It’s hard to believe just three weeks remain in this year’s 60-day legislative session. House of origin cutoff was on Tuesday, meaning that all bills that did not advance out of the chamber in which they were introduced are now considered “dead” for the year. The exception are bills deemed NTIB, or necessary to implement the budget. I talked about this critical session deadline and more in a video update I recorded yesterday morning. Take a look:
https://youtu.be/8cpXA9Qqjuk
Whether in committee or on the floor, House Republicans will continue fighting for you and your family in these final three weeks of session. We want to make progress in making daily life more affordable, especially in light of rising inflation and the highest gas prices we’ve seen since 2012. We want to make our communities safer and enable our law enforcement officers to do their jobs effectively. We want to see a more accountable government that is results-oriented and serves you well. And finally, we want to empower parents to help their children succeed in school and in life. We can make all of this a reality. We just need the majority to work with us. We’ll keep inviting them to do so until the final gavel comes down on March 10.
Contacting me
Please continue reaching out to me with your comments, questions and concerns. My email address is Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 786-7902. I also encourage you to sign up for text alerts from our caucus, which will help keep you updated on major developments this session.
Our state is facing a growing number of challenges, including:
A homelessness crisis that has only gotten worse.
A police officer recruitment and retention crisis.
A bottom 10 ranking in housing affordability.
Drug overdose deaths at an all-time high.
Violent crime at a 25-year high.
A child care affordability and accessibility crisis.
Heartbreaking outcomes for children in our foster care system.
An increase in data breaches, including a 500% increase last year.
2.7 million acres of unhealthy forests, which contribute to catastrophic wildfires.
Significant cost overruns for transportation projects.
Despite all of these challenges, many of which have gotten worse due to bills passed in previous sessions, very little progress is being made to fix them. In my last update, I shared the bills House Republicans have sponsored this session to provide tax relief and make life more affordable, make our communities safer, hold state government accountable, and empower parents to help their children succeed in school and in life. Most of our bills have been ignored by the majority. Of those that have been given a public hearing, many will not survive cutoff.
Losing votes and seeing bills killed is part of being in the minority in the Legislature, but I would hope the majority’s reason for killing them is because they believe they have more compelling solutions. That would make sense to me. However, I’m not seeing their compelling bills to fix the homelessness crisis, lower taxes, crack down on crime, make housing more affordable, improve accountability at our state agencies, and so on. I’m seeing a majority content to punt on major problems that are affecting people’s lives and livelihoods.
Take the long-term care program and payroll tax, for example. One of the first actions the majority took was to delay the program and tax for 18 months. While that buys them some time, it’s not a solution. As I mentioned in my last update, based on the 2020 actuarial analysis, the program will only be solvent until 2075. And that 2075 projection was based on a higher payroll tax rate and the assumption that 105,000 employees would opt out of the program. Instead, 450,000 employees have opted out and are now paying for private plans they likely never wanted. Meanwhile, those who stayed in the state program get to enjoy an 18-month delay. That’s fundamentally unfair. The majority doesn’t seem to have answer for that, or for those who are wondering how they’re going to make this unpopular and inadequate program solvent in the next 18 months.
Let’s talk about public safety. Earlier this year, Republicans unveiled the Safe Washington Plan, which contains a suite of bills focused on stopping crime, supporting law enforcement, and putting victims first. Of the following bills in the plan, only HB 1788 is still making its way through the legislative process.
House Bill 1737 would roll back the harmful provisions in last year’s police reform legislation that created confusion and made volatile situations more dangerous.
House Bill 1788 would allow law enforcement to engage in vehicular pursuits when there is reasonable suspicion someone has committed, or is committing, a criminal offense.
House Bill 1656, offered by my seatmate, Rep. Dan Griffey, would amend the definition of theft to include concealment. Last year, Washington lost $2.7 billion due to retail theft. This bill would make a major difference going forward.
House Bill 1787 would provide funding for the recruitment, retention, and support of law enforcement. For the past 11 years, Washington has ranked dead last in terms of the number of police officers per thousand people.
