Local Reps Reflect on Legislative Session, Highlighting Concerns Voted into Law

Local 7^th District Legislators Andrew Engell (R-Colville) and Hunter Abell (R-Inchelium) and State Senator Shelly Short (R-Addy) returned to the east side of the state after a 60-day legislative session in Olympia. The trio reflected on the progress they made for their constituents, as well as frustrations endured, during their time at the state’s capital. 

“There were good things that we worked on this session,” Short said, adding, “There were equally a number of things that were very concerning, most notably, the income tax, the sheriff's bill, and just how the budget was formulated.” 

Continuing to discuss recently passed Senate Bill 6346, often called the "millionaires' tax" as it will impose a 9.9% tax on personal income exceeding $1 million per year for households, Short, Engell, and Abell all agreed that the bill will face a court challenge because it “violates our state’s constitution.” Short said, “An income tax on anyone is an income tax on everyone eventually.” She added, “For people that we've talked to that say, ‘Hey, we really want this, because we need money for our communities,’ I get that. The challenge is there's no guarantee that it's gonna be used for the things that you want it to be.” Short said that three-quarters of money received from the income tax, set to begin in 2029, is already set aside for various state initiatives that may not directly benefit the 7^th district. 

Short said one of the positive takeaways from the legislative session this year was that the Department of Natural Resources wildfire funding was restored, meaning that more firefighters can be employed during wildfire season, more prescribed burns – which can help lessen the chances of wildfires igniting – allowed, and more fire suppression assets allotted.  

Short said reducing wildfire risk overall, as well as addressing the issue of homeowners' insurance for homes that may be affected by wildfires, are top of mind for her heading into the next legislative session. 

Abell echoed Short’s thoughts that the session was challenging, but added that it began on a high note. “My daughter, Elizabeth (Abell), sang the national anthem during the opening ceremonies in the Capitol,” he said and showed a picture of the Jan. 21 issue of the Statesman-Examiner with Elizabeth’s photo on the front page that he had framed. 

He continued, “I think, really, the big story of the session is the income tax – not only the fact that it was instituted, but that it was instituted via a statute rather than a constitutional amendment.” Abell said the State Supreme Court had ruled this type of tax as “unconstitutional” in the 1930s, and added that he was especially concerned that the bill was pushed through. “We were not brought a constitutional amendment to debate, which would have been the intellectual honest approach.” 

He added, “To the senator’s point [referring to Short], an income tax on one group of people today is going to eventually be on everybody at some point. And I think history tells us that with federal taxes.”

Abell said, while the outcome of the income tax was disappointing, the debate of the bill itself was “fascinating.”

“It was 24-and-a-half hours [of debate time] which was astonishing. We started debating [other bills] at about 9 a.m. in the morning, and were up for 36 hours…We had 80-year-olds with heart conditions staying up all night to argue that this is a bad policy proposal for the state of Washington.” 

Abell continued, “It was a tremendous debate. Although the result of the bill is not what I would have liked, I think the debate is one that everyone could take pride in.” Engell chimed in and said that, typically, bills will undergo roughly 10 amendments, but that the income tax bill saw upwards of 70; two Republican amendments were accepted into the bill, one which was Engell’s. 

Engell also said the income tax could potentially affect small businesses. 

“One of the things we tried with a couple of amendments was to do an ‘averaging option.’ With agriculture, you could go for 10 years without making a profit at all. And then you could add one really good year and end up over a million bucks. They're paying a tax, but they might have made less than the median average income if you spread it out over 5 or 10 years.” However, Engell said that idea didn’t gain traction during the legislative session. “That's a challenge of a cyclical thing like agriculture,” he said, adding that the Internal Revenue Service can offer some flexibility where this bill may not. 

Engell and Abell also said they had pitched a military exemption to the bill, which also didn’t make headway; Abell ultimately called the income tax a “cash grab.” 

Speaking of the shorter session, Short called it “intense.” Every other year, Washington switches between a 60-day and 105-day legislative session. Short said they still had to fit 105 days-worth of work into the 60-day timeframe. “It used to be a 60-day session was to do things that were necessary, and address issues that came up. Now, it's full-blown, just like a regular 105-day session,” she said. Short added that there is not as much time to debate bills or look at the potential impact that bills may cause. “Years ago, we would do work sessions and things like that before a really big bill would be brought forward. They don't really do that anymore. So you really scramble to have the best understanding you could have about the impact of a bill.” 

For Abell and Engell, this was their first year working within a short session. “At the end of it, I came away thinking that something is structurally wrong with the sheer number of bills in this amount of time. I think it takes a toll on the deliberation that you want and need to have on bills in order to make bills better,” Abell said. “It really was a frantic pace throughout the entirety of the session. It was a wild ride all the way through. But it does make me wonder if there's some sort of structural changes that might be appropriate when thinking about these short sessions,” he said.

Short added, “I've often thought that a 60-day session should be what I consider more of an overview…and really drill down into things. Are they working? Are there things that need to be changed potentially?” She said the 105-day sessions should be the sessions when major laws are made. 

