February 5, 2026

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This year’s legislative session reached a key deadline yesterday. It was the “policy cutoff,” the last day that Senate policy committees could pass Senate bills that were sent there. With this cutoff behind us, many bills that were introduced this year are now considered dead, although sometimes “dead” bills are resurrected later in session.

Next Monday is the last day for the Senate’s fiscal committees – Ways and Means, and Transportation – to vote on Senate bills that were assigned to either panel. After Monday, the Senate will spend several hours each day debating and voting on Senate bills that survived the committee stage of this session.

State income tax to receive public hearing tomorrow – here is how you can weigh in

One of the most controversial bills of this year’s “short” 60-day legislative session was introduced earlier this week in the state Senate.

Senate Bill 6346 would create a state income tax. To be specific, it would impose a 9.9% tax on your taxable income, with the first $1 million exempt. This bill would affect married people filing jointly who make a combined income of $1 million the same way it hits individuals.

If passed, the collection would begin in April 2029. An identical bill has been introduced in the House (HB 2724) but Democrat leaders agree the Senate will consider its bill first.

Democrats have scheduled a public hearing on their income-tax bill tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

This is your chance to tell the Ways and Means Committee, as well as Democrats in the Senate, that you oppose this bill. Unfortunately, the Democrats on this committee are allowing only one hour for testimony on the income-tax measure.

To sign up to testify on this bill or submit written testimony, please go here.

To submit written comments to legislators on this proposal, go here.

I oppose SB 6346 and will vote no if it reaches the Senate floor. Over the past several decades, Washington voters have repeatedly rejected proposals to create a state income tax. The Legislature needs to respect their wishes.

The bill’s Democratic sponsors and other supporters are trying to promote it as a tax on millionaires. But my Republican colleagues and I view it as an income tax. We think Democrats would eventually lower the income threshold so that everyone in Washington would pay it, not just millionaires. In fact, the $1 million standard deduction would be set only in state law, not the state constitution. That means future legislators could lower or eliminate the deduction through a simple majority vote to change a single sentence. No vote of the people would be required.

SB 6346 would override Initiative 2111, the measure approved by the Legislature (with bipartisan support) in 2024 that banned state and local income taxes in Washington.

While the bill does not contain an “emergency clause,” it has what’s being called a “necessity clause.” An emergency clause would not only prevent an attempt to overturn the tax via a voter referendum but also would make the tax effective immediately after the governor signs it. The necessity clause also prevents a referendum but doesn’t have the same impact on the effective date. Here is the bottom line: The people can’t overturn it by referendum.

I hope you’ll take a moment to express whether you support or oppose this bill. Thanks.

Two female high school athletes speak to a panel of Republican legislators in support of the initiative addressing the issue of boys competing in girls’ sports in school.

Listening sessions on two initiatives to Legislature draw large crowds

Early this session, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs certified two initiatives to the Legislature, sending them to us for consideration. One initiative addresses the controversial issue of boys competing in girls’ sports in school. The other focuses on parental rights in regard to students in schools.

Even though both initiatives qualified to go to the Legislature, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate said they are refusing to hold public hearings on them. Many of the initiatives’ supporters are upset by this because they want a chance for people throughout Washington to voice their opinions to legislators in an official venue.

In response to the Democrats’ refusal, Republican legislators held listening sessions on the two measures on Tuesday this week on the Capitol campus in Olympia. Both events attracted overflow crowds. Several female athletes, including one from the Spokane area, spoke to legislators about why they support the initiative preventing boys from competing in girls’ sports in school. Many parents testified in support of the parental rights measure.

You can read this Seattle Times story about the listening sessions.

Legislators have three options with initiatives to the Legislature: 1) adopt the initiative as written, in which case it becomes law; 2) refuse to pass it, which would result in the measure automatically being placed on the statewide ballot next fall; 3) propose and approve an alternative initiative, in which case both the original initiative and the alternative would both appear together on the fall statewide ballot.

Let me know if I can help

If you have any questions, or have a problem with a state agency and need help resolving it, please contact me. You can email me at jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov or call my office at 360-786-7610.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your 6th District state senator.

Sincerely,