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The week of Feb. 19-23 could have been called "budget week," as the Senate held public hearings or approved its version of the three state supplemental budgets (operating, capital, and transportation) that adjust the two-year spending plans passed by the Legislature last spring. The first to emerge was the capital budget, which was passed by the Senate 49-0 on Feb. 22. The Senate's capital budget is about priorities over pork. It addresses important needs, including helping communities in...
OLYMPIA–The main event during the opening week of this year’s legislative session was Gov. Jay Inslee’s annual state of the state address. I was surprised he did not pull a muscle from patting himself on the back so often as he addressed legislators, statewide elected officials, and Supreme Court justices. Inslee said, “I’m happy to report we have been, we are, and we will always be the strongest state in the nation,” adding “in fact, the state of our state is stronger than ever.” Not to...
OLYMPIA–With the April 23 conclusion of this year's legislative session just days away, it sadly appears the Legislature will not pass a bill to implement the exemption for farm fuel and certain other types of fuel from the costly fee created by the state's 'cap-and-trade' program that went into effect this January. Ever since the Climate Commitment Act was passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature two years ago, I predicted fuel prices would rise sharply in Washington once the c...
OLYMPIA–In my 30 years as a state legislator, there have been times when I have correctly predicted that something Olympia did would turn out badly for Washingtonians. The "cap-and-tax" program recently created by the Democrat majorities in the Legislature certainly looks like it should be added to this dubious list. Earlier this month, the state Department of Ecology announced the results from the state's first carbon-allowance auction, which was created by the Climate Commitment Act passed b...
We all have heard the phrase, "The good, the bad and the ugly." It also applies to the many bills before the Legislature each year. Nearly 1,600 bills (754 from the Senate, 843 from the House) had been introduced, as of Feb. 21, and we're not even halfway through the 105-day session yet. Many of these proposals are good, a fair number are bad and some are just plain ugly. Let me offer examples of each. A "good" measure would be Senate Bill (SB) 5034, introduced by 4th District Sen. Mike Padden...
After Washington drivers endured record-high gas and diesel prices for much of last year, fuel prices dropped substantially across the state during the final months of 2022. But you may have noticed they have risen sharply again in recent weeks. The reason for this latest spike is one of Governor Jay Inslee's environmental laws, approved by legislative Democrats two years ago. In early January, I was informed by a friend who works in the fuel distribution industry that wholesale gasoline and...
OLYMPIA–Two environmental laws from the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee that took effect Jan. 1 are already causing fuel prices in Washington to rise, says state Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville. Schoesler, who represents eastern Washington’s 9th Legislative District, said he was notified by the Washington Independent Energy Distributors Association. that wholesale gasoline and diesel prices have risen in Washington as a result of the “cap-and-tax” law and the law creatin...
As the senator representing WSU-Pullman, tuition costs have always been of particular interest to me. The Biden administration’s controversial plan to “forgive” hundreds of billions of dollars in student-loan debt has brought new attention to the rise in college tuition, and that had me reflecting on debates we’ve had in the Legislature regarding the cost of higher education. In 2007 I led a successful effort to cap annual tuition increases at our state-run colleges and universities. Democrats u...
This week saw a number of new state laws go into effect. Among them are a couple that are part of the Democrats' new state transportation-funding package. The chart below shows how several fees that affect drivers are now substantially higher, and their effective dates: This funding package punishes anyone who drives or owns a car yet it fails to sufficiently address the real transportation needs in our state, which include highway maintenance and improvements. That's why I voted against the...
In recent years, environmentalists have targeted natural gas, even though it is an affordable energy source for so many. Their efforts have failed in the Legislature, but apparently Governor Inslee and his environmental allies found another way to restrict natural gas use. Last Friday, the State Building Code Council, whose members are appointed by the governor, voted 11-3 to change the state’s energy code by requiring new businesses and apartments to mostly use heat pumps to warm air and w...
Dear Friends and Neighbors, It's a bit ironic that the state's revenue situation continues to shine at the same time when people throughout Washington are struggling with historically high inflation. It's becoming harder and harder for people to make ends meet, especially if you have to drive longer distances and thus have to buy more gas. My fellow farmers and I are having to pay way more at the pump now than we were six months or a year ago, and there is no end in sight. As I said in a recent...
OLYMPIA–Most of you know well how many environmentalists, especially those on the west side of the Cascades, keep calling for the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams in southeastern Washington. For years the dam haters have argued the dams are to blame for dwindling salmon runs, which is endangering the future of orcas in Washington’s marine waters. A few months ago, Governor Inslee teamed up with one of our state’s U.S. senators, Patty Murray, in calling for yet another study that... 
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OLYMPIA–By the time you read this, the 2022 legislative session in Olympia will be in its final week. The 60 days allotted by Washington’s constitution end this Thursday (March 10). There is still plenty for my fellow lawmakers and me to do before we can finally adjourn and head for home. During this final week, the Senate and House will focus their time on working out differences on the state supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets each has adopted. As one of the neg...
