OLYMPIA…Sen. Mark Schoesler says it’s ‘unconscionable’ that the Senate’s new Democrat majority is keeping Gov. Jay Inslee’s $1.2 billion energy tax alive a week after lawmakers learned that state revenues are coming in more than $2.4 billion ahead of expectations. He offered this statement after a majority of the Senate Ways and Means Committee pushed another new version of Senate Bill 6203 ahead late Thursday afternoon.

“There is no reason for a tax increase of any kind when the state treasury is already set to take in billions more than expected, due to economic growth. The fact that the energy tax is still moving is pure politics at work – the powerful special interests don’t care about the positive revenue projections, they want the tax for the sake of having the tax. It’s no wonder the supporters keep shifting the shape of the tax to keep it alive. But rewriting the bill again and again can’t hide the fact that hardworking Washington taxpayers will pick up the tab. They will face higher home heating and cooling costs and an immediate 10.6-cent hit for a gallon of gas, and more, all while so many others have been declared exempt from the tax.

“My Democrat colleagues are pushing one of the most regressive taxes possible just so our state can, as the bill’s prime sponsor put it, ‘join a global trend.’ This is a trend that the middle-income families and family-based employers of our state can’t afford to follow.”

OLYMPIA… The first state revenue forecast for 2018 predicts state revenue collections will come in $1.3 billion higher than previously forecast for the next two budget cycles.

Combined with $1.05 billion in added revenue growth since the end of the 2017 legislative session, and an anticipated $200-plus million in reduced caseload costs, the forecast improves the state’s financial picture by more than $2.5 billion – which has profound implications for the remainder of the 2018 session, Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler said.

“This should completely scuttle the Democrats’ unconscionable scheme to impose a multibillion-dollar energy tax on hardworking families and employers, forcing them to pay 30 cents more for a gallon of gas in addition to higher heating and cooling bills. I question why the Senate budget committee would still go forward with a hearing on the energy tax later today, in light of this news.

“Today’s forecast should also end the Democrats’ perennial quest for a new state income tax, especially this year’s proposal for a new income tax in exchange for reducing the state property tax that pays for education. Clearly there’s enough revenue in hand already to offer relief from this year’s tax spike, before the lower rates take effect in 2019.

“I’m reminded of a dozen or so years ago, when Democrats used their one-party control to go on a spending spree with a similarly strong stream of revenue. They grew state government by more than one-third, and when the inevitable downturn came they responded with record tax increases.

“This good news is no excuse to launch even more programs and services. Any spending of this unforeseen revenue in the supplemental budget should focus on opportunities for targeted financial relief – not only for property owners, but also manufacturers and maybe college students too. And there are other one-time investments to consider, like expanding behavioral-health facilities or catching up on state park maintenance, that would bring good returns without making government bigger than it already is.

“There’s no question that the five years of tax stability our side of the aisle brought to the Capitol made for a friendlier business climate and in turn contributed to the solid economic performance we’re seeing. The last thing our state needs are new taxes that will discourage employers and hurt families simply to score political points.”

OLYMPIA… Today the Senate paused to remember former Gov. John Spellman and former First Lady Lois Spellman and their service to the people of Washington. Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler led the remembrance, which concluded with the passage of a resolution honoring the couple. Mrs. Spellman passed away Jan. 25 at age 90, just nine days after her 91-year-old husband’s passing.

Schoesler spoke of the former Republican governor’s major accomplishments during his 1981-85 term, starting with his strong support for K-12 education and the protection of Puget Sound, as well as actions that are less remembered, such as dealing with overcrowded prisons and the aftermath of the 1980 Mount Saint Helens eruption.

“The administrations that followed Governor Spellman’s allow us to put his service into perspective, and as time goes by there is more and more reason to rank him among the great ones,” Schoesler said following a reception with members of the Spellman family. “He took office during hard times but stuck to his principles of good government, starting with honesty and fending off the special interests that wanted to dominate Olympia.

