Author Archives: bookerstallworth

IN THE NEWS: Washington lawmakers advance bill making it a felony to threaten election workers

By the Associated press | The Washington state Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to make harassing election workers a felony, three months after four county election offices received envelopes containing suspicious powder — including three testing positive for fentanyl — and had to be evacuated.

Some Republican lawmakers pushed for the bill to include protections for election observers and people gathering initiative signatures.

“They are physically, I would say, unprotected,” Republican Sen. Keith Wagoner said during a vote on an amendment to protect people collecting signatures. “They’re not inside impressive looking buildings like some of our elected election folks are. They don’t have access to security, but they are vulnerable.”

The amendments were voted down…

Click here to read the full story.

Wagoner succeeds in adding Skagit County Stabilization Center funds to Senate’s proposed construction budge

After inflation-driven increases in construction costs resulted in cancellation of one behavioral-health center in the North Sound, Sen. Keith Wagoner is determined not to let a second such project meet a similar fate.

Working with Senate budget writers, Wagoner has secured the $4.275 million needed to complete phase II of the Skagit County Stabilization Center in the Senate’s proposed supplemental capital budget.

“This is great news,” said Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley and a member of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee. “This project is a key need for our community. Last year I was able to get $12.7 million in the capital budget for the completion of phase II of the Skagit County Stabilization Center. Unfortunately, inflation and other factors have increased the cost of the project, and additional funds are needed to complete construction. The same issue killed a similar project at Evergreen Health. We cannot allow the same thing to happen again here.”

Evergreen Health in Monroe was unable to use a $4.275 allotment from the 2022 supplemental budget, which was intended for a new behavioral-health wing. The project was canceled due to cost increases similar to those endangering phase II of the Skagit Behavioral Health Center.

Wagoner convinced Senate budget writers to reallocate the funds from the canceled Evergreen Health project toward completion of the Skagit Behavioral Health Center.

“As we deal with a host of issues from public safety to homelessness to drug abuse, completion of this facility will go a long way toward creating a comprehensive, integrated system of behavioral health services across the northern Puget sound region,” said Wagoner.

“By repurposing these funds within the same district, what would have been two failed behavioral-health projects in the North Sound District becomes a win that meets the critical needs for our region.”

Phase I of the project, the North Sound Treatment and Evaluation Center in Sedro-Woolley, was completed in 2022 and is already fully operational and providing 16 beds for mental-health services. It treats adults with acute psychiatric symptoms, providing 24-hour support, with reintegration of patients into communities or transition to other community-based programs.

Phase II of the project will add 16 stabilization beds, as well as 32 treatment/detox beds.

“This funding will be critical to helping people in need,” said Wagoner. “This is a benefit to those individuals, as well as a vital step to improving public safety.”

The state capital budget provides for the acquisition, construction, and maintenance of capital assets across Washington – such as schools and projects with recreational and economic-development value.

In addition to the support for behavioral health, the Senate’s proposed supplemental capital budget includes $121.5 million for construction and maintenance for K-12 schools and $119 million in housing-related funding.

“I am pleased that the 39th District has seen some of its tax dollars come back from Olympia as support for key projects in our community,” added Wagoner, pointing to $200,000 for the Skagit PUD Olsen Creek Waterline Relocation and $860,000 for fish-barrier improvements on Carpenter and English creeks and the Pilchuck Tributary Watt Crossing. The budget plan also includes $100,000 for the design of a new municipal campus in Lake Stevens to consolidate services at a single location.

IN THE NEWS: Legislators from the 39th District take part in Concrete town hall

By Racquel Muncy / Skagit Valley Herald  |

Residents of the state’s 39th Legislative District gathered at Concrete Theatre on Saturday for a town hall with Sen. Keith Wagoner and representatives Carolyn Eslick and Sam Low. 

…Each of the legislators had an opportunity to speak about what is important to them before taking questions from the audience. 

Wagoner mentioned that in 2024 there are six initiatives from constituents and he is in favor of all six. 

