Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers September 5, 2024. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.
Dear friends and neighbors,
There are several national surveys and reports in which any state would wish to rank at or near the top. Unfortunately, a recently published survey reveals Washington is hovering near the bottom when it comes to a very important issue – business.
The Washington Policy Center posted a story last week about a new survey of best and worst states for business, conducted by Chief Executive magazine. It ranked our state a dismal 46th nationally. Only New Jersey, Illinois, New York and California were rated as more difficult places to run a business.
Not surprisingly, the WPC article pointed to tax policy as an area in which Washington fares especially poorly.
“Washington has implemented an anti-business approach to taxation and is no longer a friendly place to do business, which is reflected in the results of the survey,” the article noted. The piece mentioned our state’s “punitive” tax structure, which includes the business and occupation tax and the recently implemented capital-gains income tax on the sale of a business.
From the report: “This B&O tax represents 19.1% of the taxes a business pays to Washington and is calculated on gross revenue, allowing no deductions for costs. Even a business that loses money has to pay B&O tax on any revenue generated.”
The story noted that Washington’s anti-business tax structure is a key reason why the state’s unemployment rate is 4.9%, one of the highest in the nation.
While Washington is home to several world-famous companies, it doesn’t mean our state has a great business climate. The Chief Executive survey is proof. It’s time for the Legislature and Washington’s next governor to make a greater commitment to making needed changes – including reforms of the tax structure – to make Washington a better place to do business.
Remember that a good business climate means more good-paying jobs for Washingtonians!
If you have questions about how to participate in state government this year or thoughts to share on anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call or send me an email.
Thank you, as always, for the honor of representing you in Olympia!
Best Regards,
Senator Mike Padden
Attending award ceremony for Girl Scout who inspired pollinator-habitat law
Senator Padden with Girl Scout Julia Costello during her Gold Award ceremony this week.
As many of you might recall, a meeting late last year with Mount Spokane High School senior Julia Costello led me to prime-sponsor a bill to help enhance the habitat for bees and other pollinators. At the time Julia was trying to complete requirements for the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts. One requirement was to work with a legislator on sponsoring a bill, which is why Julia reached out to me about her pollinator-habitat proposal.
During this year’s legislative session, Julia traveled to Olympia to testify before a House committee in favor of the pollinator measure, Senate Bill 5934. After the Legislature passed SB 5934, Julia and her parents attended the ceremony in Kent this past March, during which Governor Inslee put his signature on the proposal.
Fast forward several months later. I was honored to be invited by Julia to attend this week’s ceremony in which she received her Gold Award. Earning this special honor required years of hard work and perseverance, and I congratulate Julia on this fine accomplishment. I’m pleased that I played a role by sponsoring the legislation that came from her request last year.
Confining biological men in a women’s prison?! (Bad idea)
The Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy.
You can place the following under the category of unbelievable but true – and a bad idea. Last week I read a story in The Center Square – which followed up on a National Review article – about how at least 11 biological-male convicts, including several who committed violent crimes against women and children, are housed at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, between Tacoma and Bremerton.
The Center Square article included this email response from the state Department of Corrections to the reporter’s question about allegations of sexual assault committed by some biologically male inmates against female inmates: “The National Review chooses to misgender these individuals. They are all transgender. DOC has established procedures to ensure equitable treatment of transgender, intersex, and/or gender non-binary individuals when conducting intake screening and determining housing, classification, programming and supervision.”
It’s time for DOC to make a much greater commitment to protecting the safety of its biological-female inmates instead of prioritizing biological-male inmates who identify as females. In fact, those biological-male inmates must be in facilities for male inmates.
Receiving poster from Hutton Settlement
It was a great honor to receive a poster this Tuesday from Chud Wendle, the executive director of the Hutton Settlement, in appreciation for my years as a legislator. Many of the Hutton board and staff members signed or included short messages on the poster, which was presented during the Hutton Settlement Board meeting.
Contact us!
If you have a question or concern about state government, please do not hesitate to contact our office. During the interim we are conducting business from our district office in Spokane Valley. We are here to serve you!
Phone: 509-921-2460
Email address: Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov
PLEASE NOTE: Any email or documents you provide to this office may be subject to disclosure under RCW 42.56. If you would prefer to communicate by phone, please contact Sen. Padden’s Olympia office at (360) 786-7606.
To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton, the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.