Local Representative Motivated by Constituents as He Looks Forward to Upcoming Session

7^th District Legislative Rep. Hunter Abell (R-Inchelium) reflected on his time spent since leaving Olympia in April, and what he looks forward to accomplishing during the next legislative session. 

The representative said he has juggled a number of projects since the last session ended. Abell, who served in the U.S. Navy and the Reserves, discussed a bill he’s working on that would  revise the composition of the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee (VAAC). According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the VAAC serves in an advisory capacity to the governor and the director of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. Abell said his bill focuses on “trying to ensure that the governor receives the best advice that he can get on issues impacting our veteran community as well as our active duty community.” The representative had proposed the bill last session, which passed the house, but “got caught up in some political turbulence in the senate,” according to Abell. 

“So I spent the last seven months working on those issues, and I went back to the veterans community and… received some great feedback from our veterans. Then I had the chance to speak with Democrats on the other side of the issue and I think we figured out a good path forward. So I'm cautiously optimistic,” Abell said. 

Another issue that has been top of mind for Abell has been trying to hire more law enforcement officers in the state. “This has been an ongoing problem for 15 years,” Abell said. “We've actually ranked last in the nation in terms of per capita number of law enforcement officers.” He said he was the lead house Republican sponsor of the bill last session to provide $100 million for the hiring of law enforcement.

“This is the problem as we look at our fentanyl issues, as we look at the spike of property crimes. People don't want to live in a state if it's not safe to be here. The streets are not safe. This is not a partisan issue; this is a public safety issue,” Abell said. He added that there was a bill that advanced to the governor's desk last session that would provide $100 million for any “justice-related purpose,” but that would not necessarily fill the law enforcement gap. 

“My concern is that [the bill] is too broad. Any ‘justice-related purpose’ could mean counseling programs for prisoners behind bars,” Abell said, clarifying that it is still important to him for  individuals who are incarcerated to be rehabilitated to return to the community. 

“But that's not what we rank last in,” Abell continued, “We rank last in police officers. So I'm going to be re-addressing this issue.”

Abell also referred to the lack of law enforcement as a “cultural issue,” stating that, “Unfortunately, people don't want to be cops in Washington. They would rather be cops. It turns out, in any other state. So that's a real problem.”

Abell added that the law enforcement issue is not just an urban or city problem, but it affects communities in the 7^th district as well. 

“A great example is my county (Ferry County),” Abell said. “We're operating about half strength in the sheriff's office. And this has been a problem for a long time. With that few number of law enforcement officers, it's just a very thin presence on the ground. We've got one state patrol officer up there; we've got a sheriff's office that is very thinly-manned. If something bad happens, it could be a very long time before somebody shows up. So that's the real problem.”

Abell said other projects he has focused on in between legislative sessions is a bill that would allow for the creation of “family burial grounds” in the state of Washington. He said he believed this bill would be of interest to the 7^th district, particularly those living on generational ranches. 

Another point of interest for Abell is the ongoing issue with predators, such as wolves and cougars, and the related decline in the area’s white tail deer population. “I’m trying to think about effective, appropriate management of our wildlife,” Abell said. 

Along with planning for the next legislative session, Abell said he has spent time meeting with his constituents. 

“It’s the best part of the job, it’s really fun,” Abell said. He continued that he has participated in a large number of parades and fairs over the summer, which have provided him with the opportunity for people to approach him more casually about issues they face. 

“In a five minute conversation, you can learn more about what is really on somebody's mind than any number of 15 minute increment meetings with lobbyists in Olympia,” he said.

Abell said the issue that was repeatedly brought up to him was raised taxes, including the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax. Abell called the B&O tax “cruel,” because the tax is a gross receipts tax on businesses. Unlike an income tax, it is imposed on a business's total gross income, and generally no deductions are allowed for labor, materials, taxes, or other costs of doing business, according to Abell. 

“For businesses that are on the edge [or] are maybe temporarily running in the margin, we just made that much more difficult for that to stay in business. So that's a real concern,” he said. 

Along with the B&O tax, Abell said he’s heard concern over raised sales taxes, gas taxes, property taxes, and fee increases for things such as Discover passes, and hunting and fishing licenses. 

“It seems in some cases, the majority [of state leaders] chose to tax the joy out of Washington,” Abell said, adding that “the stuff that we enjoy doing, everything just became much more expensive.”

