Dear Neighbors,  

We’re under three weeks out from the end of session and have some big decisions to make, especially regarding the budget. As is usually the case at this point in session, it seems like the Senate, House, and governor are not on the same page. Negotiators are working out a consensus. We’re also on the home stretch for passing policy bills. Any new policy bills that hope to become law will need to pass the opposite chamber by next Wednesday. Stay tuned. 

Town hall  

Thank you to everyone who came to my town hall! It was great to see you all and have some inspiring, insightful conversations. This town hall was done jointly with my colleague and friend, Sen. Tina Orwall of our neighboring 33rd District. Our districts face similar issues, and Sen. Orwall expertly addressed many of them. 

Budget 

Our remaining weeks will be full of floor action and budget negotiations. We’re especially focused on increasing school funding. Constitutionally, education is the state’s paramount duty, meaning our top priority must be funding our public schools.  

We’re having important budget discussions as well. Both the House and Senate have introduced and passed their respective budgets, and now, we’re in the process of negotiating a final agreed-upon plan along with the governor, as whatever the Legislature agrees on needs his approval.  

The state faces a large budget shortfall this year. The projected amount varies between forecasters, but we know there’s a large gap we must close. The gap is caused mainly by three drivers: rising caseloads (more people with higher needs), high inflation, and slowing revenue growth. As costs rise, more families need state resources to get by. Inflation impacts state government just as it impacts everything else. Project costs, labor, and material costs have all gone up in the past years. Finally, Washington had 8.3% revenue growth on average between 2016-2023. Last year, that number was just 2.7%. We anticipated 4.5% growth this year, but that wasn’t the reality. Together, these forces created the imperfect storm.  

However, an all-cuts budget would be disastrous to Washingtonians and felt by all of us. We are focused on a balanced, two-pronged approach: making responsible, targeted cuts to try to minimize negative impacts and finding new progressive revenue sources. This funding gap could also be closed with a public bank and the money generated by investing our tax dollars — a solution I’ll continue to champion.  

State of my bills 

I have five bills ready for a House floor vote:  

SBs 5102,  5142, and 5414 have all passed the House and are headed to the governor’s desk for a signature.  

I’m proud of my (and my colleagues’) work this session to make Washington a better,  safer and more affordable place to live.  We just passed opposite house fiscal cutoff, and with the exception of the budget, we’ll be on the floor though the end of session.  

Contact 

Join my Intro Sheet Club to see new bill introductions, but please note, I can’t sponsor House bills (with an ‘H’ in their bill title). However, I can support these bills and still sign on to any Senate bills (with a ‘S’ in their bill title), as they may continue to be introduced. As always, please reach out to my office with any feedback on new bills on the daily Intro Sheets.  

As we approach the end of session, including budget negotiations, please know your opinion matters to me and is a crucial part of my decision-making process. Below are some great ways to contact and keep in touch with my office:  

Phone: 360-786-7616 (during regular business hours; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) 

Email me! 

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram!  

Thank you for reading and following along!  

Talk to you again soon,
Bob