…One resident asked if the Legislature had thought to reinstate institutions such as Northern State Hospital to help those in the homeless population in need of behavioral health treatment. 

Wagoner said the existing large state behavioral health institutions are not well run, so he would prefer to see more smaller, local institutions. 

Click here to read the full story.

DENVER HAINSTOCK SERVES AS PAGE FOR SENATOR KEITH WAGONER

Denver Hainstock, a 10th grader from Sedro-Woolley High School, spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Hainstock was one of 16 students who served as a Senate page for the fifth week of the 2024 Legislative session.

Hainstock was sponsored by 39th Legislative District Senator Keith Wagoner, who represents Skagit and Snohomish counties.

“Denver did an amazing job this week as a page and I feel honored to have been a part of his experience while learning more about the legislative process,” said Wagoner.

The Senate Page Program is an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Students are responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering 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.

“My favorite part of this experience was being able to be on the Senate floor and have that experience under my belt,” said Hainstock. He also stated that he enjoyed learning hands-on about the legislative process and understanding more about the state in which he lives.  It’s an experience he says he would recommend to anyone who is able to take advantage of this “amazing opportunity.”

Hainstock, 15, enjoys competing in the javelin during spring track and field. He is also a history enthusiast and likes to spend his free time outdoors hiking and camping. His parents are Michael Hainstock and Stacey Baker.

Students interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit:

http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/

IN THE NEWS: WA Democrats ditch bill repealing voter-backed cap on property tax hikes

Senate Democrats’ controversial bill allowing local governments in Washington to exceed the 1% cap on annual property tax increases won’t be acted on this session, its author said Friday.

The legislation sought to repeal the voter-backed limit and give cities and counties the ability to levy hikes up to 3%. But it ran into fierce opposition from Republicans and residents across the state who warned the measure would drive up living and housing costs.

…Republican senators credited pressure from their caucus and residents for persuading Democrats to abandon the bill.

“This is unexpected and happy news,” said Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley. “We felt the other side would get the message if we and the public pressed hard enough.”

Click here to read the full story.

Wagoner: Property-tax hike most destructive bill this session

Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley and a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, released the following statement today on Senate Democrats’ plan to vote on Senate Bill 5770, which would allow local property taxes to annually grow up at triple the rate now allowed by law.

“The proposed increase in local property-tax authority under Senate Bill 5770 makes it the single most destructive and far-reaching bill of the 2024 session. 

“Implementation will undoubtedly drive up home-ownership costs as well as force crushing increases in rental rates – the last thing Washingtonians need during the middle of a historic affordable-housing crisis.

“This unimaginative non-solution is both politically and practically dangerous and is tone-deaf to the voices of taxpayers who have been crying out for relief for years. It has the potential to devastate every household budget in our state at a time when families are already struggling under an oppressive tax burden.

“Under one-party rule in Olympia, Washingtonians are already experiencing rampant inflation, brutally high fuel costs, food insecurity and housing prices that have put home ownership out of reach for far too many. When will the majority party take responsibility for its bad policy decisions and reverse course?

“Democrats in the Legislature want to literally pass the buck and the political blowback from their policies to local government. Communities in which this increase is inflicted on tax-weary citizens will never be able to pass another school or public-safety levy again. Trust will have been shattered with the taxpayers, and it may never be rebuilt. 

“Proponents tout it as badly needed funding for struggling local governments. Whether you agree or not with this perceived need, there are better, less damaging, options.

“For one, state government has been oh-so-willing to fix its budget problems on the backs of local government; it’s time to reverse that trend. In 2012, when the state got out of the liquor business, those funds were swept from local government to the state’s general fund. My Senate Bill 5568 would return those funds to local government. 

“Also in 2012, voters passed Initiative 502 with the hope and understanding that cannabis revenue would solve a myriad of funding shortfalls. That promise has fallen far short as the Legislature again swept most of the funding to the already bloated general fund.  Counties receive a mere 1.5% and cities 3.5%.  Another proposal I have put forward, SB 5404, would double the cannabis revenue to local government.