House Bill 1873 would address the growing problem of catalytic converter theft.
Every one of these bills would make our communities safer, yet only one is alive. How is that possible? Our job as lawmakers is to fix problems, not punt them away to future Legislatures. Once session is adjourned, we’re not going to be called back to address public safety in a special session. This is our chance to take action.
This is also our chance to pass emergency powers reform. Rep. Chris Corry has a bill that would limit the amount of time a governor can make emergency decisions without legislative oversight to 60 days at a time, starting from day one. Surprisingly, the majority party also has a bill on this issue, though it doesn’t go nearly as far as Rep. Corry’s. Even so, after blocking our efforts last year, I’m glad to see them express some interest in restoring the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches.
Now, if we could just get them to join with us in tackling the rest of the problems we face.
Contacting me
Please continue reaching out to me with your comments, questions and concerns. My email address is Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 786-7902. I also encourage you to sign up for text alerts from our caucus, which will help keep you updated on major developments this session.
Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, joins Jeff Slakey on KMAS to discuss the future of the Democrats’ long-term care program and payroll tax, as well as his legislation that would impose term limits on state elected officials.
The 2022 legislative session is now underway. While I had hoped the Capitol would be open to the public this session, we are once again operating in a remote environment. This is far from ideal, but I will make every effort to be as accessible to you as possible. Please feel free to call or email me anytime with your questions, comments, concerns, ideas for legislation, or anything else that’s on your mind. My email address is Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 786-7902.
I encourage you to stay engaged in the legislative process this session by following House Republicans on Twitter and Facebook, routinely visiting The Ledger, and utilizing the resources listed in this document. Finally, please bookmark my legislative website, where you can find my latest press releases, video updates, interviews, and more.
During the interim, I spent a lot of time working with my fellow members on the House floor team, Reps. Chris Corry and Jacquelin Maycumber, to develop an agenda that solves the major problems facing our state and meets the needs of all Washingtonians. Earlier this week, I recorded a video update in which I discussed our agenda and the main priorities for House Republicans this session. You can watch it here or by clicking below.
https://youtu.be/V2-rzTC1A5M
We are working hard to advance bills that provide tax relief and make life more affordable, make our communities safer, hold state government accountable, and empower parents to help their children succeed in school and in life. An overview of our bills that fit within these four main priorities is below:
Providing tax relief and making life more affordable for all Washingtonians
Returns $2 billion back to taxpayers through a reduction and rebasing of the state levy from overcollections from 2018-2022, occurring because property values have risen much faster than anticipated when legislation was passed in 2017. If House Bill 1898 is not adopted, an additional $3 billion in overcollection will occur between 2023-2027.
Repeals the payroll tax and wholly inadequate and insolvent benefit from the Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Trust Act. Learn more about the program and payroll tax here.
Repeals the Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Trust Act and associated payroll tax, replacing it with a privately-managed program that leverages the state’s existing revenue to make long-term care coverage both affordable and optional.
Note: After House Democrats refused to give House Bills 1594 and 1913 a public hearing, we attempted to bring both bills to the House floor for a vote yesterday. Our motion was denied. As it stands, there will be an 18-month delay to a program that, based on the 2020 actuarial analysis, will only be solvent until 2075. And that 2075 projection was based on a higher payroll tax rate and the assumption that 105,000 employees would opt out of the LTSS program. Instead, 450,000 employees have opted out. Unless fundamental changes are made, insolvency may come much sooner than originally projected.
Expands and enhances the Working Families Tax Credit by expanding income eligibility, doubling the base payment, and increasing the minimum benefit for working families with children.
Lowers Washington’s main business tax rate for manufacturing and trucking by 40%, and extends and expands an existing tax preference for food processing.
Strengthening communities by making public safety a priority and supporting effective community policing
Rolls back a number of harmful provisions passed in last year’s “police reform” bills, restoring tactics and tools to help police bring criminals to justice and keep communities safe.
