On the Issues

“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy.” John Marshall (U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice inMcCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 327 (1819)) “To…maintain commerce…; to…discharge…debts and contracts, expend the public money with same care and economy we would practice with our own, and impose on our citizens no unnecessary bur[d]ens…are the landmarks by which we are to guide ourselves in all our proceedings.” Thomas Jefferson (Second Annual Message to Congress, 1802) I have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to vote against new or increased taxes. Read the pledge and frequently asked questions page. Here is a link to the list of signers. For four years now I have kept that promise. I have also vigorously defended the 2/3rds vote requirement to raise taxes that is overwhelmingly supported by people living in the 4th Legislative Districts. See my speech defending I-960. I will also actively seek to reduce property taxes (including the business personal property tax). Many citizens I have spoken with in the 4th District are being taxed out of their homes. This is due in large part to the implementation of the Growth Management Act (“GMA”) and artificial inflation of property values. I will address this hidden tax increase by working to repeal or overhaul the GMA while also reducing the penalties on delinquent property taxes as proposed by Spokane County Treasurer Rob Chase. People should never be forced to give up the American Dream because they can no longer afford the burden of high property taxes. Lowering taxes is the right direction for our state as our families face hard economic times and those on fixed incomes are increasingly impoverished by the immoral tax of inflation.

“Government is aptly compared to architecture; if the superstructure is too heavy for the foundation, the building totters, [even if] assisted by outward props.” Benjamin Franklin (Article in Pennsylvania Gazette, 1736) “The greatest [calamity] which could befall [us would be] submission to a government of unlimited powers.” Thomas Jefferson (Declaration and Protest of Virginia, 1825) LIMITED GOVERNMENT Free markets ensure a free people. I pledge to vote against any bill that would increase the size and scope of state government and to continue finding and cracking down on fraud, waste, and inefficiency I will also continue pushing back on unconstitutional federal laws using the 10th Amendment. I have been honored to help lead the country in nullifying unconstitutional federal laws like Obamacare (HB 1946 which I prime sponsored) and the indefinite detention provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (HB 2759 which I co-authored). Please read my comprehensive Step-by-Step Plan for Freedom to learn more about the 10th Amendment movement. At the State level the key issue this election is getting government out of the way of small business so we can get Washington working again. I will find, and continue working to eliminate, unnecessary regulations (and taxes) so we can improve the business climate in our state. I have support two solutions along these lines the first establishing 90-day Permits (HB 1961) and the second, reducing the amount of agency rule making (which add great uncertainty to the market) through the Regulatory Fairness and Accountability Act (HB 2276). Businesses should be establishing themselves in the 4th District, not Post Falls, Idaho. I have also worked diligently to eliminate waste and inefficiency in the system. For example, my bill to eliminate taxpayer-funded lobbyists (HB 2112) would save $42 million dollars according the Freedom Foundation. I also introduced a bill to require proof of continuing residency for welfare and food stamps which would save conservatively tens of millions more. People living in Idaho and Oregon should not be getting benefits from Washington. All citizens deserve affordable health care. Currently Washington has less than 10 plans to choose from. Some states have over 100. I will encourage competition and lower premiums by allowing more plans into the state, reducing government mandates (currently there are over 50), and using other non-insurance free-market solutions. I will continue strongly opposing the march toward enacting the unconstitutional Obamacare at the state level, which will cost approximately $30 billion over the next 10 years to implement according the Washington Policy Center. Government involvement has artificially increased energy prices by requiring more expensive power to be purchased by not counting hydro-power as a renewable energy source. This drives up cost on everyone including our local school districts. I co-sponsored HB 1125 that would treat hydro-power as renewable to help drive down the cost of electricity.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that, among these are Life…” Declaration of Independence I am unashamedly pro-life. Life begins at conception and should be protected until natural death. Life is the first right enumerated in our country’s Declaration of Independence. It therefore, should be treated as such. I do not believe taxpayers should fund elective medical procedures and I will continue fighting to stop state funding of abortion and attempts to mandate the payment of abortions by insurance companies. Parents should also be involved in the health care decisions of their minor children. A minor child cannot get a piercing, tattoo, or their tonsils removed without parental notice. It should be no different for an abortion where minor children can die from the associated complications. That is why I will continue to introduce a Parental Notification Bill like HB 1442 every year I am in the legislature. I also strongly oppose the current assisted suicide initiative due to the eerie similarities between the proponent’s reasoning and the eugenics movement in Nazi Germany.

