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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 2025 session has reached some important cutoff dates, with another coming in two weeks. Policy committee cutoff was on Feb. 21, which means bills needed to be approved in their respective policy committees to advance. Our next critical deadline is fiscal committee cutoff on Feb. 28, when all bills in fiscal committees, such as Appropriations, Transportation, and Finance must be voted out to stay alive.
On Monday, March 3, we start 10 consecutive days of floor action, where we will vote on hundreds of bills until we reach the house of origin cutoff on March 12 at 5 p.m. By that point, any bill that hasn’t passed out of its original chamber will be considered done for this session, except bills considered necessary to implement the budget.
Majority Party Wants to Raise Your Taxes
As we get set to vote on House bills, I want to make you aware of the many tax proposals introduced by the majority party. At a time when affordability is a major issue for many families in the 18th District and throughout Washington, the last thing people and businesses need is additional taxes. We already have some of the highest gas and grocery prices, a huge shortage of affordable housing, and one of the nation’s highest living costs.
We need to give Washingtonians a break, not tax them more. House Republicans, myself included, are doing all we can to stop these bills and keep the majority party’s new tax policies at bay. These are just a few of the ways the ruling party is trying to raise your taxes.
- 10% increase in B&O rates, 20% total increase for services for 2 years before reverting to 10%.
- Increases the “limit factor” for state and local property taxes to 100% + population change + inflation, with a 103% cap.
- Wireless device tax of $2 on the sale of a smart wireless device with a selling price over $250.
- Increases the 988-line tax from $0.40 per line to $0.70 per line. Effective date of change: Jan. 1, 2026
- Allow all counties to use local REET for affordable housing. If they don’t by Jan 1, 2027, cities can do it.
- Change the 101 percent revenue growth limit for state and local property taxes to 100 percent plus population change and inflation, with a capped limit of 103 percent.
Click here for a complete list of the majority’s new tax proposals.
We don’t need to burden the people of Washington by taking more of your hard-earned money. People are struggling to pay for groceries and housing. These additional taxes will make both of those more difficult. If you oppose new taxes, please reach out to the lawmakers supporting these policies. You can find a list of every legislator here. Contact them and make your voice heard.
Help Us Stop Bad Bills
I also encourage you to learn about the other bad bills the majority party is pushing this session by visiting our new website: Stop Bad Bills. This is a great way for you to make an impact. The House Republican Stop Bad Bills page includes detailed information, news articles, and videos explaining why these policies would harm Washington. Please visit this valuable site and take the survey or share your story about how bad bills have impacted you or your family. We value your experiences and input as we fight against harmful policies.
Update on My Legislation
I introduced four bills this session; two of them have passed out of committee and are awaiting a vote on the House floor to move forward.
Bills Still Alive
House Bill 1289 would require the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create a voluntary, confidential online survey for parents or guardians to fill out when transferring or withdrawing a student from a public school or school district. It would encourage public schools to notify parents or guardians of the survey and provide a link to it upon receiving a request from a parent or guardian to transfer or withdraw a student. This legislation would help us understand why kids are leaving and then create policies to address those concerns and improve student success in our public schools.
House Bill 1121 would allow 16—or 17-year-old minors to work as many hours during the school year as they can during summer, school vacations, or holidays if they meet certain requirements. This would be an excellent opportunity for many of our high school students. Not all kids learn the same. Many teenagers would rather explore trade work and are not interested in pursuing a 4-year degree. These work experiences can serve as on-the-job training and preparation for future career opportunities.
Bills Not Moving Forward
Unfortunately, House Bill 1122, which would improve students’ educational success by restricting mobile device use in public schools, never received a hearing. The bill would require the Washington State School Directors’ Association to develop policies and procedures for restricting student mobile device use during class time. Washington students are not getting the education they deserve, and mobile device use in our public schools is not helping. It has become a chronic issue, and our kids are suffering because of it. We want to eliminate the distraction these devices create during class time to improve learning outcomes. We need to ensure that ALL school districts have a policy in place so ALL students can succeed.
Libby Denkmann of KUOW recently spoke with me, Sharon Tomiko Santos, the House Education committee chair who declined to hear the bill, and Dr. Delaney Ruston, a documentary filmmaker, author, Stanford-trained physician, and international speaker who created the Screenagers documentary series. Click here to listen to that program. You can also listen to my entire interview here.
I also introduced House Bill 1637, known as the Securing Academic Facilities and Enhancing Learning (SAFE-Learn) Act, made up of five key components, which would do the following:
- Create a school safety data dashboard to determine how safe schools are and target support to for struggling schools.
- Create a school safety and security grant for schools to physically secure their facilities.
- Fund a full-time school resource officer for every public school in Washington state.
- Reform school discipline law to allow teachers to maintain order in the classroom and for school districts to take action against students who repeatedly disrupt other students’ learning.
- Evaluate the comprehensive school safety reforms put in place over the last five years.
Not enough is being done to ensure our students and staff feel safe. Enrollment is still down in Washington public schools, and more teachers are exiting. The lack of safety and discipline is part of the problem. Sixty-seven percent of Washington teachers surveyed said violence against them has caused them to consider leaving the profession, and at least 18% of students feel unsafe at school. Unfortunately, Chair Santos also declined to give this bill a hearing.
Please Continue Reaching Out
If I can assist you in any way, please reach out to me using the contact information below. It’s an honor to serve.
Stephanie McClintock
