Opinion: Several House Republican-sponsored bills are still alive

Rep. John Ley shares an update on active legislation, budget battles, and key bills in Olympia, including taxes, education, and parental rights.

Rep. John Ley offers his latest legislative update

Rep. John Ley
for Clark County Today

There is a lot to talk about as we head back to our policy committees for the next several weeks to consider all the bills recently passed in the Senate. The Senate will do the same with the legislation passed in the House. Several House Republican-sponsored bills are still alive, including House Bill 1857, which I introduced.

This legislation would help businesses and labor groups reduce the cost of construction by exempting commercial aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials from restrictions about to labeling and the use of naturally occurring asbestos-containing building materials. It would exempt commercial aggregates from the current policy because of the costs it imposes on industry and construction. That would benefit communities by allowing them to provide cheaper, locally harvested aggregate for use in construction projects. HB 1857 is now being considered in the Senate.

Big Budget Battles Still to Come

Every session, the Legislature must write and enact the state’s three spending budgets – operating, transportation, and capital – which is arguably our most important job in Olympia. According to recent forecasts, we are facing a huge budget shortfall this year. However, the state doesn’t have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem. No serious economist believes we are in a recession.

The economy is growing, and so are state tax collections. We’ll collect more tax revenue this year than last and more the year after that. State tax revenue is growing year-over-year. Tax revenue is increasing by $5 billion this biennium (a 7.6% increase over 2023-25), and Tax revenue has grown by $18 billion since 2019 (34%).

State Democrat leaders have announced plans to address the multi-billion-dollar deficit with new taxes on jobs, innovation and employers. But instead of economy-killing taxes, the state needs structural budget reforms. House and Senate Republicans are offering legislation to increase transparency and accountability to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely—not just being spent.

The Senate’s proposal, which was announced on Thursday, includes several major tax increases. They include an increase in annual property tax growth from the current 1% cap to the combined population growth rate plus inflation. This would apply to the state’s common schools levy and for cities and counties, as well as special purpose districts.

A Business tax is also on the list. Large employers would pay a 5% tax on payroll expenses above the Social Security threshold — currently $176,100 per year. This tax is limited to companies with $7 million or more in payroll expenses — about 5,289 businesses. Businesses already paying the tax in Seattle would be exempt. This would raise about $2.3 billion.

A Wealth tax targets an individual’s wealth above $50 million. As proposed, there would be a tax of $10 on every $1,000 of assessed value of certain financial assets, such as stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds, and mutual funds, above the $50 million threshold. The problem is that people like Jeff Bezos can and will move to avoid paying the tax.

We expect to get the House Democrat budget proposal on Monday. I will keep you updated on the budget news as session moves forward.

Gun Control Bills

The majority party has also introduced more unconstitutional gun control bills, including House Bill 1163, the “permit to purchase” bill. This bill requires gun buyers to apply for a 5-year permit to purchase a firearm, which would require proof of a gun safety course within the last five years, submission of fingerprints, and a lengthy and detailed background check. This won’t stop bad actors from committing crimes because they already disregard the law. HB 1163 is now in the Senate. Please contact members of the Senate Law and Justice Committee to voice your concerns about this bill. It’s not too late to share your opinion.

Parental Rights Bill

Another troubling bill that passed is House Bill 1296, which essentially guts key protections from the Parents’ Rights Initiative (Initiative 2081), a measure the Legislature passed last year after overwhelming public support.

If the Senate approves HB 1296, it will limit parents’ oversight and transparency in their children’s education, jeopardize federal funding by conflicting with existing federal requirements, and disrespect the will of the people, who overwhelmingly supported Initiative 2081 to ensure parents remain involved in their children’s education.

We debated this bill for over six hours and offered more than 40 amendments, but sadly, only four were accepted. We will continue fighting to stop this bill from becoming law.

Good Bills Dead and Alive

There are several good pieces of legislation moving forward. Here are a few of the good bills now in the Senate.

House Bill 1096: Authorizes lot splitting—dividing a single property into smaller lots—enabling homeowners to build affordable homes, boosting housing supply.
House Bill 1108: Creates a housing cost tax force, uniting industry experts and community voices to pinpoint why homes and rentals are so expensive.
House Bill 1261: Protects family farmers who engage in agritourism from losing crucial tax benefits.
House Bill 1285: Requires all high school students, beginning with the class of 2031, to meet state financial education standards to graduate.
House Bill 1457: Requires tamper-resistant electronic monitoring for sexually violent predators on conditional release.
House Bill 1648: Tackles Washington’s child care crisis by extending qualification timelines for providers.

Unfortunately, many other good bills are not moving forward, including:

House Bill 1000: Strengthens penalties for major drug trafficking offenses, with harsher consequences for high-level offenders.
House Bill 1033: Empowers counties to take charge of licensing and regulating child care centers.
House Bill 1307: Eliminates the sales tax on diapers and essential baby products.
House Bill 1340: Eliminates the sales tax on prepared food.
House Bill 1438: Ensures faster housing development by requiring cities and counties to approve project permits and issue building permits the next business day if they miss a deadline.
House Bill 1787: Makes it easier to commit individuals to drug treatment if they pose a danger to themselves or their community.
House Bill 2030: My bill mandates the joint legislative audit and review committee to conduct a study analyzing the financial oversight of the IBR project.

Bad Bills Dead and Alive

In addition to the previously mentioned bad bills, several other concerning bills are still alive, including:

House Bill 1217: Imposes rent control.
House Bill 1320: Increases B&O taxes on businesses.
House Bill 1334: Increases the property tax growth limit from 1% to 3%.
House Bill 1386: Imposes an additional 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition.
House Bill 1480: Allows counties to impose a real estate excise tax.

House Republicans are continuing to work to defeat these bills. Please visit our Stop Bad Bills website to help. Fortunately, with your help, we were able to stop several bad bills from moving forward, including:

House Bill 1125: Empowers activist judges to resentence convicted criminals.
House Bill 1146: Provides voting rights for dangerous felons.
House Bill 1166: Provides personal computers and WiFi access for prisoners.
House Bill 1317: Allows individuals convicted of serious crimes under the age of 21, including murder, to petition for early release.
House Bill 1380: Stops cities from enforcing no-encampment policies.
House Bill 1399: Allows the state to remove elected sheriffs.
House Bill 1607: Creates an inefficient and burdensome recycling system that acts as a regressive tax.

Rep. John Ley serves the 18th Legislative District. For more information, go to RepresentativeJohnLey.com. Email him at john.ley@leg.wa.gov.

Reach him by phone at (360) 786-7812 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000.