearings later Wednesday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Today two came in front of our committee and were approved by the Democrat members: an expanded sales tax on services (SB 5814) and an expansion of the tax on capital-gains income (SB 5813).

The majority members also approved a version of the so-called “wealth” tax (SB 5797) that had already received a public hearing in our committee back on March 31.

When the full Senate is in session tomorrow (Saturday), I expect there will be debates and votes on these three big tax bills. Think about that for a moment: less than four full days from introduction to potentially moving out of the Senate. It’s like the majority wants to ram these tax bills through before any opposition can organize.

It’s my understanding that the House Finance Committee will take up three more big taxes tomorrow: a property-tax rate increase (House Bill 2049), an expansion of the tax on businesses (HB 2081) and a tax on automakers that sell certain electric vehicles (HB 2077, nicknamed the “Tesla tax”).

The “make the wealthy pay more” messaging we’ve heard from Democrats all session long is a farce when you consider how raising the property tax and sales tax hits almost everyone regardless of income level.

Governor calls new tax package ‘too risky’ — and he’s right

To his credit, our new governor has again stepped up and voiced his concern about what his fellow Democrats are doing. I encourage you to read his comment (linked here) first, then my response will make more sense (it’s linked here)..

Also, this newspaper editorial from Wednesday gets it right about the need for sensible lawmakers to avoid going over a cliff by following “the Legislature’s left-leaning Democratic leaders.”

Republicans certainly see the danger in the Democrats’ agenda. We also know there’s a better way to budget, in the form of the $ave Washington plan (Senate Bill 5810). Unfortunately, it will take some bravery from several members on the majority side to derail the massive and unnecessary tax increases their left-leaning leaders support — and that’s what worries me.

During a lengthy interview yesterday on KVI Radio, I spoke of how calling something a business tax is inaccurate in the sense that consumers end up shouldering the taxes and other costs imposed by government — and also, how the property-tax and sales-tax proposals are my greatest concern.

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

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 gas-tax increase, the other is a property-tax increase.

Two important things have happened since I taped my report: one good, one bad.

Budgets have ‘far too much’ in taxes, governor says

Gov. Bob Ferguson announced he won’t sign a new budget that relies so heavily on what Democrats call the “wealth” tax. This is good news, because Republicans see that tax as discouraging the innovators that have created so many jobs in our state.

We also suspect the tax would ultimately fail to do what the supporters hope because of what’s called “capital flight.” That means the people who are well-off enough to be hit by such a tax are smart enough to figure out how to protect their assets from it.

Governor Ferguson also said the budgets adopted by the Senate and House have “far too much” in new and higher taxes. I appreciate that, and would go a step farther: we can have a new budget that doesn’t include any tax increases. Our $ave Washington budget is proof.

My reaction to the governor’s announcement is here.

Goodbye, transparency and trust

Now that they know the governor would veto their “wealth” tax, the Senate and House Democrat budget writers need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to make up for the loss of that tax option. The trouble is, they will do that out of the public’s view.

Here’s what happened: on Monday night the House Democrats adopted their budget proposal, as an amendment to (or rewrite of, in this case) the Senate Democrats’ budget. That came back to us, and this morning, the Senate voted to reject it. So far, so good.

Ordinarily, that would force the House to come back with a different set of changes, and we would begin pitching the budget back and forth, changing it each time, until a compromise is reached. This would all be out in the open, where the public can see it.

However, the Senate Democrats also voted to request a “conference,” which is allowed under legislative rules. This means Senate and House budget leaders will basically go into a back room and work for the next few weeks on a deal that resolves the differences between their two plans.

The motion to continue the budget work in secret was approved on a party-line vote. To view the debate that preceded the vote, and the vote itself, click here. Just as the Senate Democrats didn’t make a strong case for rejecting our $ave Washington budget when we forced a floor vote on it Saturday, they also didn’t make a strong argument for taking the remaining work on the budget out of public view.

Once a deal has been cut, they will emerge and present their “report” to the Senate and House membership for a yes-or-no vote. No public hearing, no opportunity for amendments on a budget no one else has seen — just four Democrats deciding how to spend the better part of $80 billion of your tax dollars.

The conference process makes sense when the competing budget proposals aren’t far apart and time is short at the end of a session. Instead, Democrats are opting to hide behind closed doors, with weeks to go and a gigantic hole to fill on the revenue side because of the governor’s opposition to how much the majority relies on the “wealth” tax.

So much for transparency and trust in government. This is an abuse of legislative rules, and bad news all the way around.