By Sen. Mark Schoesler Last Friday, Secretary of the Senate Brad Hendrickson sent an email to all senators and Senate staff to announce how the Senate will conduct the 2022 legislative session after the Senate’s Facilities and Operations Committee voted along party lines, 4-3, to approve the 2022 session plan. All three Republican senators on the F&O committee voted against this plan. Unfortunately, the public once again will be prevented from attending Senate committee meetings in person, as co...
Of the clubs I belonged to in high school, my favorite was perhaps the Future Farmers of America. Growing up on a wheat farm that had been in my family for four generations before me, I had a strong love for agriculture and farming. FFA allowed me to learn even more about agriculture and become friends with other students who liked ag and wanted to go into farming. While attending Spokane Community College, I continued with FFA, becoming a state officer. Back then, I really respected the nationa...
When Governor Inslee issued his COVID vaccine mandate for most state employees and health-care workers in both the public and private sectors, we wondered if and when he would try to extend that mandate to all private employers. This week the agency known for cracking down on employers over other COVID mandates set the stage for the governor to make that next move. In short, the Department of Labor and Industries has effectively extended the emergency rules dating from May 2020 that allow it to...
Inslee is still targeting Snake River dams It’s no secret that Gov. Inslee is not a fan of the four dams on the lower Snake River. I think it had been a few months since our governor last said anything about these dams, but his silence ended somewhat dramatically when I read a story in today’s Spokesman-Review that said the guy told a group of environmentalists at a virtual fundraiser yesterday that he and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray are exploring options to breach the Snake dams “and replace the b...
Over the past few years, the Democratic-led Legislature has passed more than a few bills that raised taxes or created new ones, and many of us have felt the pinch in our pocketbooks, or we will soon. So, you might be interested in some upcoming meetings on the issue of taxes. The Tax Structure Work Group is holding seven town halls around the state remotely by Zoom, beginning next week and ending November 3. This work group is holding two town halls for the state’s east region, which includes t...
In my E-Commentary last week, I mentioned that Governor Inslee had ordered all state employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by mid-October or lose their jobs. Now, teachers and other school employees face the same threat. After Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal asked him last week to also require that school employees get vaccinated, Inslee announced Wednesday that all teachers and other employees in public, private or charter schools must be fully vaccinated by mid-October....
By Sen. Mark Schoesler OLYMPIA–Every 10 years, under Washington's constitution, the Redistricting Commission is re-established to draw new legislative and congressional district maps in our state for the next decade. The redistricting process occurs after the completion of the national census, which is taken every 10 years, most recently in 2020. The commission includes five members. The leader of each of the four major legislative caucuses appoints one commissioner. Those four commissioners t...
As the extremely hot temperatures have reminded us, much of eastern Washington, including our wheat-growing regions, is in the middle of a drought. This is a huge concern for me and other wheat growers in the area. Two wheat-industry officials, Washington Association of Wheat Growers President Ryan Poe and Washington Grain Commission Chairman Mike Carstensen, sent a letter on June 15 to Governor Inslee asking him to declare a drought emergency, which would provide affected farmers with access...
OLYMPIA–Gov. Jay Inslee has signed bipartisan legislation sponsored by 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler that will provide temporary property-tax relief for Malden-area residents and other Washingtonians who are rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by wildfires last September. Under Senate Bill 5454, Washington residents who lost a home to wildfire between Sept. 1 and Sept. 19, 2020, will be exempt from paying property taxes on the full value of the original structure for three years, if the hom...
OLYMPIA–House Bill 1091, the proposed "high-cost fuel standard" to improve the climate. Was passed on the final day of session, April 25, 2021. During my long drive home to Ritzville from Olympia on Monday, I stopped in Cle Elum for a short break. As I watched other drivers fuel up their vehicles at gas stations, I felt bad for them. Most of them aren't even aware that buying gas or diesel will be much more expensive in the coming years. That's because the Democratic majorities in the L...
As I gladly readjust to normal life in Ritzville after spending nearly every day of the past four months in Olympia, I have good news and bad news to report. The good news is that the 2021 legislative session ended on time last Sunday. April 25, 2021. In fact, we finished for good early that evening, before darkness fell on Olympia. In my nearly 30 years as a legislator, there have been only a few times when a legislative session adjourned in daylight. Unfortunately, this session was very bad...
OLYMPIA–A key bill for agriculture, Senate Bill 5172, took a bumpy route before being passed by the Legislature during the final weekend. Senate Bill 5172, introduced by one of my Republican colleagues, 14th District Sen. Curtis King of Yakima, attempted to defuse a potential time bomb caused by a recent court ruling that could cause a devastating problem for Washington’s dairy industry and other parts of our state’s economy. For 60 years, state law exempted the agriculture industry from payin...