Dear Friends,
We have reached the halfway
point on the legislative calendar, as the Senate has now completed work on its
own bills and is now exclusively considering bills passed in the House of
Representatives, along with those necessary to pass the supplemental budgets.
While many good bills died because
of the voting deadline, and quite a few bad ones continue to move along, I am
pleased to have secured Senate approval for three of my bills. You can learn
more about these bills – dealing with the physical health of our Hanford
workers and the mental health of our students, veterans and new mothers – by
reading more below or visiting my website.
Arguably, last week’s most
important event occurred on Thursday, when the state Economic and Revenue Forecast
Council released the new revenue forecast. That morning I sat in as a
non-voting member of the Council in place of Sen. John Braun, the Senate
Republican budget leader, who was away due to his Naval Reserve duties.
The news left reporters’ mouths
gaping. The state is expected to bring in an additional $1.3 billion in new
revenue, achieved through economic growth. When combined with the previous two
quarterly forecasts, from later last year, it means we can expect more than $2.4
billion beyond what budget-writers had figured on when we adopted the new state
budget last summer.
Thank you for your
continued feedback as I represent you as your state senator. If there is
anything I can do for you, please write, call or send me an e-mail. It’s an
honor to serve you in Olympia
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
Bills fly through Senate, while former U.S. Secretary
of State Kerry flies in on private jet to push energy tax
 Click to watch this week's video update!
 Last
week, I had the opportunity to sit in on the revenue forecast council’s
presentation on new revenue projections. The news couldn’t have been better.
The continued growth of the economy in our state, due in
part to rising consumer confidence (thanks in part to federal tax cuts), means
that the state's revenue will exceed the previous expectations by $1.3 billion
over the next two years. This is in addition to the $1.05 billion increase we
expected after last September's and November's forecasts. What's more, social-service
caseload costs are down by $90 million! That
means the Legislature now expects the treasury to take in more than $2.4
billion above what was expected when we adopted the two-year budget and
adjourned the 2017 session.
As I listened to House and Senate Democrats on the forecast
council discuss the news, it became apparent to all that there was no longer
any need for talk of raising energy taxes or income taxes in order to pay for
basic budget needs. The chief House and Senate budget-writers, both Democrats,
admitted that their budget proposals would not rely on new taxes.
Don’t
be fooled! Democrats still plan to push for these new taxes, but they can no
longer make the claim that it is a need. Raising your taxes is clearly just
something they want!
What we should be
doing instead, and what I plan to do, is push for targeted tax relief! Property
owners should get a break, but also manufacturers and maybe college students
too. And there are other one-time investments to consider, like expanding
behavioral-health facilities. We shouldn’t get back on the budget rollercoaster
by growing government with this additional money. We should be using these one-time funds to address one-time needs. And at
the top of that list for me is giving taxpayers some much-deserved relief.
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When a woman is going through a pregnancy it can be among
the most difficult and stressful periods in her life. Many women also suffer
from postpartum depression (PPD) – a mood disorder affecting women who have
given birth, which is often characterized by symptoms of despair, anxiety, and
fatigue.
Women suffering from this condition may experience anxiety attacks or
thoughts of doing harm to themselves or their babies. If left untreated, in
extreme cases, postpartum depression may turn into a psychosis, where women
experience hallucinations, feelings of paranoia, or obsessive thoughts about
their babies, and may even harm themselves or their babies.
Mental-health services, when needed, are crucial and
time-sensitive; yet those very services can be difficult to find, and the
system itself can be hard to navigate – even for providers.
That is why I am pleased to report that the Senate has unanimously
passed Senate Bill 6452 -- my bill to expand the activities of the children’s
mental-health services consultation program and create a pilot program to
specifically address the needs of children, pregnant women and new mothers.
This bill is about establishing the Partnership Access Line
for Moms and Kids pilot program.
This incredibly important
and good little bill will provide the support health-care professionals and new
moms need, and assist parents and guardians with connecting with much-needed
mental-health services.
By
Wendy Culverwell, Tri-City Herald | Feb. 17, 2018
Tri-City Republican lawmakers defended their records on gun
control and other topics in a wide-ranging town hall session Saturday at The
ARC of the Tri-Cities in Richland.
The crowd of about 200 peppered the Eighth Legislative
District team on a variety of subjects, but the conversation turned frequently
to reigning in gun violence following the latest mass-casualty event, in
Parkland, Fla.
Sen. Sharon Brown and Reps. Larry Haler and Brad Klippert
all agreed that the violence has to end, but said the solution lies in
rebuilding American’s mental health infrastructure and not in curbing the
rights of gun owners… Brown called it a difficult conversation but
agreed taking away firearms doesn’t make mental issues disappear.
“There are still people out there who will have these
problems,” she said. “We have got to talk about it.”
Click
here to read the full article in the Tri-City Herald.
Catelyn Aulds, an 8th-grader at George Washington Bush
Middle School, spent a week working as a page for the state Senate. Catelyn was
one of 21 students who served as Senate pages for the fifth week of the 2018
legislative session.
The 14-year-old daughter of Tony Aulds of Olympia enjoys
social studies, reading and being a teacher's assistant.
I had the privilege of sponsoring Catelyn. She was a great
page and I hope she had fun learning about the legislative process.
The Senate Page Program provides an opportunity for
Washington students to spend a week working at the Legislature. Students
transport documents between offices, as well as deliver messages and mail. Pages
spend time in the Senate chamber and attend page school to learn about
parliamentary procedure and the legislative process. Students also draft their
own bills and engage in a mock session.
If you know of a
student who is interested in the Senate Page Program, please encourage them to
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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