Eliminates the disastrous probable cause requirement for vehicular chases of criminal suspects, allowing peace officers to engage in a vehicular pursuit when there is reasonable suspicion a person in the vehicle has committed or is committing a criminal offense.
Provides funding for signing bonuses, retention bonuses, body cameras for local agencies, and additional Criminal Justice Training Commission classes to get officers trained and ready more quickly.
In Washington, it is not against the law to hide stolen retail goods under one’s clothing. This bill amends the definition of theft to include the concealment of the property of another when the intent is to deprive the other person of its use or benefit.
Requires that catalytic converters be added to the list of items for which sales records must be kept by scrap metal dealers, prohibits the sale of catalytic converters by anyone other than a commercial enterprise or the private owner of the vehicle, and increases the seriousness of repeated offenses.
Holding state government accountable, improving outcomes, and enacting emergency powers reform
Modeled after a variety of emergency powers statues utilized in almost every state in the nation, this bill increases legislative involvement during states of emergency, allowing for legislative oversight on states of emergency that last longer than 60 days.
Note: This is a bipartisan bill, which is a good thing.
Requires every new state spending program that meets certain criteria to include an expiration date, performance statement, and data requirements to measure the effectiveness of the program.
Requires agencies to regularly “zero-base” their budgets to better prioritize spending , and then submit that analysis to the governor and Legislature. This bill would help constrain the growth of government and improve outcomes.
A suite of bills to make Washington’s transportation system safer and function better for travelers. Instead of raising taxes, these bills reprioritize our current budget surplus to pay for transportation projects.
Empowering parents by providing transparency and the necessary financial and educational flexibility to help their children succeed in school and in life
Requires regular and special meetings of school boards to be recorded, and must include the comments of the board and members of the public if testimony was taken at the meeting. Recordings must be provided to the public upon request.
Establishes an educational scholarship program of $10,000 for 100,000 homeschooled and private school students to cover costs associated with alternative education, such as books and learning materials, transportation, and tuition fees.
Establishes a homeschool and private school voucher program of $7,000 for 130,000 students to cover costs associated with alternative education. One quarter of these scholarships would be awarded to students within special populations, such as students experiencing homelessness.
Requires teachers to make syllabi and primary materials available on the school district’s website to promote transparency in our public school system.
We need term limits in Washington state
In my September email update, I asked you to weigh in on whether or not you would be in favor of a bill to limit state House and Senate members to 12 consecutive years in one chamber and state executives to two total terms in office. Here was the response I received back:
My bill idea is now House Joint Resolution 4207, which is currently in the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee. Earlier this month, I spoke with KGNW’s Tim Gaydos about this issue:
Contacting me
I encourage you to continue contacting me with your comments, questions, concerns, and ideas for legislation. My email address is Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 786-7902.
Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, joins Jeff Slakey on KMAS to discuss Governor Inslee’s State of the State address. He also provides an overview on legislation he’s sponsoring this session that would dedicate the state sales tax on motor vehicles to the transportation preservation and maintenance account.
Rep. MacEwen, R-Union, speaks with KGNW’s Tim Gaydos about his effort to pass a constitutional amendment that would place term limits on state legislators and statewide elected officials in Washington.
Throughout the year, you’ve heard me talk a lot about the need for emergency powers reform. That’s been a top priority for me, and for our entire caucus, ever since Governor Inslee declared a state of emergency 640 days ago in response to the pandemic. Our concern has always centered around the belief that one person should not have the indefinite unilateral authority to change the lives and livelihoods of Washingtonians. It doesn’t matter if that person is a Republican or a Democrat.
Without checks and balances, the governor was able to go from offering a carrot (prizes for vaccinations) to a stick (imposing a vaccine mandate that cost more than 2,000 Washingtonians their jobs) in a matter of months. We simply believe the time has come to restore the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.
