Dear Friends,
The fifth week of the 2018 Legislature
has come to a close. There are just four weeks left in the regular session.
Legislators will need to spend the majority of the remaining time on crafting
and passing a supplemental budget if we are going to conclude our work on schedule.
This week was spent mainly
working on the Senate floor, passing bills that then go to the House for its
consideration. Most of these bills have broad bipartisan support. Even with the
other party in the majority, a few of my bills have already passed the Senate.
Others failed to receive a full vote of the Senate or were killed by the
majority in the fiscal committee – Ways and Means.
For all but political junkies,
TVW (the state-supported public-affairs network) usually makes for a good cure
for insomnia. On Wednesday night, however, things got a bit heated, as
Democrats tried to push through a controversial bill aimed at forcing homecare
workers into labor unions. While reasonable folks can disagree on the policy,
the tactics used by the majority were disturbing and led to some fireworks on
the floor. Debate was silenced, evidence that detailed conflicts of interest was
suppressed, and the bill was brought up in the middle of the night. It was a
disappointing change from how we conducted business when Republicans led the
Senate.
This week did bring some good
news out of the other Washington. Earlier today I received word from the
Department of Energy that Congress has passed an expansive budget deal that
extends tax credits for nuclear-power production. The nuclear-production tax
credit was revised to eliminate the deadline for project completion and limited
transferability will be allowed when held by municipal entities. This is great
news, and makes it even clearer why our Washington must make itself more
attractive for those developing new nuclear power technologies, such as small
modular reactors.
As always, if there is anything
I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to call, e-mail or write. I appreciate
your feedback on these issues as your voice in Olympia.
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
Energy debates and the Mid-Columbia
Mastersingers
 Click to watch this week's video update!
On Thursday, the Senate unanimously passed my bill to
promote a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention and behavioral health at
our higher-education institutions, with enhanced services to help students who
are veterans.
It is critically important that we have an honest
conversation about this issue. I hope my bill will help us to identify the
causes of on-campus suicides, as well as provide the resources needed to
hopefully prevent the tragic loss of life.
Senate
Bill 6514 would require the Department of Health to collaborate with
the state’s Student Achievement Council to develop a statewide resource for
behavioral health and suicide prevention for the state’s post-secondary
institutions.
It also would create a grant program to help post-secondary
institutions create partnerships with health-care entities to provide
mental-health services on campus. In addition, it directs the state Institute
for Public Policy to conduct a study on academic stress in higher-education
settings.
I am happy we were able to get a unanimous vote out of the
Senate. I hope that my friends in the House of Representatives will agree that
the time to act is now.
Every student dealing with stress, every veteran on campus
suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder must know that they can reach out
for help, and that if they do, that critical aid will be there for them.
Tri-City
Herald Editorial Board | Feb. 9, 2018
…The proposal — also known as the carbon tax bill — would
impose an additional $10 per metric ton on carbon dioxide emissions in 2019.
The amount would increase over time to $30 per metric ton by 2029.
The money raised would go to clean energy efforts and
projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also might encourage
more people to buy vehicles that don’t run solely on fossil fuel, Inslee said.
But adding that extra tax will mean gas prices will go up,
and so will heating bills.
… State
Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, serves on that committee and
voted against the legislation. She said there are 57 exemptions in the bill to
protect industries that might be tempted to leave the state if the tax was
imposed.
So that leaves the rest of us to bear the cost, she said.
Brown said that the tax would be “devastating” to
struggling families and “hardworking Washingtonians,” and that Tri-Citians, in
particular, would be hit hard.
Click
here to read the full Tri-City Herald editorial.
Tuesday was the final day for Senate fiscal committees
(Ways and Means; Transportation) to vote on Senate bills that have an effect on
the state budget. One of the measures that failed to meet the critical deadline
was our bill to promote renewable energy by advancing the development of
geothermal resources.
Substitute Senate Bill 6350, which cleared the Senate
Energy, Environment and Technology Committee last week, wasn’t approved by the
Ways and Means fiscal committee prior to Tuesday’s deadline.
While I am disappointed that the Senate majority missed
this opportunity to advance geothermal energy, I will continue my work to move
the policy forward this session. Geothermal is not just important to
Washington’s clean-energy future, it is also critical to the longer-term
economic development and fiscal health of our state.
I was so pleased today to
welcome several 6th and 7th grade homeschool students from West Richland! While
I was originally supposed to meet with the students in the grand State
Reception Room, their visit coincided with an unusually busy Friday, which has
seen us voting on measures well into the evening.
But floor action in the
Senate couldn’t stop us from meeting and discussing the legislative process.
Instead, we just conducted our visit in the Senate “wings,” meaning the hall
right off the floor of the Senate!
I love seeing faces
from home while I am in Olympia – especially bright and inquisitive students
like the ones I met today. If your classroom or group is planning a trip to
Olympia, please contact my office. I can’t promise you a front-row seat to
lawmaking, but we would love to welcome you to your Capitol!
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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