Friends,

The 2024 legislative session begins this week! And, as we prepare for the chaos in Olympia (and the national title game), we hope to keep you up-to-date with an item or two of interest last week from your own backyard. Read on…

This week’s Newsmaker Interview…
State Senator Drew MacEwen (LD-35) joined us for this week’s Newsmaker Interview. Serving as the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee, MacEwen discussed his strategy for the 2024 legislative session, and his aim to thwart misguided Democrat proposals, including bans on natural gas and rent control. Despite Republicans being in the minority, Sen. MacEwan expressed hope for bipartisan collaboration on key issues such as public safety and affordability. Also a Congressional candidate in the 6th District, he outlined his priorities if elected to Congress, focusing on national security, budget reform, and border security. Read more.

A pre-session survey…
With the start of the 2024 legislative session, we want to hear your thoughts on the critical issues facing our state! Please take our survey and give us your input on the most pressing issue that state lawmakers should address during the upcoming 2024 legislative session. The issues under consideration include public safety, affordability, education, and the Let’s Go Washigton initiatives. Take the survey now.

This week’s top story…
The Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers recently revealed, based on documents from Inslee's own administrative sources, that despite the governor's claims otherwise, he has long known that taxing CO2 emissions was known to significantly increase gasoline and natural gas prices. Myers relied on the governor's chief policy advisor, and a Senior Policy Advisor from the environmental group Climate Solutions, who admitted a decade ago that raising gas prices was the intended goal of the cap-and-trade policy which Inslee has long promoted. Even the mainstream media has now acknowledged that Inslee has knowingly misled the public, and now documents from 2014 further contradict his statements about the minimal impact of his carbon tax on gas prices. Read this story and more.

In case you missed it…
In Shift’s annual interview with a legislative leader before the start of the session, we interviewed Senate Republican Leader John Braun from Centralia, who serves the 20th Legislative District in Southwest Washington. In his interview, Senator Braun outlined the three policy areas his caucus will focus on during the upcoming session (which commences on January 8). He also discussed the initiatives to the legislature that Let’s Go Washington has delivered. Senator Braun shared his thoughts on the learning loss suffered by public education students during Governor Inslee’s unilateral decision to unnecessarily force kids to stay in unproductive distance learning situations longer than anywhere else in the country. Finally, the GOP Senate Leader explained his views on the state budget, parental rights, and what more the legislature can do to repair the state’s criminal justice system after recent Democrat laws led to skyrocketing crime rates and more crime victims. Read more.

Your bit of inspiration for the week…
Enjoy the beauty of Mt. Rainier, as photographed by former U.S. Rep. Rod Chandler.