In addition to pushing for emergency powers reform, House Republicans will be introducing other bills focused on government accountability and improved outcomes. Of the many failures we’ve seen in state government in recent years, perhaps none is more heartbreaking than our ineffective response to a homelessness crisis that has only gotten worse over time. From The Seattle Times:
“Washington saw one of the biggest estimated increases in people experiencing homelessness in the country between 2019 and 2020, according to new national figures from an annual report to Congress. Overall homelessness across the U.S. grew by more than 2% that year, according to the report’s estimates, but Washington saw an overall increase of 6.2%, or 1,346 people — the third largest increase in the number of homeless people among all 50 states.”
With existing solutions falling short, we believe it’s time for a new approach. Our idea is to send roughly $400 million per biennium directly to cities and counties so they can pursue the best solutions for their communities. In exchange, municipalities would have to remove encampments near schools, parks and playgrounds, and refrain from opening supervised injection sites. The majority may balk at that second provision, but it is my hope they will at least work with us on a comprehensive bill to fix this crisis. The status quo cannot continue.
While improving government accountability and outcomes is a major priority for us, we’re going to have three other main areas of focus during the upcoming 60-day session:
Public safety
Life affordability
Empowering parents
Public safety
In my August update, I discussed the need for the Legislature to fix the deeply flawed police reform bills the Democrats passed earlier this year. As a reminder, these are just some of the headlines we’ve seen as a result of House Bills 1054 and 1310 becoming law:
While we should hold our men and women in law enforcement to the highest possible standard, we cannot have laws on the books that create confusion, make volatile situations more dangerous, and enable criminals to escape justice.
As I’ve shared before, Washington already ranks 51st out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of the number of police officers per thousand people. It’s been that way for 11 consecutive years. If we continue demonizing our law enforcement personnel and taking away the tools they need to bring criminals to justice, we will continue losing them to other professions and our communities will become less safe. To ensure that doesn’t happen, we need to fix these bills. We also need to pass legislation that allocates significant state funding for the recruitment of new police officers and the retention of officers already on the job. I was glad to see a recent SurveyUSA poll that showed 49% of Washingtonians believe the police need more funding, while just 16% saying they need less. Now we need to act.
Life affordability
Due to tax collections remaining strong, the Legislature is expected to enter the 2022 session with a four-year budget surplus of around $10 billion. With such a large surplus, it is time for us to provide meaningful tax relief, whether through a property tax cut, an expansion of the working families tax credit, or by some other means. We also need to repeal the Democrats’ long-term care insurance program and mandatory payroll tax. Long-term care insurance is a good idea, but this program is deeply flawed as our health care lead, Rep. Joe Schmick, explains:
“This program creates the false hope that people’s long-term care needs will be satisfied, when in fact, it will be woefully inadequate for the majority of those who eventually need long-term care. People who live out of state but work in Washington, those who are within 10 years of retirement, and workers who eventually move out of state, will be forced to pay into this program, but will likely never receive a benefit.”
Rep. Schmick and Rep. Peter Abbarno have already drafted legislation to repeal the program. I believe the majority knows it’s unworkable, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to act to change it.
If you were able to obtain your own long-term care insurance plan by the November 1 deadline, I strongly encourage you to apply for an exemption from the state plan as soon as possible so it’s processed before the new year.
Empowering parents
In addition to the above priorities, we are going to be focused on empowering parents to become more involved in their children’s education. We believe parents have a right to know what is being taught in the classroom and that transparency is crucial to ensuring trust in our K-12 education system. To that end, we have two proposals.
Require the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to seek public input and provide an opportunity for public comment when developing learning standards and grade-level expectations.
Require each school to disclose a listing of the actual instructional materials, including supplemental materials, used during the past academic year on a publicly accessible part of its website and have that link sent directly to parents. This would be modeled after the Goldwater Institute’s Academic Transparency Act.
We will also be looking to expand the number of charter schools in our state. While 40 charter schools were authorized by Initiative 1240 and subsequent reauthorization legislation, just 16 are currently in operation. That’s unfortunate because charter schools are meeting the needs of students who have struggled in their assigned public school. The results we’ve seen so far have been excellent, with charter schools outperforming traditional public schools in reading and math. Our goal is to expand these opportunities for more families across the state.
