Dear Friends,
We are through the last full
week of the 2018 regular legislative session. There are now just six days until
the scheduled end of the session on Thursday, March 8.
Democrats in the House and Senate
have each passed their own supplemental budget plans. The two chambers will now
be negotiating the final budget, and the bills necessary to implement that
budget. While Democrats hold only slim majorities in both the House and Senate,
there does not appear to be much interest from either chamber’s leadership in
working with Republicans to pass a budget plan that could gain broad bipartisan
support.
Despite this, I will not be
deterred from fighting for a responsible budget and the priorities of our
district. One of those priorities is supporting our state’s manufacturers. You
can read more about those efforts below.
This week we also got some good
news: Democrats had finally abandoned their efforts to create a new energy tax,
which would have hit hard-working Washington families the hardest.
As always, I hope you will
contact me if you have questions about the topics in this e-mail or other
issues related to the Legislature or state government. Thank you for the
opportunity to serve as your state senator.
Sincerely,
 Sharon Brown
State Senator
8th District
Why the Senate Democrat budget failed to get a single Republican vote
 Click to watch this week's video update!
As you may know, making Washington more attractive to
employers has been one of my top priorities in the Legislature. In particular,
I have worked with my colleagues to reduce unnecessary regulations, streamline
government, and encourage economic development.
In 2015, the Legislature approved my proposal to create the
Invest in Washington pilot program, which offered a sales- and use-tax deferral
for construction costs for five manufacturing facilities in Spokane, Benton,
Pierce, and Snohomish counties.
The pilot was so successful that it filled up within a
couple months, and we had five additional projects that requested inclusion in the
program. Last year, the Invest in Washington program was expanded to
accommodate the additional demand.
This year, I introduced legislation to make the program
permanent.
The Association of Washington Business, Washington’s oldest
and largest statewide business association with nearly 8,000 members, recently
highlighted this effort in its Olympia
Business Watch publication:
SB
6481, prime-sponsored by Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, is squarely aimed at
helping manufacturers, but differs in approach to the B&O rate reduction
that House budget writers included in their proposed 2018 supplemental budget.
It
would expand a 2015 pilot project that allows manufacturers to defer for five
years the sales tax for construction of buildings, machinery or equipment.
After five years, recipients must begin repaying the deferred amount over a
10-year period. The deferred tax payments would be deposited into the Invest in
Washington Account and used to support customized job training programs and
other workforce development efforts.
As AWB rightly points out, I will be working hard to make
sure that support for our manufacturers is an end-game issue in these final
days of the session.
Seattle Times staff & the Associated Press | March 1, 2018
 Another ambitious effort to pass a carbon tax in Washington
state has faltered as both Gov. Jay Inslee and the bill’s prime sponsor said
Thursday that there weren’t enough votes to pass the measure out of the state
Senate.
Washington would have been the first U.S. state to impose a
straight tax on carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil fuels like gasoline and
electricity, and the legislation has been closely watched nationally.
…The tax would have begun in 2019 and in 2021 would have
increased $1.80 per ton each year until it hits $30 a ton — estimated to be in
2030. In the first two years, the tax was projected to raise $766 million and
increase to about $988 million in the next biennium.
Business
and other critics called it an energy tax that would be paid mostly by
families and those who could least afford it. They
criticized the numerous exemptions in the bill that allowed more than 60
industries to be exempt.
…Todd Myers with the Washington Policy Center said the bill
would not achieve the promised carbon reductions. He said too much money goes
to carve-outs, special interests and expensive projects that won’t actually
reduce greenhouse-gas emissions as promised.
Click
here to read the full article in the Seattle Times.
Columbia River Young Marines
Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting several members of
the Columbia River Young Marines.
The Young Marines is a youth education and service program
for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school, which promotes
mental, moral, and physical development. The program focuses on character
building, leadership, and promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, and is the
focal point for the U.S. Marine Corps' Youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts.
There are currently four Young Marine units in our state.
The Columbia River Young Marines is located right here in the Tri-Cities, and serves
youth from Finley, Kennewick, Richland, Pasco and Benton City.
Unit Commander Alores Villanueva organized the trip to
Olympia.
If your activities
bring you to Olympia, please let my office know. We would love to welcome you
to the Capitol as well.
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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