 Our friends at the Washington State Patrol recently stopped by the office to say hello and discuss issues important to members of law enforcement.
Dear Friends,
The third week of the 2017
legislative session is off to a busy start, full of committee hearings,
meetings on emerging issues and discussions about how best to address the
education-funding challenges related to the Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling. We also received some
updated budget numbers from the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council
that shed light on the governor’s budget proposal – as in, is it even feasible
enough to be taken seriously. Read on for more information on those topics, as
well as other bills of interest now before the Legislature.
Thank you for all
your e-mails, letters and calls so far this year. Your feedback and ideas are
critical as I represent you in the state Legislature. If there is anything I
can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact me. It is an honor to serve
you.
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
DNR staffer admits agency ‘messed up’ in treatment of leaseholders
 Click to watch this week's video update!
And that’s after his
nearly $8 billion in proposed new taxes
 This week, the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reported
Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget would be $2 billion out of balance at end of four
years, even after raising $8 billion in taxes.
A big part of this is due to the governor not wanting to
suspend or eliminate the Initiative 1351 class-size measure. In 2015, the
Legislature suspended most of the unaffordable initiative. The governor would
bring it back this year, but he neglected to account for it in his own education-funding
plan.
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Majority
Coalition proposes new budget tools
Our Senate budget team is committed to prioritizing
education, protecting our most vulnerable and living within the state’s means.
I have introduced a major reform to help us in this effort.
Senate
Bill 5443 establishes a process for creating dynamic fiscal impact statements and estimates --- ones that
account for changes in behavior that occur because of a bill. This
information will allow legislators and the public to have a more accurate idea
of how major revenue proposals pull money out of our state economy.
Similar to what we did in 2015, Senator John Braun, our
budget chair, has proposed a bill
to move the revenue forecast from March to February in
order to get the budget proposals out earlier and get our work done.
Pilot
program expands kids’ access to mental health care in Benton, Franklin counties
by Sara Schilling, Tri-City Herald | Jan. 22,
2017
 …
The Partnership Access Line, or PAL, is a
telephone-based mental health consultation system for primary care providers.
It’s been successful. And now [Dr. Robert
Hilt] and his colleagues are trying an expansion — with the pilot program under
way in Benton and Franklin counties.
…
State Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, who
advocated for PAL Plus, said lack of access to mental and behavioral health
care for kids and adults has far-reaching consequences.
Click here to read the full article.
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Meghan McQuade of
Richland
Last week I had the pleasure of sponsoring Meghan McQuade
to spend a week working as a page.
Meghan, a 15-year-old sophomore at Delta High School,
enjoys reading, debate club, playing softball, and skiing. She is also a senator
in her school’s Associated Student Body. She is an ambitious young woman, and
did an excellent job as our page this week. I know Meghan has a bright future
ahead of her.
If you know students
who would be interested in the Senate Page Program, please have them visit: http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/.
As always, I value
hearing directly from you. I am here to be your voice, and your feedback on
bills before the Senate is very important to me. If you would like to contact me please
write, phone, e-mail, or stop by if you’re in the Olympia area.
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