Contacting me
Due to legislative restrictions that begin tomorrow, I won’t be able to send out another email update until the 2022 legislative session begins on Jan. 10. However, I’ll still be able to respond to your emails and phone calls, so please continue contacting me with your comments, questions, concerns, and ideas for legislation. My email address is Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 786-7902.
Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., the bipartisan Tax Structure Work Group (TSWG) will be holding virtual tax town halls for residents of several legislative districts, including the 35th.
The TSWG is comprised of state lawmakers, as well as representatives from the Governor’s Office, the Washington State Department of Revenue, the Washington State Association of Counties, and the Association of Washington Cities. The goal of these town halls is for the TSWG to hear from individual taxpayers and business owners about the state’s tax structure in a quest to make it “more equitable, adequate, stable, and transparent.”
While House Republicans have been looking to cut taxes—something we will continue to focus on during the 2022 legislative session—Gov. Inslee and legislative Democrats have ignored the will of the people and passed new tax increases over the last three years.
I believe it is critical for lawmakers to keep tax burdens low to ensure our economic recovery continues and Washington remains an attractive place to raise a family, start a business, or retire. We have more than enough revenue to fund our state’s needs and priorities without asking for more from you and your family.
If you have time tomorrow, I encourage you to sign up for one of the town halls and make your voice heard.
West Region | Legislative Districts: 2, 22, 23, 24, 26, 35 Wednesday, October 13, 2021 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. | Sign up here 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. | Sign up here
Contacting me
Please continue reaching out to me with your comments, questions and concerns. My email address is Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 786-7902.
Throughout this year’s 105-day legislative session, one of our top priorities as House Republicans was pushing to implement emergency powers reform. Out of concern the governor would continue to rule by proclamation and executive order indefinitely, we introduced several bills that would have ensured adequate legislative involvement in long-lasting states of emergency. Unfortunately, the majority party wasn’t interested in advancing any of our bills through the State Government and Tribal Relations Committee. As a result, nine days before the end of session, I made a motion on the House floor to pass a resolution that would have waived previously established cutoff dates and allowed my emergency powers reform bill to receive a vote. Here was my speech:
https://youtu.be/J-JK5IKgdws
Unfortunately, my motion was rejected on a party-line vote, ending the opportunity for the Legislature to pass emergency powers reform before session adjourned. Ironically, a number of Democrats eventually did choose to speak out against the governor, but only after we were safely into interim.
As I’ve said before, I firmly believe our executive branch needs the ability to respond quickly to pandemics, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other emergencies. However, I also believe there must be limits on emergency powers to ensure one person is not ruling on their own for months or years on end.
As it stands, Washington continues to rank near the bottom of all states in terms of governmental balance of power.
As we look ahead to the 2022 legislative session, emergency powers reform will remain one of our top priorities. We are not going to give up on this issue, I promise you that.
Term limits: I want to hear from you
One of the bills I’m working on ahead of the upcoming legislative session deals with the issue of term limits for all state elected officials. I believe we should limit House and Senate members to 12 consecutive years in one chamber, and limit state executives to two total terms in office. Agree? Disagree? Take my survey and let me know.
Police reform survey results
In my last update, I asked you to weigh in on whether you believed a special session should be called so the Legislature could fix the police reform bills championed by the majority during this year’s legislative session.
As a reminder, these headlines are a direct result of the new laws created by House Bills 1054 and 1310.
I’m glad to see these results. As I mentioned in my last update, our state is ranked 51st out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of the number of police officers per thousand people. In fact, we’ve ranked dead last for the past 11 years. If we want to solve this problem, we cannot continue to demonize law enforcement and take away the tools they need to bring criminals to justice and keep our communities safe.
Public safety will be a huge emphasis for our caucus during the 2022 session. We are going to work hard to fix these disastrous new bills and solve our police officer recruitment and retention crisis.
Contacting me
Please continue reaching out to me with your comments, questions and concerns. My email address is Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov, and my phone number is (360) 786-7902.