One more thing: In addition to saying the Democrat budgets fall short of his standards on the tax side, Governor Ferguson laid out a half-dozen criteria he wants the new state budget to meet.

The Democrat budget writers are going to have a heck of a time figuring out how to come up with a new plan that meets all those standards. But happily, Senate Republicans have the solution. Our $ave Washington budget checks all of the governor’s boxes, in addition to avoiding tax increases and cuts in services. Democrats should take another look at it!

The best part of today: Welcoming the 2025 Daffodil Festival royal court to the Capitol! I am also prime sponsor of the Senate resolution adopting in honor of the festival, which includes the names of this year’s princesses. This photo was taken afterwards, in the Capitol Rotunda in front of the Senate Chamber. Sadly, the Senate will be in session this Saturday, and there’s also a budget committee meeting scheduled, so I don’t see being able to attend even one of the four parades. But the weather should be great for those of you who can!

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.

E-News: New year, new session… and a new responsibility

January 16, 2025

New year, new session… and a new responsibility

Your 25th District legislative delegation: Senator Chris Gildon, Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen and Rep. Michael Keaton.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Let me begin by wishing you a belated Happy New Year! This is my first legislative update in a number of months as I was subject to a communications “freeze” during the campaign season. Over the next few months, I will send a weekly update about what’s happening in Olympia. If you prefer not to get this report, there’s an unsubscribe option below. I hope you’ll find value in these concise reports, and I promise to respect your inbox by providing focused, meaningful information.

Legislative Session Overview

This year’s session began on Monday and will last 105 days. While the Legislature will consider numerous policy items, our primary focus will be adopting a new state operating budget, capital budget, and transportation budget for the next two years.

My New Role and Priorities

I’ve been appointed by my colleagues to serve as the ranking Republican member on the Ways and Means Committee this year. This is an enormous responsibility as this committee develops the capital and operating budgets in addition to addressing tax policy.

My goal as Republican budget leader is to produce an operating budget that is responsive to the needs of our district and that funds our shared priorities in an efficient and effective manner while ensuring accountability and transparency in all aspects.

Specifically, I will support policies that increase public safety, enable affordability, and provide for the health, safety and education of our children.

In my new position as Senate Republican budget leader, I sat down with my Democratic counterpart for an interview on the TVW network’s long-running “Inside Olympia” program. Click here to view it.

Senate Page Program Opportunity

Imagine spending a week at our state Capitol, getting a firsthand lesson in civics – while connecting with teens from across Washington, and earning a paycheck!

The Senate page program offers youths ages 14 to 16 just such an opportunity while legislators are in session. Pages carry messages between legislative offices, spend time in the Senate chamber (the “floor”), and learn about the legislative process in a special page school.

Our office can sponsor several pages during the 2025 session, and we’re actively seeking applicants. For more information, click here.

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.

Legislative update: Be safe, stay strong, and keep in touch

We have faced much adversity so far this year, but none of us could have imagined we would be in the situation we are in now. It has turned our lives upside down, but we are beginning the recovery process.

Last week, I shared my ideas with the governor in a letter calling for a regionalized restart. Dozens of lawmakers and other government officials from all over the state joined me by signing the letter, which you can read here. I was encouraged to see the governor embrace my proposal and allow 10 counties to begin implementing it. I also wish he had gone further.

As of this writing, we have 30 counties with fewer than 0.1 deaths per 1,000 citizens. We also have 25 counties with fewer than 1 confirmed case per 1,000 citizens. The data clearly shows many parts of the state are ready to move more quickly than others in this recovery process.

It seems our society has broken into two different camps and lines have been drawn. Some are fearful of the health impacts while others feel defeated by the economic struggles. Certainly, this has had an emotional impact on every one of us.

I liken the effects of this virus to a three-legged stool. There are health impacts, economic impacts, and emotional impacts. If we spend all our effort on just one leg, our stool will be out of balance. Similarly, our recovery plan must account for each of these three legs. We can save lives and livelihoods. This doesn’t need to be an either-or scenario.

Please Stay in Touch

As your state representative, I represent you all year long, and this will be the last email I can send this year due to election year restrictions. During the interim, however, I’ll be busy working on your behalf, resolving issues and developing solutions for our common problems.

You can still reach out to me because I am able to respond to constituents who contact me – and I encourage you to do so. It is vitally important I hear from you, especially when you disagree with me. I take great effort to ensure I hear from all perspectives in order to make informed decisions on your behalf.

