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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 2023 legislatives session is in the books. As a freshman legislator, I had an amazing learning experience and enjoyed being able to represent you in Olympia. A lot has happened in the last three and a half months, and I want to thank you again for contacting me and offering your input. It’s an honor to serve, and I look forward to hearing from you throughout the remainder of the year.
House Republicans entered this session with real solutions to some of the state’s biggest problems. Our solutions and priorities are still focused on helping Washingtonians where they need it the most:
- Empowering parents to help their children succeed.
- Protecting our communities and families.
- Lowering taxes and making life more affordable.
- Holding state government and the governor accountable.
We accomplished many good things and stopped several bad things from moving forward. Overall, both sides worked together to find common ground and positive solutions for Washington. However, there is much work to be done, and we missed some opportunities to pass important legislation our state needs. The following letter is a recap of some of the major things that took place this session.
My Bill Heads to the Governor
First a quick update on my bill: House Bill 1301 is now currently on the governor’s desk waiting for his signature to become law. This bill will direct the Department of Licensing (DOL) to review and analyze 10% of professional licenses each year.
The DOL will also be required to submit an annual report to the Legislature with recommendations on whether the reviewed professional licenses should be terminated, continued, or modified, to streamline the licensing process and use tax dollars more efficiently.
This policy prioritizes getting people into the workforce and makes the licensing process less cumbersome, which should be the goal of the DOL. I look forward to seeing this signed by the governor.
Please Join Us for Our Town Hall Meetings
I also want to let you know that I will be joining my seatmates, Rep. Greg Cheney, R-Battle Ground, and Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, for two more in-person town halls on Saturday, May 13 at the following times and locations. We hope to see you there.
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Battle Ground City Hall
109 SW 1st Street
Battle Ground, WA 98604
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
WSU, Vancouver
Dengerink Admin. Bldg. 110 – Lecture Hall
14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave
Vancouver, WA 98686
House Majority Fails to Fix State v. Blake Decision
As you know, House Republicans have been calling for change to the state drug possession policy since the Supreme Court’s ruling to decriminalize simple drug possession (State v Blake) in Feb. 2021.
There were several different attempts to address this issue, including the final proposal – an amended version of Senate Bill 5536 – that was brought to the floor in last few hours of the session on Sunday evening. It failed, with 15 Democrats joining House Republicans in voting no.
The original Senate version of this bill, which had bipartisan support from three of the four caucuses, would have been a more effective way to address this issue. Unfortunately, unless the governor calls a special session before the current law expires, there will be no state law outlawing possession or use of controlled substances on July 1.
The people of Washington need more help from state government to address this crisis. Substance abuse is getting worse, and people are going to continue dying from drug-related causes. We can’t wait another year to fix this problem.
Recap of Final State Government Budgets
We completed some of our most important business during the last three days of session. We finalized the three state government budgets – operating, transportation, and capital – that outline our spending for the next two years.
Operating Budget: The 2023-25 operating budget, which passed the House on a party-line vote of 58-40, would increase spending by $5.6 billion over current spending levels which would push the budget to a record $69.8 billion.
One of the biggest takeaways from this budget is that instead of providing tax relief for hard-working individuals and families, it allocates money for nearly 1,800 new or expanded programs, in addition to continuing to fund current programs. Only about 50 of those items came from Republicans.
While this budget will pay for many important things, it also leaves very little in reserve and provides no tax relief for Washingtonians. Additionally, it only leaves $2.1 billion in the rainy-day fund by the end of the four-year outlook period. The state treasurer recommends having a minimum target of 10% of annual revenues, which would be roughly $7 billion.
Transportation Budget: The Legislature also passed the two-year transportation budget, which spends a total of about $13.5 billion, including $4.6 billion for highway improvements throughout the state. That includes $275 million for the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River with intent language committing $1 billion for the project.
Overall, this budget includes $35.6 million in new funding for transportation projects in the 18th District, including nearly $87 million for the 179th interchange replacement project in Clark County between now and the end of the project. The original request was for $50 million. We asked for an additional $30 million and ended up with close to $87 million. This funding was not in the original Senate version of the bill, so I’m grateful to the House Transportation Committee members for fighting to get this included. Our district needs this important project to move forward. We will also still receive $81.7 million for the State Route/Interstate-5 to Battle Ground corridor improvements that was part of the prior budget.
For a complete list of transportation projects included in the final budget plan, click on this link, select the 18th Legislative District in the drop down window, and then hit the “view report” button.
Capital Budget: I serve on the House Capital Budget Committee and I’m happy to report the capital budget, Senate Bills 5200, also contains some good news for the 18th District. The $8.98 billion proposal makes significant investments statewide in housing, behavioral health, K-12 schools, and infrastructure, including $30.4 million for local projects in the 18th District such as:
- $1.365 million for the Klineline Bridge and ADA Improvements.
- $1.288 million for increased drinking water storage for Battle Ground’s reservoir.
- $20.6 million for a state-owned and operated community mental health 48-bed facility.
- $5.5 million for Lower East Fork Floodplain Reclamation project (shared with the 20th Legislative District).
For a list of our local projects, click on this link and select the 18th Legislative District in the drop down window and then hit the “view report” button.
Please Stay in Touch
Thank you so much for your support and input throughout this recent session. While this session has come to an end, I am your state representative throughout the year, and I look forward to meeting with you during the interim. Please continue reaching out to share your input, questions, and concerns. I’m honored to represent you in the 18th Legislative District. Thank you.
In your service,
Stephanie McClintock
