Author Archives: ericcampbell

Only tax relief for families in budget comes from Rivers bill

OLYMPIA… The only broad tax relief Washington residents are likely to see from a $15 billion budget surplus is an end to the sales tax on diapers – and the Democrat-controlled Legislature is offering that only because of legislation from Republican Sen. Ann Rivers.

Rivers, R-La Center, proposed making all diapers tax-free in 2021. Her legislation attracted bipartisan sponsorship but had gone nowhere until Friday, when she successfully proposed the tax exemption as an amendment to the Senate Democrats’ $5 billion update of the state’s 2021-23 operating budget. The exemption remained in the supplemental budget after it was modified and approved Saturday by the Democratic majority in the House.

“People are surprised to learn this exemption is worth around 35 million dollars each year, because that’s a big number – but it offers a sense of just how many families in our state will get to keep more of their money,” said Rivers, a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

“This is an example of the significant, broad-based, direct tax relief Republicans have called for all session long. At the same time, 35 million dollars is a tiny fraction of the surplus. It’s remarkable to realize our Democratic colleagues won’t support more than two tax exemptions, and the one with the farthest reach comes from a Republican, at the last minute. I’m disappointed that we can’t convince the majority to trust the people with more of that extra money, instead of keeping it in government’s hands.”

Before Friday’s Senate budget vote, the only tax relief being offered by Democrats was for the smallest of small businesses. Their plan also includes a one-year waiver of admission fees to fairs and parking fees at state parks and public lands. The tax exemption resulting from Rivers’ legislation has no end date.

“These are the same Democrats who adopted an unnecessary state income tax and needlessly jacked up the cellphone tax in 2021 – in the middle of a pandemic. I’m all for helping mom-and-pop businesses lower their costs, but now that there’s this huge surplus, the only other things the majority could come up with on its own are free fairs and free parking at parks?

“In many Puget Sound communities the sales-tax rate is above 10 percent. That means families with little ones can look forward to saving four or five bucks on a box of diapers, due to my amendment, which is money back in their pockets for them to use as they see fit. That’s real tax relief,” Rivers said.

“It’s disappointing that the Democrats won’t give serious consideration to more of the tax-relief ideas Republicans have proposed. They say they’re worried about having a strong reserve, yet they’re stashing billions of dollars in an account that is less protected than the constitutional rainy-day fund. That doesn’t add up.”

Rivers expects Senate Bill 5309 will now be approved by the Legislature, to support her budget amendment. The Senate Ways and Means Committee endorsed the bill Monday evening.

Start managing COVID like flu, state expert tells senators

Rivers hopeful after hearing scientist say Omicron wave is ‘end of the pandemic’

OLYMPIA… Sen. Ann Rivers says the people of Washington need to know what members of the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee were told recently by one of the state’s top experts on COVID-19: the end of the pandemic may soon be at hand, and it’s time to start managing the virus similar to the flu virus.

“For me, the presentation by this eminent scientist brought one revelation after another,” said Rivers, speaking about Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, who testified to the committee Jan. 12. “I haven’t heard any of this from the governor or others in the executive branch, even though I expect they are regularly consulting with the IHME about COVID. But this is important information that could give people hope, so they should be learning about it one way or another.

Murray’s belief that the latest wave will peak this month, then fall as quickly as it rose, and about the data indicating the Omicron variant is dramatically less severe than the Delta variant,” said Rivers, R-La Center, who is a longtime health-care committee member. “He also raised a very interesting question about the value of testing people who are asymptomatic, and I appreciated his explanation about what’s driving the surge of hospitalizations that is all over the news.

“What struck me most was his view that the end of the Omicron wave will be essentially equal not to the end of the virus but the end of the pandemic, and that the ‘best strategy’ going forward is a ‘change in mindset’ toward managing COVID not as a pandemic but as an endemic – like the flu. I took that to mean people should learn to live with the virus, because it’s not going away. That has obvious public-policy implications for the legislative and executive branches of state government and local governments.”

After Murray’s presentation to the committee, Rivers asked the IHME director whether, going forward, COVID vaccinations should be thought of more like flu shots – something many people get as an annual routine. Murray’s reply included his view that the benefit of COVID vaccination is “now mostly for the individual being vaccinated and not very much about infection control.”

“If our state’s COVID response is ‘following the science’ – well, our committee got a big dose of ‘science’ from the experts that needs to be followed,” said Rivers. “These are positive developments that absolutely need to be brought to the people’s attention.”

