Neighbors,
The 2017 Legislative session was historic:
- Additional investment of $7.3 billion over four years in new state funding in K-12 education, continuing steady progress since 2012 for the state to correct decades of the state underfunding our schools and forcing school districts to make up the difference,
- A massive property tax increase, which I opposed, to meet those education funding demands,
- The longest legislative session to date, drawn out by stalled budget negotiations, and
- For the first time in state history, we failed to pass a biennial capital budget for state construction projects, including $1 billion for school construction. The Republican-controlled Senate continues to hold the capital budget hostage, resulting in a loss of jobs, economic benefit, and investment in our state’s infrastructure.
While I opposed the property tax package, our budget negotiators compromised to ensure the budget passed before the deadline. Though I believe we fell short of our obligation to fully fund schools, I am proud that we were able to make additional investments in K-12 education while continuing to fund the programs that our children, families and our state rely on. Our Families First budget includes investments in early learning, higher education, mental health services, services for people with disabilities, housing and homelessness assistance, and more.
While over-reliance on property tax to fund these investments was frustrating, we did have one victory in modernizing our tax code. Included in the budget deal was the “Marketplace Fairness Act” which essentially extends the sales tax to online sales to Washington residents. This will help to level the playing field for our brick-and-mortar small businesses who must compete with online sellers.
I came to Olympia to work to make positive changes that benefit people from our community and across the state. My focus has been on reforming the unfair tax system, expanding access to opportunity, and breaking down barriers to success. We’ve made some progress, but I will never stop fighting to make sure that our shared values as Washingtonians are upheld.
In the coming days, I’ll share more detailed information on some of this session’s successes and the work that still needs to be done. So look for more updates coming soon!
Sincerely,