“The depth of his accomplishments is remarkable – a leader who opened doors to global trade opportunities that are now taken for granted, who filled hundreds of state leadership positions with women and people from minority communities, who with his wife put a priority on volunteerism and providing for those less fortunate. It was a privilege to lead the Senate in honoring the Spellmans today.

“We thank all the Spellman family for sharing John and Lois with us,” Schoesler said, addressing family members prior to the resolution’s approval.

OLYMPIA…State government’s new two-year budget for public construction and other capital projects sailed through the Legislature recently, and Sen. Mark Schoesler says the plan contains plenty of investments to benefit communities and residents across the 9th Legislative District.

“This budget addresses needs in our region that range from higher education and public safety to water infrastructure and historic preservation – and I’m very pleased that it also supports important repairs and upgrades for state parks in our area,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville.

Broadly, Schoesler said, the $4.2 billion budget is geared toward education and toward helping people with mental illness. The level of support for building, renovating or modernizing K-12 facilities is historic, at more than $1 billion. Mental-health needs, another priority for Senate Republicans, would receive $132 million, he said, divided between community behavioral health projects and state hospital projects (approximately $90 million and $42 million respectively).

Also, the new capital budget includes $860 million in total appropriations for higher-education facilities, split almost evenly between Washington’s community and technical college system and its public four-year institutions, including Washington State University.

Schoesler, who is Senate Republican leader, noted that final passage of the capital budget (Senate Bill 6090) came quickly once the Senate and House of Representatives reached a compromise solution to the rural water-access concerns caused by the state Supreme Court’s Hirst decision.

“Our side had made it clear that we would vote on the capital budget as soon as the Democrat leaders in the House did what the Senate had done four times already, which was to have a vote on fixing the Hirst situation,” he said. “We figured it wouldn’t be consistent to authorize tens of millions in spending on urban water infrastructure, through the capital budget, as long as the Hirst ruling was preventing rural property owners from making water investments of their own.”

The new capital budget was signed and took effect the day after Schoesler and a majority of his fellow lawmakers voted to pass it. Ninth District investments include:

• WSU Plant Sciences Building – $52,000,000
• WSU Global Animal Health Building – $23,000,000
• WSU preservation work – $28,975,000
• Coyote Ridge Correctional Center security electronics network renovation – $6,000,000
• Othello water supply and storage – $1,550,000
• Adams County Industrial Wastewater and Treatment Center (Othello) – $1,250,000
• Fields Spring State Park repairs and improvements – $1,109,000
• Othello Regional Water Project (Othello) – $1,000,000
• WSU – STEM Teaching Labs – $1,000,000
• Steptoe Butte State Park road improvements – $443,000
• Community Health Association of Spokane (Clarkston) – $391,000
• Port of Garfield, Central Ferry boat launch – $220,000
• Palouse Falls State Park day use area renovation – $209,000
• Gladish Community and Cultural Center restoration (Pullman) – $131,000
• The Old Hotel Art Gallery (Othello) renovation and upgrades – $56,000
• German American Bank Building (Ritzville) restoration– $45,000

For a complete list of 9th District projects click here.

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler today offered this remembrance of former Gov. John Spellman after learning he had passed away Monday night at age 91.

“Out of all of John Spellman’s contributions as King County executive and later as governor, the one that never received enough credit was his support for our state’s public schools. Although he took office during the post-Jimmy Carter, post-Dixy Lee Ray economic downturn, he and his fellow Republicans who led the Legislature prioritized spending to put more than half of the state’s general fund toward public schools. And when the downturn persisted, he still made special efforts in his second biennial budget to protect the schools.

“It wasn’t until this past year, nearly 35 years later, that more than 50 percent of the state budget again went to basic education. And when Governor Spellman came to visit this past June I enjoyed being able to tell him that our Republican-led Senate made sure the ‘Spellman standard’ for education funding had been reached.

“I valued my conversations with Governor Spellman over the past few years, not only because he was our state’s most recent Republican governor but because he remained sharp and inquisitive. He brought one of his grandsons when we visited this past June, and I strongly encouraged him to consider attending Washington State University for his college education. Governor Spellman sent me word in December that his grandson, raised in California, was seriously considering joining Cougar Nation.

