Bellevue—Republicans took control of the recent State Legislative Session, despite being the minority party in Olympia, WAGOP Chairman and State Rep. Jim Walsh, told attendees in Langley, WA, recently, during the first in a series of town halls WAGOP is sponsoring around the state. The town halls are designed to build information and interest, leading up to the WAGOP State Convention in Spokane in April.

For a complete listing of town halls and to RSVP, click here.

So far, questions asked by constituents at the first WAGOP town hall have focused on the impact of the Six Initiatives to the Legislature. Chairman Walsh said that the initiatives blindsided Democrat legislators, while galvanizing Republicans and conservatives across the state.

“The fact that the six common-sense citizen initiatives to the Legislature qualified with broad support across all demographics had a much bigger intimidation effect on the Speaker and the State Majority Leader than anybody expected,” said Chairman Walsh, the author, sponsor and legislative force behind all six initiatives.

“They [Legislative Democrats] didn’t know what to do,” he added. “And they did not expect them to get enough signatures to qualify. They were caught flat footed. And you could see they were not on their game.”

Three of the six initiatives will become law on June 6, 2024. They include I-2113, which restores reasonable police pursuit; I-2081 that establishes parental notification rights; and I-2111 which codifies Washington’s longstanding tradition of no personal income tax. Additionally, the new laws will not be subject to a veto by Governor Jay Inslee, who has governed largely by executive order.

“When common-sense Republican policies lead the way, things get better for everyone,” Chairman Jim Walsh said. “Working together, we will continue to fix what’s broken in Washington,” he emphasizes.

The remaining three initiatives that Democrat lawmakers declined to hold public hearings for will appear at the top of the ballot in November. They include I-2117, a repeal of the egregious cap-and trade tax scheme, officially known as the Climate Commitment Act; I-2109, a repeal of the capital gains tax; and I-2124, an opt-out of Washington’s insolvent long-term care retirement program.

WA Democrats are taking a big gamble, hoping voters do not realize that the three initiatives they reluctantly agreed to hold hearings for—which will soon become state law—are the ones that limit their money-grabs from WA taxpayers the least.

The next town hall is set for Monday, March 25, in Sequim, WA, from 7-8pm. It will be followed by a town hall in Centralia, WA, on Tuesday, March 26. The series will run through April 2024. The town halls are open to the public and they will not disappoint.

 

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