So please, reach out via phone or email and let me know the issues impacting you and your families, your jobs, and your businesses. Let me know if there is a community event you’d like me to attend, or a business I should tour. Let me know if you’d like an in-person meeting to go over the issues. I am absolutely glad to do so.

Stay safe and be strong. It is an honor to serve you!

A call for a regionalized restart to get Washington moving

I hope this letter finds you well. The governor held another press conference this afternoon regarding the reopening of our state. During this conference, the governor said he will extend the stay-at-home order through May 31 to continue the social distancing strategy against the new coronavirus pandemic.

The governor also laid out a four-phase plan for Washington businesses to reopen safely. Additionally, he said that smaller counties that haven’t been hit as hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19) might be able to open sooner. These counties will be able to apply to the Department of Health for a variance from the governor’s order, which will allow them to move to the next phase more quickly.

Earlier today, I personally sent a letter to the governor, signed by dozens of state lawmakers and local government officials throughout the state, to ask for a regionalized reopening of Washington. Please click on the image below to read a press release about this effort.

I’d like to thank all those who joined me in this endeavor and signed their name to the letter. We’ve worked a lot of hours developing this idea and gaining support from all across the state. I am encouraged to see the governor is willing to take our advice on a test drive of sorts.

I do wish he would have expanded the ability to request a variance to additional counties as we have 32 counties with 20 or fewer deaths and 17 with zero deaths. However, I believe we will see positive results from these 10 counties. As those results reveal themselves, I am hopeful the governor will expand on this idea and fully decentralize to the county level.

I am confident that unleashing the full creative power of the 39 individual counties will allow our economy to safely spring back to life much faster than anyone could have imagined, and we can get Washington back to work. After all, every business that keeps its doors open today will be a blessing for tomorrow.

You can read the entire letter to the governor here.

I would love to hear what you think about my approach for reopening our state. Please feel free to reach out to me via phone or email to share your input. I look forward to speaking with you.

It’s an honor to serve you,

Coronavirus update: Let’s get Washington back to work safely

I hope you are staying safe and healthy. I’d like to begin by saying thanks to all those who are working to keep our society running. Health care providers, grocery store workers, truckers, law enforcement and first responders among so many others are truly heroes in this battle. I’d also like to thank our teachers who are earnestly trying to educate our children in a completely different manner than you’ve ever done before. You are all playing a vital role in keeping Washington moving!

I’ve been speaking with many people across the state and especially in our District. The biggest thing on everyone’s mind is how do we safely get back to work. There are many options on how we do this. I’d like to share a few plans with you in this update.

The first plan is the governor’s, which relies heavily on staying home until we see a drop in the number of cases and deaths, and an increased capacity for extensive testing. It also involves a centralized, regional approach where one-size fits all policies apply evenly to all four corners of our state.

The second plan would be to allow any business that can operate safely to do so today. Now, while it would be great to have every business open their doors again, this could continue to threaten our public safety and health.

Both of these plans are basically “all-or-nothing” and represent the far ends of the spectrum. I believe there is a third approach that is much more nuanced and will allow us to save lives and livelihoods! I call it Decentralize and Recover.

Our state is diverse. We have the west side and the east side. We have urban and rural communities. Each county has been affected in different ways and each county has different resources available to deal with the virus. A one-size-fits-all policy may assist with slowing the spread of the virus, but it also will unnecessarily prolong and increase emotional and economic suffering across the state.

Each county has elected officials and staff who are capable of waging the tactical fight in their particular areas. They are closer to the problem. They know the specific resources available in their area. They can also be much more responsive to the needs of their individual areas and determine which restrictions to impose or modify, which to remove, and the proper timeframe to do so.

Empowering these county level leaders to make tactical level decisions will have a number of positive effects.

First, it will spur the creation and sharing of good ideas. Unleashing the creativity of 39 counties will undoubtedly produce numerous best practices that can be quickly shared across the state, and perhaps the nation.

Second, we will continue to see positive health benefits while allowing the economy to spring back to life faster than anyone could have imagined.

Finally, it will allow the governor and his staff to focus on the strategic level fight. This includes logistical efforts such as procuring more personal protective equipment and increasing the number of testing kits. It will also allow them to shift resources to the Employment Security Division in order to unclog the backlog of applications for unemployment, and it will allow them to ensure the Department of Health begins producing timely and accurate data, which is absolutely essential.

