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March 17, 2026

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This past Thursday brought the end of the 2026 legislative session. While this was a short session, its 60 days included consequential legislation that will impact our state for years to come.

In this update, we will look through some of the major budget and policy decisions the legislature made in Olympia.

Upcoming In-District Town Halls on March 21^st

I look forward to hearing from you and sharing updates at the 16^th Legislative District’s upcoming town hall. Please join us to discuss this past session and bring your questions.

Event #1 – Richland City Hall (Richland)

WHAT: 16^th District Town Hall Meeting
WHEN: Saturday, March 21st | 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Richland City Hall, Council Chambers: 625 Swift Blvd, Richland, WA 99352

Event #2 – Walla Walla Community College (Walla Walla)

WHAT: 16^th District Town Hall Meeting
WHEN: Saturday, March 21^st | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Walla Walla Community College, PAC (Building 535 or E on campus map): 500 Tausick Way, Walla Walla, WA 99362

I hope you can join Sen. Dozier, Rep. Klicker, and me at one of these events.

A Record-Breaking Session

This year, House Republicans ran record-breaking fights to oppose critical legislation pushed by majority legislators.

State Income Tax – The majority introduced and passed a first-ever state income tax targeting high earners, Senate Bill 6346. The state supreme court has repeatedly ruled that a progressive income tax violates the state constitutional provisions on property tax, which is why there will assuredly be litigation over the coming months. While the first $1 million is currently exempt from taxation, if recent history is any indication, that threshold is certain to be lowered by future legislatures if the court upholds the tax.

From March 9-10, House Republicans fiercely debated the bill’s passage. Starting at 5:40 on Monday, we fought for 24 hours, 33 minutes, 50 seconds straight – the longest continuous floor debate in state history – introducing 53 amendments (two of which were adopted).

Unfortunately, the majority forced the legislation through in a 51-46-1 vote – with 8 Democrats siding with us and 1 Republican excused for military service. This is despite a record-breaking 100,000+ Washingtonians going on record to oppose the policy.

Election of Sheriffs – Senate Bill 5974 sets new qualifications for sheriffs, including violations of the state constitution, which sets forth sheriff qualifications. The bill gives the Criminal Justice Training Commission the authority to remove elected sheriffs by revoking their certification. The Commission comprises many individuals who have no law enforcement background themselves.

The bill imposes additional restrictions on the use of volunteers, further straining law enforcement. Many departments already face record staffing shortages, leading to slow response times and emboldened criminals.

This bill is also likely to face lawsuits if Governor Ferguson signs it into law.

Killing Bad Bills – While our defensive tactics couldn’t kill all the bad legislation pushed through this year, House Republicans blocked many of the Majority’s bad bills. This was accomplished by introducing and debating hundreds of amendments, garnering record-breaking support from constituents, and utilizing creative strategies on the House floor.

By the House of Origin cutoff on February 17^th, only 197 bills out of 713 passed from the House Floor – the fewest since at least 2011. After we received the Senate’s 224 bills, we passed only 104 by Opposite House cutoff on March 6^th, which is the fewest since 2014.

Continued State Budget Growth

At the beginning of session, the state faced another self-inflicted budget deficit – this time of $2 Billion. Instead of relying on stable spending cuts and putting affordability first, as the House Republicans’ budget proposal does, the Legislature drained the state’s rainy-day fund, implemented temporary funding measures, and cut important programs such as early learning and childcare. Additional major tax increases beyond the new income tax included taxes on prescription drugs (Senate Bill 6228), data centers (Senate Bill 6231), and insurers (House Bill 2487) – continuing to harm businesses and people throughout the state. They also doubled back on promises to retirees, raiding $4 billion from the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ (LEOFF) 1 Fund (House Bill 2034).

Heading Home

While this session had some major losses, we were able to secure wins for our communities. Some of those include:

• Capital funding for the Aspen Gardens project. We secured $258,000 to help fund the design development and construction documents for a new long-term, community-based housing project for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
• Funding for Highway US-12. We were able to preserve last year’s funding level for Highway-12 to leverage federal dollars, despite budget cuts to transportation investments throughout the state.
• Additional projects were funded. Over $6.4 million in capital funding for projects, including the above, was allocated for the 16^th district. This will fund projects supporting veterans, improvements to water passage, the Twin Bridges Road tire pile clean-up in the Tri-Cities, and more.

As your state legislators return home, I continue to believe Washington is worth fighting for. Whether it’s advocating for state investment, working on policy solutions, or hearing your concerns, I’m always here for you.

Thank you for allowing me to serve you.

Sincerely,

Skyler Rude