Speaking to the lessons learned last year that were helpful heading into a short session, Engell emphasized the relationships he made with both Democrats and Republicans. “To me, this session felt a lot more collaborative, and I don't know that it was that way overall, but it felt that way to me because I knew who to go talk to about stuff.” He added that he had a better understanding of how to approach bill sponsors with his concerns and how to recommend alternative ideas. “I was much more effective at that this year than last year, and I think a lot of that was just, I'm not brand new anymore,” he said. Acting as a Republican in a Democratically led state, Engell said his job is to “expose the cracks in their ideas and the unintended consequences and try to get them to change them so that it's not as harmful.” He said that most of the members from both parties are “pretty good at having those fights,” and that the state has “a lot of really smart fighters.” Engell added that most bills aren’t “highly-partisan,” though and that the legislators proposing them are trying to solve problems for their own districts and constituents. He said, however, a solution to a problem in the Puget Sound Metro area could cause a problem for areas such as Colville, and that is where collaboration can help. “That's the part that I'm better at; trying to build relationships and look for common sense.” He also said, “There's a lot of opportunities to fix [a problem] before it causes an attack.”

Abell said he was reminded about the importance of tenacity. “Nobody's gonna pass your bill for you. You really do have to work for your bill and relationships are incredibly important on both sides of the aisle.” Along with tenacity, he added it is important to be professional and polite, but also firm when advocating for a bill. “If you do get knocked down, you gotta get right back up.”

Reflecting on her own lessons, Short said, “You always learn things. I always call it ‘three-dimensional chess’ because it changes on a whim and in my position as Senate Republican floor leader, I’m talking a lot with the majority floor leader, and am making sure that what I say can be trusted.” She stated that “it’s looking for the give and take” when working with opposite members of the aisle, and “not caring who gets credit” for positive bills passed, adding that it was a bipartisan effort to restore funding for wildfire prevention and assets. 

Abell agreed, saying “there is a strong bipartisan spirit that lives in the legislature on certain things (such as) involving family members. The speakers are very gracious to have Libby [his daughter] sing the national anthem. I think it was meaningful for her, and meaningful for me.”

Speaking to other personal highlights, Abell said he was able to pass bills this session, despite the short timeframe, including House Bill 2179, aimed to protect port workers from duplicate retirement payments, House Bill 2239 to allow family burial grounds on private property, and House Bill 1541 which will update the structure of the state’s Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee. Abell said this bill provides recommendations to the governor and the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs on issues affecting veterans across the state. The bill was informally named the “Jim Judd Memorial Act” in honor of Jim Judd, a veteran from Inchelium.

Abell said he also passed a bill that would allow remote electronic notarization of documents, which he said would be helpful in rural areas. Engell joked that he and Abell are tied for the number of bills they’ve been able to pass over the last two legislative sessions. “The competition is on next year,” Engell said. 

Engell talked about his bills passed, including House Bill 2114 that requires the Department of Licensing to replace peeling or defective license plates for free within five years of issuance. It also waives replacement fees for plates with illegible numbers or peeling paint, addressing a common issue, he said. “It's not a transformative, ‘change the world’ bill, right? It's just one thing that we can do to show that government can work,” Engell said. Engell’s other bill passed this year, House Bill 2113, allows advanced registered nurse practitioners) and physicians assistants to supervise radiologic procedures. “It's a little technical, but realistically, without the bill, 16 hospitals in the state would have had to hire more doctors that they might not be able to find. Doctors aren't easy to afford,” Engell said. Discussing the process of getting his bill passed, Engell said he worked with Representative Dan Bronoske (D), a legislator who also serves as the Chair of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee. While they both voted against each other during certain debates, they were able to work together to pass Engell’s bill. “That’s how it should work, right? We're not yelling at each other as personal enemies, but rather here on the behalf of the people we represent. At the end of the day, we find common ground. I think that's how the process should work,” Engell said.  

Abell agreed, adding, “That's the problem with our culture right now. What we need is people who disagree, talking to each other more. Have a conversation, understand why you disagree, where the other person's coming from. Go away with the same opinion, that's fine. Yeah. But don't feel like you have to be enemies because you had a conversation. That's the problem, not talking about those things is how we got into the mess we're in today.”

Each leader also spoke about the upcoming elections this year. Abell, Engell, and Short each will be running for reelection.

Abell said, “This is my first time running for reelection, you need to earn reelection. You have to take it very seriously. He added that, for him, it's an honor to represent the district. “Looking forward, I would like to focus on our rural quality of life issues. I have a continuing interest in law enforcement hiring. I think it is incredibly important. That will continue to be important as we go forward, as well as judicial reform. Of course, I'll continue my advocacy for our veteran population as well,” he said. 

Short said she will “definitely be running for reelection.” She said that she wants to use her experience to continue working on issues that affect groups, families, and individuals, such as wildfire risks and homeowner's insurance. “I think there's going to be a lot in that space that's definitely going to be at the top of my list,” she said, adding that there are bills she wants to bring forward that haven’t passed, such as one that would give schools flexibility on how heating and cooling systems are mandated. “And then, always, always keep an eye on the energy issues; are we getting the electricity we need? Where is it coming from? You know, just that whole regulatory arena.” She also said, “I'm sure we'll have ideas that'll come up from constituents, which, to me, that's the best part of representative government. I'm excited to visit with people, and just really get back at it.”

Engell said, “I ran my first campaign as a strong conservative, like most people in this district, but I believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect, listening to all types of people, and finding common ground. That's something I've really worked on since getting elected, and that's something I want to continue to push for, is, we got to get back to working together.” He quipped, “If I can't work with Democrats in my own district, how am I going to work with ones in charge, right?” Affordability is another issue for Engell. “That’s people's number one concern that I hear about. Unfortunately, things didn't get any more affordable this year. We need to find ways to make things more affordable and easier to comply with government rules.” He added that building constituents’ trust in government is also important for him as he moves into the next election cycle.