The governor simply cannot do everything on his own no matter how hard he tries. He has people ideally situated in each county to take much of this tactical burden off his shoulders and allow him to focus on higher level strategy.

I believe this is the right plan for Washington to start the economic recovery process and get back on its feet financially.

As we move forward, I urge you to continue reaching out to me. I am here to listen and to help in whatever way I can.

Stay healthy!

Resources and Information

House Republican Caucus coronavirus website. This site is a comprehensive list of resources and I’d encourage you to bookmark it for easy access.

Washington State Coronavirus Response (COVID-19)

Employment Security Department:

U.S. Small Business Administration:

Department of Commerce:

Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grants | Apply for up to $10,000 in emergency funding
- Download the application

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers

Department of Labor:

Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

Department of Revenue:

2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak (COVID-19) Update
- COVID-19 Related Relief for Taxpayers.
- Requesting Relief.
- Temporary Business Registrations.
- Online Filing and Call Center Assistance.

Department of Financial Institutions:

Financial Resources for Washington Residents Impacted by COVID-19

Department of Labor & Industries:

Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave:

COVID-19 (coronavirus) and Paid Family and Medical Leave

A recap of the 2020 session, the latest on coronavirus, and an update on the results of my legislative priorities

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 making their way to the governor’s desk for signature.

I really appreciate all the feedback you gave me during the session. It is very important I hear from you. I take my responsibility as a public servant very seriously, and my top priority is to represent you in Olympia. I hope you continue to contact me with any concerns or questions you have during the upcoming interim.

Coronavirus Update

As you know, the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is a major issue. Although, we continue to discourage fear and panic, we are aware of the seriousness of this virus and its implications. This is affecting each one of us and our families in countless ways, but we must keep doing all we can to stop it.

The House and Senate already passed a bill that would direct $175 million from the state’s reserves to fight the outbreak and another $25 million to assist small businesses that have been affected.

As the number of cases continues to climb, there is increased awareness and concern. So, the House Republican party has created a new web page specifically to provide you with the latest information and resources on coronavirus. We will update it frequently as new information and resources come forward. If you think something needs to be added, please email us at hrcwebmaster@leg.wa.gov.

Lastly, please remember to be diligent and vigilant to stay safe and healthy. The best way to avoid getting sick is to wash your hands regularly, avoid large crowds and others who are sick, and limit touching your face. We want to get through this the best we can, and we want everyone to stay healthy, especially our most vulnerable.

Legislative Priorities

As important as it is for me to hear from you, I also believe I owe you a report on my job performance. I came into session with Affordability as my top legislative priority. Here, I’d like to go over some of the specific areas I’ve been working along with the results of that work. As with most endeavors, we had some real victories, but still have a lot of work that remains. I look forward to continuing working toward these ends on your behalf.

Affordable Child Care: We had two major successes in this arena. First, we closed the gap for the reimbursement rate we provide to child care providers. Second, we rolled back many of the new educational requirements our providers have been struggling to implement. Together, these items will make childcare more affordable in our state.

House Bill 2556 allows community-based education to be used for child care certification rather than simply college credit. Without this bill, providers who have been caring for our children for 20-30 years or more would have had to get 20 additional college credit hours to stay in business. It was a huge impediment and caused the many providers to simply retire. It unanimously passed both legislative chambers and awaits the governor’s signature.

House Bill 2619 increases the state reimbursement rate for children of low-income families. This rate had not been updated for many years and was way behind the market rate. It passed the House and Senate almost unanimously and awaits the governor’s signature.

I also supported House Bill 1392, House Bill 1866, and House Bill 1867, all of which would have eased licensing regulations and made the certification process more affordable for child care providers. Unfortunately, none of them advanced this session.

Affordable Housing: This is a mixed bag this year. We missed many opportunities to pass legislation, as shown below, that would reduce the cost of housing. However, we were able to direct $60 million toward increasing capacity to shelter the homeless, $15 million toward permanent supportive housing, and $55 million toward affordable housing projects.

House Bill 2673 and House Bill 2634 are the lone bills that passed both the House and Senate and may assist with reducing some housing costs. One deals with infill development and the other with a tax incentive to produce affordable housing. I was proud to co-sponsor each of these bills but do wish we could have made more progress this session.

I also sponsored and co-sponsored several other pieces of legislation designed to make housing more affordable, including House Bill 2489, House Bill 2010, House Bill 2011, House Bill 2452, House Bill 2886, House Bill 2924, and House Bill 2391.

Finally, we had three separate bills to reduce property taxes: House Bill 2939, House Bill 2938, and House Bill 2222. None were passed.

