Dear Friends,
The 2018 legislative session is
approaching an important deadline. Next Friday, Feb. 2, is the last day for
Senate committees to take action on their own bills, except for bills with a
cost attached that will impact state budgets (those bills have until Feb. 6 to
see committee action).
With these deadlines on the
horizon, Senate committees have been busy taking public testimony on issues
ranging from sexual harassment to gun rights. In a departure from tradition, we
have also spent a good amount of time in the Senate Chamber voting on bills. Usually, that would come much later in the session.
I was able to take a break today
from the hearings and floor votes to welcome several of our friends from the Tri-Cities,
here for the Annual Tri-Cities Day at the Capitol. As the name implies, members
of the Tri-Cities community travel to Olympia for a day each legislative
session to discuss local issues with state officials. It’s always my favorite
time of the session!
Thank you for your
ongoing interest in what the state Legislature is doing in Olympia. If you have
any questions about the information in this e-mail or if I can help you in any
other way, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send an e-mail or letter.
It’s a privilege to serve you.
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
Hirst, the Capital Budget and Jobs!
 Click to watch this week's video update!
Today
the Senate adopted my resolution honoring local legend Kris Watkins, who is
retiring as president and chief executive officer of Visit TRI-CITIES after 24
years.
Kris
has done terrific things for the Tri-Cities, and I’m just so excited that we
have such great people working every day to build that sense of community in
our district.
Beyond her tireless marketing of the Tri-Cities communities, Kris’
distinguished career includes helping to found the Washington State Tourism
Commission and serving on the Washington Tourism Alliance Board of Directors.
She also worked with the Tourism Promotion Program with the Port of Seattle,
the Washington State Destination Marketing Organizations Association, and the
Ag Forestry Leadership Program.
She has helped
establish such community gathering places as the Three Rivers Convention
Center, the TRAC Center, and the 23-mile paved Rivershore trail. Under her
leadership, Visit TRI-CITIES has boosted the local economy through visitor
spending and tourism-related jobs.
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 The first interaction many
people have when they come to Tri-Cities is with Kris and the Visit TRI-CITIES
staff. We couldn’t ask for better representation of our community. And I am so
pleased that I had the opportunity to lead the Senate in recognizing her years
of service to our state.
My top priority in the Legislature has always been encouraging
economic development and making Washington more attractive to potential
employers. Two bills I am sponsoring this session are aimed squarely at helping
to create jobs – here in the Tri-Cities and across the state.
Senate Bill 6499 would create the Building Business Ecosystems
Act. Under this bill, local governments would be authorized to create business
ecosystems areas for the targeting of public improvements. These public-improvement
costs may be paid for with local property and sales tax occurring in the
business ecosystems area, with the state reimbursing the local government
through a sales and use tax credit.
SB 6481 would expand on my successful Invest in Washington
Jobs pilot program and create a permanent sales-tax deferral for construction
and expenditure costs of manufacturing facilities.
The Invest in Washington program is about inspiring that
entrepreneurial spirit that made this country so great by encouraging all
businesses to be successful. It provides an incentive for businesses to invest
in machinery and job-force training for manufacturing projects by allowing them
to defer taxes and use that money up front when they need it most.
The pilot program is already resulting in new family-wage
jobs – right here in the Tri-Cities. This year’s bill would make this effort
permanent.
Proposed measure would help reverse job losses
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is hoping to revive a reduction
in the state’s business and occupation tax for manufacturers and reverse the
trend of significant job losses in that sector. The proposal, sponsored by my
colleague Sen. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane, would implement a 40 percent
reduction in the tax rate for manufacturers. It passed with overwhelming
support during the 2017 legislative session, but was ultimately vetoed by Gov.
Jay Inslee.
Manufacturing employment is the only sector in Washington
to see job losses in the 21st century. Of the jobs lost, 47,200 have been
outside of the aerospace sector.
The legislation phases in a reduction from a tax rate of
0.4840% down to 0.2904% by lowering it 10% annually over four years. That would
bring all manufacturing businesses down to the same rate paid by Boeing and
other aerospace businesses.
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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