Abell said he’s concerned that the raised taxes, and subsequently the cost of living, has encouraged residents to move out of state; particularly to Idaho where it is cheaper to live. 

“After the session's over and these taxes went into effect, unsurprisingly, a lot of people changed their behavior to avoid the impact of these taxes. People with the means have opted to move [and are] leaving the state,” he said. 

Abell shared an example of how his own neighbors have chosen to leave his community and move to Idaho. “We lost out on all the benefits, not only of their involvement in the community, not only of their friendship being just down the road, but the tax benefits that come from them choosing to live and do business here in Washington. And that's repeated in thousands and thousands and thousands of instances,” he stated.

Abell also discussed the numerous town halls that he and fellow representative Andrew Engell (R-Colville), hosted throughout the 7^th district. “This is where we need to be having constructive, genuine conversations designed to help build bridges and make sure that people feel heard,” he said. Abell also said that the issues raised varied, from citizens wanting to talk about their discontentment with the federal government, to local education laws, specifically the Parents Bill of Rights, which aims to strengthen parental rights in education by ensuring parents can access curriculum, view student records, and have more say in their child's schooling, according to the bill’s language. Abell said, when discussing the Parents Bill of Rights at a town hall in Deer Park, he heard feedback that led him to understand that public trust was lost because legislators moved to pass the bill themselves without putting it to public vote. Abell called the decision “problematic.” Another issue he heard about at town halls was regarding legislation around school boards. “There is new legislation that requires school board members to take certain actions and, if they do not, they can be removed from serving on the school board,” Abell said, adding that he took issue with the legislation because it could prohibit school board members from enacting actions that they ran their campaign on, thus further fracturing public trust. 

“I'm concerned that it's going to make people no longer run for school board. And that's a real problem because the school board's one of the first opportunities for political involvement,” he said. 

Abell said every town hall raised concerns about the cost of living and the affordability situation. “We have got to get a handle on this and I don't believe the answer is to continually try to tax our way to prosperity. People are leaving the state. People are closing their businesses. So this is a real problem because the health and strength of our small businesses are really the health and strength of our small communities,” he said. 

Speaking to some of the hurdles he’s faced as a legislator, Abell said there is a significant lack of education surrounding how the 7^th district is different from any other district in the state. “A lot of people don't know that our district is larger than 9 U.S. states,” Abell said. “So the geographic area is huge; the sheer size and the rural nature of the district just makes it very different than the vast majority of our legislators who come from urban or suburban districts.” Abell said a huge part of his job is trying to overcome that gap in education in a constructive, proactive, and respectful manner. He said a lot of his conversations revolved around explaining why certain actions that work well on the west side of the state, would actually be disruptive to communities in the 7^th district. 

“The partisan gap is another challenge,” Abell said. “We have to focus on the mission. Like, genuinely try and improve roads, public safety, schools, that sort of thing, and ensure [taxpayer] dollars would be wisely spent.”  He added that he felt as though there was tension within the majority caucus about engaging with the minority, which he hopes will change. 

“It's vitally important to interact with the minority in shaping policy, even if the minority doesn't get its way, it's important to interact with them, in order to ensure the process has integrity,” he said. “Something I talk and think about is this question of common ground and how best do we interact with people who politically disagree with us,” Abell added. 

Reflecting on the highlights as a legislator, Abell said, “To me it is really meaningful to do this adventure with my kids.” He continued, “It's really exciting for me to see them become more familiar with the process, more familiar with the people who are there, the individuals that are present. My kids are into Legos, so they ended up making, at one point, little Lego representations, not just of me, but one of Andrew (Engell) and Senator (Shelly) Short.”

Abell said, “It's also a reminder to me about why I'm doing it. I think anybody who does public service is doing it because they want to make their community better and they want to make it a better place for their kids and their grandkids.”

With his first year under his belt, Abell said he’s excited for the upcoming legislative session. 

“This [session] will be another opportunity to advocate for our district's values; for us [Engell and Abell] to be genuine, accurate participants in our conversations about good public policy here in the state. I’m going to try and help people feel that they are heard, [and] that their values are represented in Olympia. So I'm very excited about that,” he said. 

The legislative session will begin Jan. 12, 2026.