“These two bills offer a better solution, a ‘new tool,’ not just a heavier hammer to meet additional local-funding needs. And they would accomplish this without devastating Washington families.”

SB 5770 is sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and cosponsored by 18 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus. The measure cleared the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 5 on a Democrats-only vote and could come up for a vote by the full Senate as soon as Thursday.

Senator Wagoner on Fish Hunt NW (Root Sports)

Host Duane Inglin’s interview with Senator Keith Wagoner, who is the primary sponsor on Senate Joint Resolution 8208 “Enshrining the rights to Hunt, Fish & Gather for WA St Citizens” Duane & Tommy will also follow-up with take-aways from the Public Hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks on Monday and how many false statements and scare tactics organized groups are puking-out in opposition to this Constitutional Amendment. Sportsmen in WA St are clearly under attack.

Wagoner: Another attack on Second Amendment Rights!

If you think the anti-gun people were out of ideas for threatening our 2nd Amendment Right, think again. Senate Bill 5963 would REQUIRE homeowners that own guns have special firearm owner insurance as a rider on your home owners’ policy. I encourage concerned citizens to sign-in and testify on this bill.
SB 5963 – Concerning insurance requirements relating to the ownership of certain deadly weapons.
Submit Written Testimony for the Official Legislative Record Here: https://ow.ly/LzVN50Qv1WA

Wagoner: No need to raise property taxes and rents; there is a better way to get needed funds to local governments

Legislative Democrats recently held a hearing on Senate Bill 5770, which would triple the allowable growth rate of property taxes and almost certainly drive record-high rents up even more.

While proponents point to the tax proposal as a way to get much-needed funds to local governments, Sen. Keith Wagoner has introduced two bills to accomplish that goal without punishing already-struggling property owners and renters.

“I’ve seen a lot of bad ideas in Olympia but raising property taxes and rents during a housing-affordability crisis may be one of the worst – and the cruelest,” said Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, who serves on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which handles tax and budget policy.

“Washington ranks fifth-worst in the country in housing affordability; Tripling the rate of annual growth of property taxes would only add more costs and make homeownership an even more distant dream – especially for young families.

“As I heard repeatedly as a member of the Tax Structure Work Group, increasing property taxes disproportionately affects lower-income renters, as property-tax increases are inevitably passed along in the form of higher rent.

“My legislation would reject this cruel, unfair and regressive approach, and instead provide local governments with a larger share of the liquor and cannabis tax revenue they were intended to receive in the first place.”


This graph shows the dollar amounts and destination of cannabis revenue. Source: The Liquor and Cannabis Board Annual Report.

Senate Bill 5568 would restore liquor-sales revenue distributions to local governments. Under the bill, 10 percent would go to counties, and 40 percent to incorporated cities and towns.

Senate Bill 5404 would increase cannabis-revenue distributions to local governments. The bill would dedicate 3 percent of cannabis revenue to counties, cities, and towns where licensed cannabis retailers are physically located; and 7 percent to counties, cities, and towns on a per capita basis. Under the bill, counties must receive 60 percent of the distribution based on each county’s total proportional population.

“While the state’s coffers continue to benefit from years of excessive revenue surpluses, and a property-tax increase is not needed at the state level, I realize some local governments are in desperate need of additional revenue,” said Wagoner.

“Rather than raising taxes on hard-working Washingtonians, the two measures I have introduced would provide local government with more resources without increasing the burden on property owners.”

At the Jan. 18 committee hearing on the Democrats’ proposed property-tax hike, the public weighed in loud and clear. More than 8,290 people signed in, with 91.4% opposed to the idea.

“As Washington faces a home-affordability crisis, the approach legislative Democrats support is just more than families and individuals can afford,” Wagoner added. “We want to give people meaningful property tax and rental relief instead, and help our counties and cities in a way that doesn’t put additional burdens on the backs of taxpayers.

“Washingtonians deserve better, and my proposals to increase the share of alcohol and cannabis dollars going to local government are an opportunity for the Legislature to do better.”