Blog

I’ve been honored to represent our district as a state lawmaker for nearly 18 years, and will continue to do so through the completion of my current term that expires in January. Due to election-year restrictions on legislative communications, however, my ability to communicate with you is limited in a ...

On Wednesday, The Spokesman-Review reported on Sen. Kevin Van De Wege's legislation to help prevent wildfires, SB 6120:

Washington lawmakers hope to tweak new wildfire protection rules for homes

Since election-year restrictions prevent me from updating my website during the campaign season, I am unable to post updates on the coronavirus pandemic until after the November election. If at any time you would like to check for updates on the pandemic and related matters, www.coronavirus.wa.gov is the best all-purpose ...

A few short months ago, as we began a new legislative session, the landscape was very different. Few people had heard of coronavirus, and we could not have imagined the havoc it would unleash on our state. Within weeks, however, the pandemic hit and everything changed — ...

As our state continues to respond to the evolving coronavirus pandemic, here are some updates and tips I hope you and your loved ones will find helpful. Please do what our health experts advise

• Maintain a distance of six feet or more from others.
• If you are 60 years old or ...
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Dear friends and neighbors, As your state senator and a career first responder, I want you to know the Legislature is taking swift and sure action to make sure our public health organizations have the support they need to address the spread of coronavirus. With more cases confirmed in Washington state, including ...

In recent days, the news media has devoted unusually heavy coverage to the Legislative Public Records Act that was passed Friday by the Legislature. Since then, my office has received a high number of calls and emails from constituents asking about this legislation. The media is in fact the plaintiff in ...

For a few years, I have worked with my seatmates, Rep. Steve Tharinger and Rep. Mike Chapman— along with citizens and community leaders — to arrange funding to replace the Elwha River Bridge. Now that we’ve secured funding in the last transportation budget, the state Department of Transportation is coming to ...

My office has recently received more than 600 identical emails from constituents asking me to oppose a provision in House Bill 2186 that would require out-of-state sellers and online marketplaces to collect the same sales taxes that all other out-of-state and online sellers collect. It’s become clear that these emails are ...