Tag Archives: Senator Chris Gildon

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:

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

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Sen. Chris Gildon, 25th Legislative District

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 is Senate Republican budget leader:

“The governor is absolutely right to say the budgets from the Senate and House Democrats propose ‘far too much’ in new taxes. Tens of thousands of people have told us as much in the course of opposing the Senate Democrats’ record-breaking $21 billion tax package. We’re glad the governor seems to be hearing them as well.

“The Senate Republicans’ $ave Washington budget supports the priorities of our state, without new taxes or service cuts. We appreciate hearing the governor explain exactly what’s needed in a budget he will sign, and frankly, our plan seems much closer to his standards than what the Senate and House Democrats passed. We remain ready to help deliver a budget that meets the needs of students, families and employers.”

From Sen. Nikki Torres of Pasco, who is assistant budget leader:

“Governor Ferguson has brought more clarity to the budget conversation at just the right time. We appreciate his defense of the rainy-day fund, because there may be rainy days ahead but they aren’t here now. And although his opposition to the so-called ‘wealth tax’ is based more on constitutional concerns than the job-related concerns Republicans have, that’s enough for today. I wish he had also pushed back against the Democrats’ property-tax increase, as that will take billions upon billions from families of all income levels – but maybe it will be next.

“Our state needs a budget that won’t drive employers and innovators out of Washington and doesn’t add to the tax burden that is already causing so many families to struggle financially. With less than a month to go in the regular session, I hope the governor’s words correct the course our Democratic colleagues are on. That last thing the people of our state need is for lawmakers to be forced into overtime simply because the majority is fighting over which taxes to raise, and how high.”

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:

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.