Well, it’s finally over. I’m speaking of Washington’s recent legislative session. If you’re from the “common sense” political party, the minority party in the state of Washington, you’re breathing a sigh of relief and saying to yourself, thank goodness, at least they can’t harm Washington any more than they already have or do anything else crazy.

The “they” I’m referring to is that other political party in the state of Washington, the one that wishes the legislative session could go on forever enacting crazy legislation. But first, let’s review the scorecard of what our new governor enacted into law on the 20th of May.

First, a $78 billion dollar budget was approved. This from a state whose budget is already $16 billion dollars in the red passed down from the last administration’s mismanagement. Nine billion dollars of that budget are new taxes upon the residents of Washington state, the highest tax increase in the state’s history.

The governor did cut $25 million dollars from the budget though. Wow! Thank you! What a magnanimous gesture. But if you want to do the math then here’s how it works out: $9 billion of $78 billion is 11.5%; $25 million of $78 billion is .03%. So basically, the person who ran as a moderate promising no new taxes came out of the closet and quickly moved to his “tax and spend” roots. But the party with the common sense was not fooled. He was who we thought he was, and he got elected anyway.

Part of those new taxes include an additional six-cents-per-gallon tax on regular and diesel gas. Well, that’s not much you say. Well, it wouldn’t be if Washington state didn’t already have the second highest gas and diesel fuel prices in the country. That would be because our previous governor enacted the climate carbon tax which was only supposed to cost the residents pennies per gallon but turned into an additional 35 to 50 cents per gallon in increased costs according to the Washington Policy Center.

Of course, the residents of Washington state had an out on that one last November but for some reason voted to continue the climate carbon tax, most of which is not even going to climate change at all.

Here’s some more legislative lunacy:

Earlier in the session, Democrats changed the House rules so they could cut off debate with the support of a simple majority rather than two-thirds of the members. So why did they do that? Maybe because the Democrats get so tired of hearing all that common sense and particularly taking the chance it might appear in the media.

HB 1296

That’s the controversial piece of legislation that overturned the parent notification rights afforded in Initiative 2081. Initiative 2081 was a citizen initiative that more than 400,000 residents signed onto and that was approved in last year’s legislative session. It declared 15 specific rights for the parents and guardians of public-school children under the age of 18.

But HB 1296 has lawmakers telling parents to have a seat and that the government knows what’s best for their kids. HB 1296 removes the rights of parents to receive prior notification when medical services are offered to their child, except where emergency medical treatment is required.

The same goes for notifications about when a school has arranged directly or indirectly for medical treatment that results in follow-up care outside normal school hours. The bill also removes language from the existing parental rights law that would make medical and mental health records available to a child’s parents. But common sense says it’s unhealthy for students to keep parents out of their health care loop.

HB 1163

Starting in two years, HB 1163 will require those interested in purchasing guns to apply for a five-year permit through the Washington State Patrol. Applicants must pay a fee and have completed a certified firearms safety training program within the past five years, with limited exceptions.

Don’t worry though, this yet another try at infringing on your second amendment rights will more than likely head to the Supreme Court and be overturned again. But what a waste of time.

HB 2331

In 2024, the Legislature passed HB 2331, which prevents schools from banning books simply because they highlight marginalized voices or topics, such as race, religion, gender identity, or sexuality. Schools that continue to restrict and remove books that contain 2SLGBTQIA+ characters and subject matter are not following state law.

Who cares that your children below the age of 10 can pick up these books and get an early sexual education? Yes, these are the same books that if an adult from the “common sense” party tries to read from it in a legislative session they will be shut down and told to stop reading such sexually explicit language on the floor of the Legislature. Hmmmm! Go figure!

Other bills

In some good news, Washington state police can now pursue vehicles if officers suspect someone is committing a crime. The new rules say cops can chase people if an officer “reasonably suspects” that they broke “the law.” Once again, if your common sense buzzer is going off in your head and you’re saying, duh, you’re a member of the “common sense” party. Yes, police are here to catch criminals. Who knew?

HB 1696 was a bill passed to expand a housing reparations program based on skin color, which will cost Washingtonians money and has little to do with correcting past wrongs and everything to do with image politics.

SB 5041: a bill that requires employers to pay workers even when they choose not to work and instead go on strike against them. Now that makes a lot of sense. I wonder who’s bright idea this was. They’re probably too embarrassed to admit to it.

HB 5480 prohibits medical debt from appearing on credit reports. Yes, seriously. State lawmakers who support this cannot say at all convincingly that they are working for cost-containment in health care.

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Daryl Knuth is a Sequim resident. A 1978 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he spent 21 years in the Air Force, and then another 20 years in federal government supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection, FEMA and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He and his wife Sandra retired and moved to Sequim in July 2019.