Dear friends and neighbors,
Some of the most important issues before the Legislature this year are the initiatives that were submitted to us. Some of these initiatives would have a massive negative effect on the positive progress we’ve made together on the priorities I know we share here in the 22nd District.
One of those priorities we share is protecting the investment in education that our state’s capital gains tax on people who make more than $250,000 a year in profits from the sale of stocks and bonds makes. According to recent state estimates, repealing the capital gains tax would knock roughly a billion dollars a year from the state’s budget. Approving an initiative (I-2109) to repeal this tax, which is now likely heading to the ballot in November, would devastate our efforts to provide affordable childcare, early learning and other K-12 programs in communities across the state.
To be clear, the capital gains tax is paid by only about 3,300 of the richest households in our state, but all eight million Washingtonians see its benefits every day. For kids, early learning is the best way to get a productive and healthy start to their education and their life. For many parents, these programs are essential in order for them to have a family and career. For businesses, these programs are essential to meet their workforce needs.
Senate page program
This week, three pages I sponsored joined us in the Senate: (left to right) Eli Cruz, Landon Grant and Kaitlyn Arneson. Eli, 14, is a student at Olympia High School. He enjoys trying new food, building Legos, learning Spanish and running. Landon, 14, is a student at PEARL. He enjoys ballroom dancing and debate. Kaitlyn, 15, also studies at Olympia High School. She loves reading, doing puzzles and learning. She made a mock bill to protect orcas. I’m grateful to have these three as my pages this week!
Meet my intern!
Lance Rechner studies Politics, Philosophy and Economy at the University of Washington-Tacoma. After his internship at the Legislature, he has one quarter left before he graduates.
His favorite part of the internship program has been participating in mock committee hearings and Senate floor debates. The opportunity has also allowed him to meet the state treasurer, lieutenant governor and attorney general. He also got to job shadow the deputy chief operating officer at the Department of Natural Resources.
After college, he’s interested in doing policy work. We wish him the best in his future endeavors!
We’re less than a week away from the end of the 2024 legislative session. Today marked the opposite house cutoff, meaning all of the bills that started in the Senate need to pass through the House and vice versa, otherwise they’re done for the session. The exception is for initiatives and bills that are necessary to implement the budget.
As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to my office if you have questions at 360-786-7642 or Sam.Hunt@leg.wa.gov. Your feedback is so important and helps me better serve you. You can also follow my official Facebook page for legislative updates throughout the year.
Sincerely,
