Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Shelly Short’s subscribers on Feb. 5, 2026. To subscribe to Sen. Short’s e-newsletters, click here.

Flash! Proposal for a state income tax gets a hearing Friday

Act now to register your opinion with the Legislature

Tell Democrats in Olympia what you think of their plan for a state income tax! Senate Bill 6346 will be heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. This may be your best chance to register your opinion with the Legislature. Click here to let the Legislature know your view, pro or con. You can use this same link to sign up to testify. This page will remain active until one hour before the hearing begins.

If we stand any chance of heading this bill off, it is through the strength of numbers. The Legislature needs to hear from you.

Battle of the year begins in Olympia as Democrats release proposal for state income tax

It would only be a matter of time before this income tax is expanded to all of us

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The biggest battle in the Legislature this year was launched this week as legislative Democrats finally released their bill to impose an income tax on the people of this state. This latest effort is the most serious threat Washington taxpayers have ever faced.

The Washington Legislature has debated this issue countless times over the last 90 years, ever since our state Supreme Court ruled that a graduated state income tax would require a constitutional amendment – and thus a vote of the people. We’ve been saying no since the Great Depression, 10 times so far.

This time our colleagues hope to solve that problem by not asking your permission. They will wait for the inevitable court challenge and use it as an excuse to ask today’s far-more-liberal Supreme Court to overturn its 1933 ruling. You won’t have a say. That’s one reason I’ll be voting against Senate Bill 6346 – one of many.

Makes Washington less affordable

At a time when affordability is the single most important issue for the people of Washington, this proposal takes us in the wrong direction.

Our state doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. Current legislative leadership spent our state into a financial crisis and exhausted pretty much every other source of revenue by passing enormous tax increases over the last several years. This is really about raising more money so that state government can spend more. If this income tax becomes law in this state, there will be no incentive for majority Democrats to set priorities and pass responsible budgets. We’ll just wind up in even deeper trouble.

Our colleagues are trying to pitch this as “a tax on millionaires.” Don’t you believe it. This tax initially targets high earners, but small business owners would be lumped in with them, few of whom can call themselves rich. And within a few years we can expect that this tax would be expanded to all of us, because that’s the way income taxes always go – just ask the 41 other states that have them. An income tax on anyone is an income tax on everyone.

Support for girls’ sports, parental rights sounded in initiative ‘listening sessions’

Legislative Republicans offer public forums when Democratic leaders refuse hearings

Student athletes testify at an afternoon listening session Tuesday. A second forum on this year’s initiatives took place in the evening.

This week it was my honor to participate in “listening sessions” on a pair of initiatives that have been shut out of consideration in this year’s legislative session. The people collected 863,000 signatures to place these initiatives before the Legislature, to protect girls’ sports and establish parental rights in public education.

Sadly, my colleagues are refusing to consider them, despite a mandate in the state Constitution that initiatives should take precedence over all bills except budgets. These two measures are a response to a political dogma that has taken hold in Olympia, placing trans issues above all else in our K-12 schools, superseding the rights of parents and tossing aside the years of struggle involved in establishing viable girls’ sports leagues.

IL26-001 is a re-run of a parental rights initiative submitted by the people to the Legislature two years ago. This measure ensures that parents have a right to know about medical treatments and other issues involving their children in our public schools. Our colleagues passed this initiative in 2024, then returned in last year’s session and promptly gutted it – a strategy to thwart initiatives from the people that is permitted under a loophole in our state Constitution.
IL26-638 protects fairness in school athletics by preventing boys from competing on girls’ teams. This measure counters an effort by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to force school districts and student athletes into submission.

I wish my Democratic colleagues had been willing to give these two measures a hearing, because they would have learned about the harm their policies have created. Nothing against trans kids, but girls should not be forced to give up safe spaces and hard-won athletic opportunities to accommodate them. School officials should not substitute their judgment for that of parents. We heard gut-wrenching stories from teen-age girls and their coaches about the pressure, intimidation and harassment they face in speaking out.

At this point, it appears these two initiatives will advance to the fall general election ballot due to inaction by this year’s Legislature. At least on this issue, the people of Washington will be allowed the final say.

Proud to listen to the people: At the Tuesday afternoon listening session, I was joined by Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, and Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake.

Save the date! Telephone town hall meeting set for Feb. 26

Later this month, I will be joining my seatmates, Reps. Hunter Abell and Andrew Engell, for a public conversation about the 2026 legislative session. You’ll be able to participate in this telephone town hall meeting from anywhere in the 7^th District – from your home, your car, or anywhere you can pick up a signal. Many of you will receive calls asking you to stay on the line to be connected, but we will have a call-in number as well. I’ll share more information as the date comes near, and I hope you will be able to participate.