“God speed, Governor Spellman.”

Sen. Schoesler and former Governor John Spellman in June 2017.

Motorists who used U.S. Highway 195 this past weekend for traveling to and from Dad’s Weekend at Washington State University’s Pullman campus were among the early beneficiaries of a safety project Sen. Mark Schoesler included in the Legislature’s 2015 transportation package.

Construction began Aug. 1 on passing lanes north and south of Steptoe, on U.S. 195 about 25 miles north of Pullman and 50 miles south of Spokane. They opened for traffic Oct. 27, a week before Dad’s Weekend began.

“This is the latest example of how the Connecting Washington package is benefiting people who rely on U.S. 195 and State Route 26, which can see heavy use related to WSU’s main campus,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, whose legislative district includes all roads leading to Pullman. “I appreciate that the state Department of Transportation and the contractor were able to get these new lanes open in time for Dad’s Weekend, especially with cold weather coming early to the Palouse this year.

“This project is also another example of how our Senate majority has looked out for ‘Cougar Nation’ when it comes to the safety of students and others traveling to and from Pullman,” Schoesler explained. “In 2013, Governor Inslee and the Democrat majority in the House tried to push through a set of projects that would have invested millions in highways leading to the main University of Washington campus and completely ignored SR 26 and U.S. 195. We said no and made sure the package that eventually reached the governor’s desk also addresses WSU and other eastern Washington needs.”

Phase two of the project will add four U.S. 195 passing lanes north and south of Rosalia next year. Mark Allen, DOT project engineer, says construction should begin in April, weather permitting, with completion expected in late July or early August – just in time to benefit students starting classes in the fall.

The state transportation department is also constructing remote weather information stations on SR 26 with traffic cameras near Washtucna and Dusty, where the highway meets state routes 261 and 127, respectively. They’ll join traffic cameras that already allow travelers to look online at three other SR 26 junctions.

OLYMPIA…Members of the state Senate learned today that Bob Parlette, husband of former Senator Linda Evans Parlette, had died Tuesday at the family home near Wenatchee, after being diagnosed in July with an aggressive form of leukemia. Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, offered this statement after receiving the news:

“While Bob’s dedication to projects around his community kept us from seeing him at the Capitol very often, he was well-regarded by those of us who met him as part of the ‘legislative family’ – not only for being so supportive of his wife during her 20 years of service to the 12th Legislative District, but also for his own commendable service to our nation and to the Wenatchee Valley.

“It was a shock to learn about Bob’s passing, and on behalf of the Majority Coalition Caucus, I extend our deepest sympathy to Senator Parlette for her loss.”

OLYMPIA…Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler issued the following statement in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s veto today of legislation that would have led to a flat business-tax rate for manufacturers across Washington.

“The governor’s decision is extremely disappointing, and so is his suggestion that no one from his office was aware of what Senate and House budget negotiators had decided. Members of his team were not just in the room, they were involved in bringing the agreement together. For whatever reason, he doesn’t want to acknowledge what really led him to go against working families across the state, and the many family-run manufacturing businesses in Washington, as well as Boeing.

“Our state needs a strong private sector to support the important services and programs that come from the public sector. Yet the manufacturing sector has continued to decline, especially in rural Washington, even though other sectors of the economy are experiencing a boom in certain parts of the state.

“Late in the legislative session we saw an opportunity to help preserve jobs and encourage job growth by extending the aerospace-only tax rate to all of manufacturing. When the bill came forward, Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature agreed by an overwhelming degree. It makes you wonder what kind of pressure could have led the governor to come out today against a policy that was supported by a budget he praised just a week ago.

“Earlier today one of the major private-sector employers in Pullman had encouraged the governor to support this move toward a flat tax rate, and I was looking forward to telling small manufacturers in Clarkston and elsewhere in the 9th District and our state that their B&O tax is now the same as Boeing’s. This tax change had things moving in a positive direction, and now the governor has derailed it, apparently without good reason.”