Governor signs Rivers bill to expand telemedicine access

OLYMPIA… Sen. Ann Rivers’ legislation to allow even more telemedicine consultations throughout Washington was signed today at a state Capitol ceremony. Senate Bill 5423 was passed unanimously by the Senate and the House of Representatives during the 2021 legislative session, which ended April 25.

“For years, Republicans have worked to expand access to health care for all of Washington by harnessing the reach and convenience of telemedicine. This new policy will build on that foundation by allowing licensed practitioners from out-of-state to consult with Washington-licensed practitioners when diagnosing or treating patients in our state,” said Rivers, a member of the Senate health-care committee.

“To me it’s a convenient way to bring in outside medical expertise,” she said, “and this piece of legislation is so appropriate for 2021, considering how many things are being done ‘virtually’ these days.”

The new law will take effect July 25.

Gov. Jay Inslee signs SB 5423 on May 10 at the state Capitol.

Cutoff highlights refusal to address emergency powers — one of many majority Democrat failures, say top Senate Republicans

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican leaders released the following remarks after Sunday’s legislative deadline for bills that passed in their house origin to be considered by the opposite chamber.

Bills that did not pass in both chambers by Sunday’s cutoff are considered ‘dead’ except for those considered necessary to implement the budget, such as the income tax proposed by Democrats. Bills passed in both chambers without further modification head to the governor’s desk to be considered for signing. Those that now contain additional amendments head back to their house of origin where legislators can either accept or refuse the changes before sending the bills to Gov. Jay Inslee.

Senate Republican Caucus Chair Ann Rivers, R-La Center:

“Actions speak louder than words. I hear my colleagues in the Democratic majority talk about being ‘progressive’ and ‘putting people first’ and applying an ‘equity lens’ – then they pass bills that are regressive, and put government first, at the expense of the poor and the historically marginalized communities they claim they want to help. That was really brought home when they passed the cap-and-tax bill and the high-cost fuel standards bill. We’re talking an increase of at least 55 cents per gallon in the cost of fuel, without any real improvements in air quality or roads. Who does that help? It’s going to drive up the cost of everything that involves a truck or a van.”

“So much of what we’ve seen this session, from the lack of access to democracy to these unnecessary new taxes and regulations, is due to nothing more than pure political opportunism. They’ve finally got 25 members who will vote for some of their pet policies, and this is the result.”

Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia:

“We figured the Democrat majority would stand with the governor, instead of listening to the people, on his income tax, his cap-and-tax scheme and his high-cost fuel standards bill. We didn’t expect the majority would refuse to join us in making simple, bipartisan improvements to the emergency-powers law, now that we’ve all seen how it has been applied to our constituents. It’s stunning to realize that in less than two weeks the people will be right back where they were for most of 2020, with one person able to control the most fundamental aspects of daily life — and with the people’s direct representatives having limited ability to intervene. I don’t understand why the Democrats seem afraid to insist that the legislative branch must have authority to review not just some, but every single one of the emergency proclamations that affect their constituents. Add in the new policies that would hinder law enforcement, and families have even less reason to feel secure.

“Some of what we’re seeing has been on the Democrats’ wish list for years, but these policies simply don’t work for all of Washington. It’s no coincidence that this is happening while Democrat leaders have put themselves in a virtual bubble, with a fence conveniently separating them from the faces and the voices of the people.”

Senate Republican Deputy Leader Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick:

“There were so many quality bills that didn’t make the cutoff deadline, which makes it even more stunning that the Majority used this session to focus on increasing taxes on Washingtonians.

“With so much money coming into the state through increased tax revenues and billions in federal relief dollars, there was clearly no reason for tax increases this year. I am disappointed that Democrats have used their majorities in the House and Senate to push the creation of a new and most-likely unconstitutional income tax on capital gains, a cap-and-tax scheme that will increase the cost of gas and groceries for working families, and other policies that put our state economy and family household budgets at risk.

“The majority’s insatiable desire for more of the people’s money is nothing short of government greed.”

How is the majority failing the people?

