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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope this email finds you well.
Since the legislative session ended April 27, I have provided you updates via a town hall with Reps. Stephanie McClintock, Ed Orcutt, and Peter Abbarno, and an email update in late June. In the ensuing two months, I have traveled the district meeting with constituents and businesses, as well as attended multiple gatherings around the state.
These included a tour of the Washington School for the Deaf; the Madrona Recovery facility at the former Daybreak Youth Services site; Camp Hope north of Battle Ground; and a salmon recovery project in north Clark County.
I also met with members of the County Road Advisory Board (CRAB) visiting projects in both Clark and Cowlitz Counties; met with Legacy Salmon Creek officials; attended a Pacific Northwest Economic Region conference; and most recently was in Pasco for a Farmer for a Day event hosted by the Washington State Farm Bureau.
The Fix Washington Podcast
I sat down with Rep. Peter Abbarno at the Vancouver Waterfront last month for our caucus podcast. You can watch the episode on YouTube. We talked about the Interstate Bridge Replacement, recent tax increases, and what to expect next year. I welcome your feedback on our conversation.
In the past month, most of the legislation enacted during our 105-day session became law. Chief among them are significant new taxes, including an increase in gas and diesel fuel taxes, a variety of recreation “fees” for state parks and fishing licenses, and significant Business and Occupation (B&O) tax increases.
Where is the state spending the $9.5 billion in new General Fund taxes? My colleague Rep. Travis Couture produced the following graphic. It shows a variety of increases and decreases in spending; choices made by the majority party.
Government employees received the largest share of funding for pay and benefit increases.
You’ll note the largest amount in increased spending is $3 billion for “Employee Compensation’” followed by “Special Appropriations” and K-12 Education.
In terms of funding cuts, the majority party took $1.2 billion from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The second largest cut was $979 million from the Department of Social and Health Services. Don’t forget, these cuts are AFTER raising General Fund taxes by $9.5 billion.
The Department of Revenue recently announced it is sending notices to over 90,000 businesses about an Oct. 1 requirement for them to begin collecting retail sales taxes on behalf of the state. These new taxes include information technology services, custom website development services, investigation, security and armored car services, temporary staffing services, advertising services, live presentations, and more. I voted against ESSB 5814, knowing Washington families and businesses were already facing hard fiscal realities and couldn’t afford even higher taxes.
As part of my efforts to better understand how your tax dollars were spent, I recently highlighted the Brockmann Campus where the state spent $42 million to build a 48-bed mental health facility just north of WSU Vancouver. Sadly, the majority party refused to fund the staffing and operations in this year’s budget. I am working with fellow legislators to bring attention to this important issue, including sending a letter to the acting DSHS Secretary, Bea Rector and the governor. Click here to see our request. We hope to find funding next year to allow this much needed facility to begin serving patients with significant mental health issues.
Last month I attended the groundbreaking for the new C-TRAN Bus Rapid Transit line at WSU Vancouver. The $42 million project highlights a much more affordable, flexible, and efficient mass transit system for Vancouver and Clark County residents. This contrasts with the $2 billion light rail extension proposed for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program that extends Portland’s MAX light rail into Vancouver. The Yellow Line travels only 14 mph, whereas this BRT line could travel well over twice that speed if extended into Portland.
I am interested in supporting affordable and flexible transit solutions that deliver value to citizens and taxpayers. In a press statement I said: “The C-TRAN bus service offers better quality service and costs roughly 40% less per boarding rider to operate than TriMet’s MAX light rail. Clark County citizens do not want to pay more taxes for Portland’s troubled MAX light rail.”
The Governor recently signed a contract to purchase three new hybrid diesel-electric ferries from a Florida shipbuilder for $714 million. Vancouver’s Vigor Marine chose not to bid on the contract, citing significant problems in dealing with the state about 5 years ago on a contract. These hybrid ferries are roughly triple the price of normal clean diesel ferries which could have been delivered sooner. The Florida firm won the bid despite Washington-based firms being given a 13% credit by the legislature. More than a dozen other aging vessels in the fleet must be replaced soon.
The Columbian editorial board recently published a column about the Interstate Bridge Replacement program and said it deserved “sober reflection,” yet their column didn’t provide any scrutiny. I wrote a response that was published providing multiple areas of scrutiny you have communicated to me about your concerns with the project. The IBR is not planning for the future, it’s setting us up for gridlock. Seventy percent of people want to save time and reduce congestion, which the IBR fails to deliver.
In the news
Another part of my job is working the news media. I regularly submit articles and columns for publication. Here are a couple articles relevant to current issues:
- The C-TRAN Board composition
- The Truth Behind the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the potential for a significant earthquake.
- An analysis of TriMet’s “Better Red” line extension costs and allocation because they are demanding that Clark County taxpayers contribute $7 million annually for the light rail extension into Vancouver.
Additionally, my colleague Rep. Ed Orcutt is quoted in these two articles that highlight our state’s tax collections and budget situation:
- Tax collections tumble again in latest Washington budget forecast | Washington State Standard | June 24, 2025
- WA council wrestles with revenue growth assumptions | The Center Square | May 29, 2025
The next state revenue forecast will be on September 23.
Please stay in touch
I am your state representative throughout the year. You are welcome to email or call me anytime. I welcome any opportunity to hear your concerns.
Sincerely,
John Ley
