2022 interim •

Dear Friend:

The 2022 legislative session ended on March 10. In the last edition of this email update, I discussed some of the storylines — including the Democrats’ failure to provide meaningful tax relief, enact emergency powers reform, and fix all of the policing problems they created in 2021. I also highlighted the majority party’s partisan approach to its transportation package and unpopular long-term care insurance program and payroll tax.

Meeting with the media

On the last night of the legislative session, I went down to the media offices in the Capitol Building to share my perspectives with reporters. The next day and following Monday, Sen. John Braun and I met with more reporters and editorial boards — an important responsibility as Republican leaders and one I have come to enjoy.

Meeting with the media always results in an exchange of ideas and, sometimes, an editorial. For example, this one from The Seattle Times: WA state Legislature’s big achievements fell short in key areas. This is one of many editorials critical of Democrats over the last four years. I value newspaper engagement on legislative issues.

TVW’s The Impact

I had an opportunity to visit with Mike McClanahan of TVW’s The Impact to discuss my takeaways on the legislative session. I appreciate these types of interviews because I get asked good questions and am provided the space to answer — including sharing what happened behind the scenes. You can watch the segment here.

House Republican bills signed into law

This web page features all of the House Republican bills that were passed by the Legislature the last two legislative sessions. All totaled, 65 bills prime sponsored by House Republicans were sent to the governor’s desk in this time period.

Unfortunately, the governor recently vetoed House Bill 1623 — sponsored by Rep. Gina Mosbrucker. The legislation, which passed the Legislature unanimously, focused on ensuring our state’s energy grid is reliable and stable in the future. You can learn more about this bill and veto in this news release.

Town halls, email updates, newsletters, and more

House Republicans continue to work hard on behalf of their constituents. Some of our members have hosted Zoom or in-person town halls over the last month. They have also sent out news releases, appeared on radio programs, and authored opinion pieces.

Most House Republicans sent out end-of-session email updates and will mail out newsletters in the upcoming weeks. An important part of our job is to keep those we represent informed. Please remember we are here to listen and help year-round. We welcome your calls, emails, letters, and — if possible — meetings. You can find our contact information here.

Election-year restrictions approaching

State representatives will be subject to election-year restrictions starting on May 16. This means they cannot use state resources for legislative communications (like those noted above) and their web pages will be frozen until after the general election in November. Caucus social media will also be limited during this time frame. The last edition of this email update will be on May 13.

Please visit our legislative news aggregator, The Ledger, for recent news and views. I encourage you to bookmark and share this platform.

Below you will find a photo of the Capitol Campus taken by LSS Photography in late March.

Sincerely,

Rep. J.T. Wilcox
House Republican Leader
(360) 786-7912
JT.Wilcox@leg.wa.gov