  • Passed a ‘High Cost Fuel Standard’ and a ‘Cap & Tax’ (see accompanying chart). These are toxically regressive bills which will harm those who can least afford to see their gas costs increase by 55 cents/gallon by 2028. Another 9.8-cent increase is expected to be passed in the form of a gas tax. This total increase of 64.8 cents/gallon nearly doubles our current gas tax,  which would give Washington the dubious distinction of having the highest gas tax in the country.
  • Providing lip service to a goal of equity while passing bills that will harm rural communities, including those who grow our food, inevitably resulting in the collapse of many farms that are barely surviving now. Farm donations to food banks will go down and farmworker unemployment will go up. The price of food will go up, harming lower-income individuals already suffering from food insecurity including children and the urban poor.
  • Continued inaction by legislative Democrat leadership to exert appropriate legislative oversight over the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Hospitals are not in danger of being overwhelmed, and vaccine distribution is progressing statewide. But Democrat legislative leadership continues to allow the executive branch to operate under emergency powers with no end in sight. This is in contravention to other states with one party control both Democrat (Connecticut) and Republican (Idaho) where the legislatures have announced that emergency powers must be reformed to reestablish separate and coequal powers of the legislative branch.  Pass Senate Bill 5039.
  • Insufficient legislative action on returning the most vulnerable Washington kids back to in-person school. It is SCANDALOUS that union leaders for adults are allowing our children to be harmed – potentially for their entire lives – by not following the science used by the Centers of Disease Control to call for the safe return to the classroom. This is the equity issue of our time. Pass Senate Bill 5464.
  • Inaction by the majority to a decision handed down by a Supreme Court which continues to act as a super legislature and has effectively legalized the possession of hard drugs in the Washington. It is hoped that Democrat leaders will agree that drug legalization would be disastrous. Pass SB 5471.
  • The indefinite lockout of the public from directly observing THEIR elected representatives making laws that affect their lives. Sunday was Day 93 — this is beginning the FOURTH MONTH of this lockdown. To put a fine point on it, the Democrats have allowed an ugly cyclone fence and concrete barriers to stay up and have made it clear that while the public might find a way into the campus during the day, they really are not welcome by the Democrat legislative leaders.
  • Continued erosion of public safety and the vilification of law enforcement. This includes wanting to legalize hard drugs that drive the mental health and homelessness epidemics in Washington, letting some career criminals who are in jail under the ‘3-strikes’ law out on the street, and taking tools away from peace officers who must handle violent and resistant suspects.

 

Worst Bills Moving Forward (As of cutoff – opposite house)

  • 8402: Abdicating legislative power to review emergency gubernatorial proclamations (Liias)
  • 5096: Implementing an income tax on capital gains – a ‘starter’ income tax (Robinson) NTIB
  • 5126: Cap & Tax, allowing wealthy polluters to pay to continue to pollute (Carlyle) NTIB (transportation)
  • 1091: Implementing a ‘High Cost Fuel Standard’ (HCFS) that will cripple agriculture in Washington and harm those who must drive more than others (Fitzgibbon)
  • 5141: Implementing the recommendations of the Environmental Justice Taskforce (Saldana)
  • 5399: Creating the Universal Health Care Commission (Randall)
  • 5121: Expanding eligibility for the graduated reentry program (Darneille)
  • 5051: Improper expansion of state authority over police departments.
  • 5036: Conditional commutation by the clemency and pardons board (Dhingra)

 

2021 Opposite House Cutoff Totals

 Senate Bills in House

Senate passed 208 bills to the House

  • 155 D (74.5%)
  • 53 R (25.6%)

House passed 150 Senate bills

  • 116 D (77.3%)
  • 34 R (22.7%)

  

House Bills in Senate

House passed 221 bills to the Senate

  • 178 D (80.5%)
  • 43 R (19.4%)

Senate passed 166 House bills

  • 131 D (78.9%)
  • 35 R (21.1%)

 

Senate Republican bills that have passed the House (opposite house cutoff):