Affordable Higher Education: When speaking about higher education, I believe it is important to remember we are one of the top three states in the nation regarding tuition assistance. So, we should view college affordability not only from the student perspective, but also from the taxpayer perspective. After all, it is the taxpayer who is funding the student aid. It is my goal to ensure your investment produces results for our future workforce.

House Bill 2254 would encourage students who receive state college grants to pursue degrees in high demand career fields. After all, the last thing we want is for taxpayers to fund a degree for a student who isn’t able to find future employment.

House Bill 2255 would encourage grant recipients to live or work in Washington after graduation for up to two years after graduation. We really want to avoid a situation whereby taxpayers fund a college degree for a student who then moves out of state immediately after graduating.

House Bill 2256 would provide a dollar for dollar B&O tax credit to businesses for each scholarship dollar they provide directly to students. This does not change the total amount businesses would pay. It only allows them to send dollars directly to the student rather than funnel those same dollars through the government.

All three of these bills would have helped improve Washington’s College Grant program, but none of them advanced.

There were a number of other bills I co-sponsored aimed at lowering higher education costs, including House Bill 1701, House Bill 2014, House Bill 2089, House Bill 2185, House Bill 2255, and House Bill 2574, but none of them moved this session.

One bill concerning college education, however, did pass this year. Senate Bill 6492 passed with bipartisan opposition and no Republican support. This is a $41.3 million expansion of a tax you rejected in the November advisory ballot, that will help cover “free college” for low-income families. It was the first bill signed into law this year.

Affordable Prescription Medication: House Bill 2464 protects patients from excess costs of prescription medication costs. It requires the pharmacist to charge the lesser of the insurance co-pay or the cash price. Many times, the cash price is actually less than the insurance co-pay. Sometimes up to $70 per prescription! It also prohibits Pharmacy Benefit Managers from requiring a pharmacist to dispense a brand name drug when less expensive options exist. The bill passed both the House and Senate and is now on the governor’s desk.

House Bill 2662 caps the total out-of-pocket cost for a 30-day supply of insulin at $100 per month for two years and established a workgroup to find ways to keep the cost of insulin low.

Controversial Bills

If you’ve been following what’s happening in Olympia, then you know the majority party passed several controversial pieces of legislation. Here are a few of note:

House Bill 1110: Low-Carbon Fuel Standard. This would have added a gas tax increase up to .57 cents per gallon while doing little to reduce carbon emissions and nothing to reduce congestion or fund road construction projects. Thankfully this bill received bi-partisan opposition in the Senate and did not pass.

Senate Bill 6492: B&O tax increase. This is an increase to a tax passed last session and rejected by you in the November advisory ballot. This was also the first bill signed into law this session.

Senate Bill 5395: Comprehensive sex education. This was arguably the most controversial bill this session and easily the most opposed. Hundreds of people showed up to testify against this legislation and thousands more called and emailed to express their opposition.

Unfortunately, both chambers ignored the will of the people and passed this on to the governor, despite hours of debate and numerous amendments from House Republicans that would have improved the bill.

Watch this video to learn more about our efforts to stop this legislation.

Plans for the Interim

We have a long break between now and next session in January 2021. During that time, I’ll be very active meeting with constituents, holding stakeholder meetings, and developing legislation in preparation for that session.

I hope you’ll reach out and share your thoughts and concerns to help inform my legislative priorities and plans. So please feel free to contact my office at (253) 840-4523 or email me at Chris.Gildon@leg.wa.gov. I look forward to meeting with you.

It’s an honor serving you.

Important: 25th District Town hall meeting RESCHEDULED to Telephone Town Hall, March 17

Several weeks ago, Sen. Zeiger, Rep. Chambers, and I got together to discuss the best time for us to host a post-session town hall meeting. Instead of waiting until late March, we thought two days after session would be ideal. We knew many of you would have questions for us, so we wanted to make ourselves available to answer them in person.

At the same time, we continued monitoring the latest developments surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). In a news release and in email updates, we asked residents who are sick or have concerns about gathering in large groups to call or email us with questions instead of attending the March 14 town hall. Upon further reflection, however, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to cancel the town hall and host a telephone town hall next week instead.

The telephone town hall will be on Tuesday, March 17 from 6-7 p.m. Only households with landlines will receive an invitation phone call, so residents wanting to participate via cell phone or from somewhere other than their home may call (253) 234-4923. I look forward to chatting with you then!