Note: The following op-ed appeared in the Stevens County Times, May 2025 edition.
With Rep. Andrew Engell, left, and Rep. Hunter Abell, right.
By Sen. Shelly Short, Rep. Hunter Abell and Rep. Andrew Engell
After 105 days in Olympia, our 2025 legislative session ended right on schedule on April 27. That may be the best thing we can say about it. This was a devastating session for the people of Washington, from the largest tax increase in state history to legislation demonstrating disdain for voters, taxpayers and the people’s rights under the state and federal constitutions.
There were a few bright spots along the way as we managed to defeat some of the worst proposals our urban colleagues had to offer. Here and there we passed legislation that will make a difference to the people of Northeastern and North Central Washington. But let’s not kid ourselves – what happened this session will wreak so much damage on our economy and inflict so much pain on individuals that it will take Washington years to recover, if we ever do. The worst part is that none of this was necessary.
BUDGET AND TAXES – In this eighth year of full Democratic control of the Legislature, we got our best look yet at the dark side of “progressive” politics. Expenditures doubled over the last decade as our friends broke every rule of sound budgeting and repeated all the mistakes that have gotten the state in trouble in the past. This year, their unsustainable spending finally caught up with them. We had enough money to meet our state’s foundational needs without harmful cuts, but we were about $7 billion short of paying for the new spending our colleagues had authorized in previous years. Yet they wanted to spend even more.
The result was the biggest and most unnecessary tax increase Washington has ever seen, a total $12.9 billion at the state and local levels. Contrary to our colleagues’ claims they are targeting the rich, this hodge-podge of taxes and fees hits everyone in the state, from higher hunting and fishing licenses to business taxes that inevitably will be passed on to consumers. Especially disturbing is the fact that our colleagues did nothing to correct their course – spending continues to skyrocket – setting us up for even bigger troubles in the future.
TAXES ON TRANSPORTATION – Gas taxes also went up this year, a 6-cent-a-gallon increase that will keep rising 2 percent a year, forever. At the same time, our colleagues ratcheted up the requirements of Washington’s unworkable low-carbon fuel standards law. All told, these will add up to 50 cents a gallon to Washington’s already-high gas prices by 2028. These new taxes will be especially hard on rural districts like ours, where people travel longer distances than in urban areas.
SETUP FOR McCLEARY 2.0 – Thanks to an outpouring of public opposition, a Democratic plan for massive property tax increases was defeated. Unfortunately our colleagues passed an equally damaging bill allowing school districts to raise more money through local levies. Not only are they making it more harder for rural districts to pass levies, due to controversial mandates from Olympia, they also are increasing disparities between urban and rural districts, setting the stage for another school-financing lawsuit like the McCleary case of 2007. An adverse ruling inevitably would create pressure for new taxes, perhaps the general income tax they have been trying to enact for decades.
EXTREME POLICY LEGISLATION – This year our colleagues continued their efforts to force liberal Seattle attitudes on the entire state. One bill guts last year’s parental rights initiative and forces locally elected school boards to follow Olympia dictates on curriculum and transgender participation in girls’ sports. A “permit to purchase” bill requires gun purchasers to complete gun safety training courses, whether they need them or not. For us, the nearest classes will be in Spokane, creating an enormous obstacle to constitutionally guaranteed Second Amendment rights. Another bill gives unions the upper hand in labor negotiations by providing unemployment benefits to striking workers. These are just a few examples of the ideologically-driven bills passed this year – sadly, too many to list here.
A HANDFUL OF VICTORIES – Along the way, we managed to kill some of the worst ideas of the session, like a proposal for unnecessary and duplicative state woodstove regulation, and a plan to impose onerous requirements on initiative campaigns, preventing the public from challenging the Legislature. We passed bills that will do quite a bit of good for the 7th District. An Engell bill reduces costs for small Group B water systems serving fewer than 10 customers. Short bills provide funding for local wolf management and earmark compensation for deer and elk crop damage for farmers from our region. Although Abell’s bill to hire more police officers didn’t pass, some funds were included in the final budget toward that end. In a year when few Republican bills were permitted to advance, these victories were all the more significant.
As we return home, we are waiting for our new governor’s next move. Gov. Bob Ferguson has expressed frustration with his own party’s irresponsible budgeting practices. Full or partial vetoes are possible. If we must return to Olympia for a special session, we won’t complain. After a session like this one, a do-over may be the state’s best hope.
Sen. Shelly Short and Reps. Andrew Engell and Hunter Abell represent the 7th Legislative District, covering Northeastern and North Central Washington.