Bill Title Status Original Sponsor
2SSB 5000 Hydrogen/electric vehicles H Passed 3rd Hawkins
SSB 5009 Public expression protection H Passed 3rd Padden
SB 5016 All-terrain vehicles H Spkr Signed Warnick
SB 5018 Acupuncture and Eastern med. H Spkr Signed Rivers
ESSB 5024 Condominium construction H Passed 3rd Padden
SB 5027 Television closed captions H Passed 3rd Padden
SB 5031 Aviation revital. loan prg H Passed 3rd Honeyford
SB 5040 State highway litter control H Passed 3rd Fortunato
SB 5063 Invasive species council exp H Passed 3rd Honeyford
SB 5077 Mortgage loan originators C 15 L 21 Dozier
SB 5131 County clerks/recall H Spkr Signed Holy
SSB 5157 Behavioral disorders/justice H Passed 3rd Wagoner
ESB 5158 Utility wildland fire cmte. H Passed 3rd Hawkins
SB 5159 WDFW payments/property tax H Passed 3rd Warnick
ESSB 5172 Agricultural overtime H Passed 3rd King
ESSB 5190 Health care workers/benefits H Passed 3rd Holy
SB 5198 Ambulances in rural areas C 17 L 21 Schoesler
SSB 5230 Groundwater agreements H Passed 3rd Dozier
SSB 5236 Certificate of need exempt. H Passed 3rd Warnick
ESSB 5251 Tax and revenue laws S Pres Signed Schoesler
SSB 5271 Health care injury/COVID-19 S Pres Signed Wagoner
SB 5296 WSP retirement/index def. H Spkr Signed Schoesler
SSB 5325 Telemedicine H Spkr Signed Muzzall
2SSB 5331 Early childhood court prg H Passed 3rd Gildon
SB 5338 Fire districts/education C 19 L 21 Wilson, L.
SB 5345 Industrial waste program H Passed 3rd Brown
SB 5347 Cooperatives/member voting H Spkr Signed Padden
ESB 5356 Public works/bidding H Spkr Signed Short
SSB 5361 Drug offenses/resentencing H Passed 3rd McCune
2SSB 5362 Agricultural fair funding H Passed 3rd McCune
2SSB 5368 Rural economic development H Passed 3rd Short
SSB 5384 Volunteer firefighters H Spkr Signed Warnick
SSB 5423 Telemedicine consultations H Passed 3rd Rivers
ESB 5454 Prop. tax/natural disasters H Passed 3rd Schoesler

 

Rivers opposes tax-heavy, big-spending Senate budget

OLYMPIA… On a mostly partisan 27-22 vote, the state Senate today approved a $59.5 billion operating-budget proposal for 2021-23. Sen. Ann Rivers voted no, citing the sheer size of the spending plan and its reliance on imposing two controversial new taxes and draining the state’s rainy-day fund.

“Today we offered an alternative, no-new-taxes budget that comes in at $55.5 billion. The Republican approach would do everything a budget should do at a time like this, while enabling some visionary tax reforms that would help Washington’s families and employers in the future.

“The Senate Democrats said no, they’re insisting on a budget that ‘goes big.’ That means spending $4 billion more than Republicans would support – plus a big new capital-gains income tax, and a big new  “cap-and-tax” scheme, and the biggest hit possible to the rainy-day fund,” said Rivers, R-La Center, who is Senate Republican caucus chair.

“I’m disappointed that the majority is seizing on opportunities to take more money from the people and ignoring the opportunities we presented to reverse or at least slow the rise in property-tax bills, and to assist our state’s manufacturing sector, which includes aerospace. We also would leave the rainy-day fund untouched. Clearly their values are different than ours.”

Rivers was particularly struck by the assertion that the Democratic budget approach is better for childcare and K-12 education.

“Between decisions by the majority party and the executive branch, many private childcare providers have been squeezed out of existence in the past few years. Then people who were put out of work by the governor’s pandemic restrictions couldn’t afford childcare. Now the Democrats, who are largely responsible for the collapse of the childcare system, say their budget is the solution,” said Rivers, a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

“And if providing for K-12 education is truly our state’s paramount duty, it should never have to rely on revenue from a new tax – especially one as volatile as a tax on the income from capital gains. Everyone knows an income tax is considered unconstitutional in our state, and yet they’re tying it to schools?”

Rivers also challenges the Democrats’ claim that their budget is equitable, in light of the tax changes it includes – or doesn’t include.

“The plan to take from ‘the 1 percent’ with the capital-gains income tax is not equitable in and of itself. If the Democrats are serious about having an equitable budget, where is the tax relief for lower- and middle-income families? What is equitable about their new tax on energy? The progressive ‘homestead exemption’ in the Republican approach that would reduce property taxes is a much better example of equity than anything in the Democratic budget,” Rivers said.

Once the House of Representatives passes its operating budget, negotiators from the two chambers will meet toward negotiating a final agreement.

18th District lawmakers to hold telephone town-hall meeting March 22

OLYMPIA… Residents of the 18th Legislative District are invited to join their state lawmakers for a “telephone town hall” meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 22.

The telephone-based format, which is similar to a conference call, will allow Sen. Ann Rivers, Rep. Brandon Vick and Rep. Larry Hoff to engage with constituents while observing pandemic-related safety precautions. Many district residents will receive phone calls inviting them to join the meeting; people wanting to participate may also dial (360) 226-0858 to be connected.

