We are starting week 5 of the 15 week 2015 legislative session. I prime sponsored 15 bills and 11 have been heard already or are scheduled for hearings this week. I chaired some very long testimony on medical cannabis and proposed regulation of the recreational cannabis market in the Commerce Committee. My prime sponsored bills can be viewed, along with staff reports and any fiscal impacts, through the Washington State Legislature web site.
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Tax Loopholes
As many of you know, I have spoken often about the need to make sure that tax preferences (also known as loopholes) pay their way and do not make our system less fair to others. Our state has more than 600 such exceptions to tax law. Our state law requires that the details of the financial information of the companies receiving those preferences not be public.
As a member of the Finance Committee and if I sign a contract of confidentiality, I will be privy to that information as we consider changes in our tax system. As these preferences sunset, and as new ones are proposed as job creators, I will be able to evaluate the merits of these decisions. I will not be able to discuss them publicly. However, I consider these exceptions to our tax laws to be expenditures of public funds. More importantly, each time we do a “band aid” to reduce the dysfunction of our code we settle for less than true reform. I commit to acting in the interests of both a less regressive approach to taxation and good value for the taxpayers I represent. I will be describing the various proposals and their rationale as session continues.
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Higher Education Lobby Day
Earlier his year I had the pleasure of meeting four very bright students from Western Washington University who came to Olympia to talk about the many issues affecting Higher Education in our state.
I always enjoy it when young people show up in my office with their concerns and ideas. I encourage students of all ages to visit the Capitol and learn about the legislative process. Contact my office if you’re going to be in town and want to swing by.
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Cannabis Reforms
Last week, the committee I serve as vice chair of, the Commerce & Gaming Committee, heard two days of testimony regarding proposed legislation that would make significant changes to the current recreational and medical cannabis system in Washington.
Originally the committee had 18 separate bills introduced covering medical cannabis to taxation, delivery services to banning cannabis sales completely. Rather than have a hearing for each bill, the committee chair, Rep. Chris Hurst, chose to place the bills in one piece of legislation, called an omnibus bill.
This omnibus bill covers a variety of changes, some of which are contradictory to other sections of the bill, and Rep. Hurst has assured the public that the bill will be much different when it leaves the committee. His goal, and the goal of our committee, is to fix the holes in the recreational cannabis system, potentially change how cannabis is taxed in an effort to lower prices, and to regulate the market completely to lower the amount of black market trade happening for both recreational and medical cannabis sales.
After two days of hearings, the committee will spend the next few weeks determining what should move forward and making the necessary changes to the legislation before voting on whether to send it out of committee or not.
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The Case for Universal Pre-K
Investing in high quality early learning is not only great for kids, but it’s good for taxpayers too. Emily Badger of the Washington Post lays out a great argument for why conservatives should support universal Pre-K. In a nutshell, it provides an excellent return on investment as the graph below shows. Spending money today on early learning means we spend less tomorrow on services like unemployment, health care, and incarceration. We have a bill in the House, The Early Start Act championed by Rep. Ruth Kagi, that would improve the quality of early learning in Washington state.
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Ask Sharon
Watch the latest “Ask Sharon” segment in which I answer a couple of constituent emails on camera.
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Thank you for taking the time to read my legislative update. Be sure to call or email me with feedback, questions, comments or ideas about the issues that are important to you.