“I’m looking forward to hearing from citizens of the 18th District,” said Vick, R-Vancouver. “This will be a great opportunity to share what we’ve been doing in the Legislature, but more importantly to listen to our constituents and receive their valuable input and feedback.”

“While it would be great to be able to meet in person at venues around the district, as we have done many times in the past, this telephone town hall format is a good alternative,” said Hoff, R-Vancouver. “I’m looking forward to hearing directly from our constituents and having productive conversations about how we can continue partnering together to solve the growing number of challenges we face.”

“I’ve had close to 70 town hall meetings during my years as a legislator, and all have been in person because it’s my favorite way to connect with the people I serve. It’s disappointing that we can’t meet face-to-face this time, because of how it would limit participation, but I know our constituents will understand,” said Rivers, R-La Center. “Meeting by telephone is easy and convenient, and I’m sure we will have a productive conversation.”

Residents seeking more information may contact any of the legislators’ offices:

Sen. Ann Rivers
Email: Ann.Rivers@leg.wa.gov | Phone: (360) 786-7634

Rep. Brandon Vick
Email: Brandon.Vick@leg.wa.gov | Phone: (360) 786-7850

Rep. Larry Hoff
Email: Larry.Hoff@leg.wa.gov | Phone: (360) 786-7812

E-Newsletter: Be Counted in the U.S. Census!

Hello,

This is a quick note to let you know this will be my final e-newsletter until after the November general election is certified. That’s because legislators who are up for re-election — which includes me — are subject to certain limits on official communications, and those limits are now right around the corner.

In case you didn’t receive our report on the 2020 session (and the state’s COVID-19 response) click here!

I’ve mentioned before how I am your senator all the time, not just when the Legislature is in session, and for that reason my two-way communications with constituents are exempt from the election-year restrictions. If you have a question or concern, please email, write or phone just like you normally would!

Be counted in the U.S. Census! The response by 18th District residents to the 2020 U.S. Census is better than much of our state — but at last report it was about 65%, and that’s still two-thirds. We can do better! You can still respond online (at census.gov). If you hadn’t responded online yet, the Census Bureau should have mailed you a questionnaire. Starting later this month, through mid-August, census takers will visit households that haven’t responded either online or through the mail.

The census is one of our nation’s oldest traditions — it’s been conducted every 10 years since 1790, and I see our participation in it as a civic duty. The federal government makes many decisions (about funding allocations, for example) based on census data, and in our state,  the latest census data is essential to the redrawing of Washington’s legislative (and congressional) districts. That process is called “redistricting,” and it’s about making each of Washington’s 49 legislative districts approximately equal in population (the same goes for our state’s 10 congressional districts). A bipartisan commission will be appointed to take the 2020 data and work through most of 2021 to create a new map.

I encourage you to go online or fill out the paper form or answer the census taker’s knock at the door – whatever it takes to be counted.

Stay safe!

Sincerely,

House approves updates to laws against animal cruelty

OLYMPIA… The state House of Representatives today joined the Senate in approving updates to state animal-welfare laws, including changes involving the crime of cruelty to animals and where people may take abandoned animals.

“I’m a dog lover, as are many of my colleagues, so it wasn’t a surprise that we saw overwhelming support for this legislation – this is an area of the law where Republicans and Democrats have lots of common ground,” said Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, who is prime sponsor of Senate Bill 6300.

“This bill is the first comprehensive update of animal-welfare laws in years, and it responds to unfortunate situations we’ve seen in headlines – like when someone accused of badly mistreating dozens of dogs blamed their actions on a lack of resources. Some of these changes are overdue, and none is coming too soon.”

“Pets are family members and should be protected,” said Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, who is prime sponsor of the identical House Bill 2317.

“This bill gives law enforcement the tools to fully prosecute people who abuse animals, removes loopholes like the economic distress defense, and prohibits people who have been convicted of violent crimes from owning other animals during time specified by the courts. Pets deserve better than abuse and trauma and law enforcement needs the tools to better protect them.”

Rivers expects amendments approved by the House will be agreed to by the Senate, completing the Legislature’s work on the bill and allowing it to go to the governor.

The passage of SB 6300 was well-received by Pasado’s Safe Haven, a Sultan-based animal rescue and sanctuary that offered testimony in support of the legislation.

“Pasado’s Safe Haven sees firsthand the tragic effects of animal cruelty and neglect on a daily basis,” said Laura Henderson, executive director. “This bill is an important step forward to ensure that the most vulnerable animals in our state are protected and that those who harm animals are held accountable. Not only does this bill make animals safer, but our communities will be safer as well.”