“[Y]ou will want laws and magistrates to protect your property and persons, and to punish those among you who commit crimes. You will find that our laws are good for this purpose.” Thomas Jefferson (Address to Delawares, 1808) Tougher laws for sex offenders, human traffickers, drunk drivers, and thieves, has a direct positive impact on the economy and is the right thing to do. Currently in Washington it takes 5 convictions for DUI and 7 convictions for grand theft auto until a criminal sees serious jail time. That is absolutely unacceptable and I will continue working to reduce the numbers of convictions to 3 for each. I will work toward crime prevention, as well, to include introducing laws requiring accident and crime statistics be kept on illegal aliens and funding warrant enforcement at the state and local level. Additionally, we need stronger penalties on those that engage in and support human trafficking. We must also fully fund the Washington State Patrol’s property crime unit because property crimes decimate small business. Lastly, I strongly opposed restoring the voting rights of convicted felons before they had finished paying restitution. That is a slap in the face to victims. Listen to my speech.

More well maintained and safer roads for all, not buses and light rail for a few. Eastern Washington deserves a fair distribution of tax dollars and a completed North/South Freeway. This can be done without new taxes. Roads must be our priority not transit including necessary road maintenance funding.

“No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness…establish and improve the law for educating the…people.” Thomas Jefferson (Letter to George Wythe, 1786) “Our liberty depends on our education…” Fisher Ames (Oration on George Washington, 1800) Education equals opportunity. I believe in a first-class education in both public and private schools based on four simple principles: competition, prioritized funding, parental choice, and accountability. Along these lines I support school district funding determined by an objective standard, tracking each student’s performance from K-12, reducing and eliminating unfunded mandates on local school districts (HB 1025 which I co-sponsored), redirecting more funding for the developmentally disabled, and returning sole control over curriculum back to local school districts and parents. There must also be true choice in education and to that end I support tax credit scholarships and education savings accounts because parents know best how to raise their children and what school they should attend. The right to home school should never be watered down with strings.

It is not a “living” document ratified by each generation. Only the legislature and the people can change the state Constitution through the amendment process, not judges through court decisions. I support efforts to restrain judicial activism and restore basic constitutional principles. For example, the Washington State Supreme Court threw out I-747 (which capped property tax increases at 1% a year) even though 58% of voters supported the Initiative. The court opinion stated that the initiative was misleading because voters “would have perceived a much smaller impact on government coffers than would actually occur under I-747.” In other words people may not have voted for the initiative if they knew how much less the government would be receiving in taxes! That is unbelievable. Such egregious misuse of judicial power serves only to anger the people and further erode confidence in the judiciary. I also support bringing Washington into compliance with Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution and stopping the immoral tax of inflation, which, devastates those on fixed incomes (HB which I co-authored). Sound Money is a cornerstone of our republic and that is why I have set up the Washington Sound Money Committee Facebook page to educate people on this critical issue.

It is a fundamental principal of liberty that every person should own, and enjoy, the fruits of their labor. I am listed as one of the “Top 10 Washington State Representatives” by CAPR and I have taken the Citizen’s Alliance for Property Rights Pledge “In accordance with my oath of office to uphold my State Constitution and the Constitution of the United States, I hereby affirm that I will not use the power of my office to advance the regulation, loss of use, taking, or damage to any private property without just compensation to the owner having first been made.” This strikes at the heart of the insidious Agenda 21 and International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives. I will continue to support all efforts to rid local jurisdictions of ICLEI membership and legislation that seeks to roll back Agenda 21. That is why I co-founded the Stop Agenda 21 Caucus and Stop Agenda 21 Washington Facebook Page. Legislation like Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) and other currently proposed Land-Use regulations severely undermine private property rights. Proponents of this legislation seem to think that slugs, snails, and rare flowers are somehow more important than human beings. I wholeheartedly disagree with this line of reasoning that a “reverse zoo” where grizzly bears and wolves are looking in our back windows is a good thing for eastern Washington. I also do not believe farmers, ranchers, and loggers in eastern Washington should be told what to do on their land by those living in downtown Seattle. The introduction of Canadian wolves into Washington, which has decimated elk herds in Montana, is causing tremendous problems for our ranchers and farmers here, including loss of livestock. No citizen should ever have to go to court to fight for rights they already have. The Growth Management Act (GMA) is broken and has only served to instigate conflicts between developers and landowners. The GMA should be repealed or significantly overhauled from its current form. Lastly, eminent domain should be a power of last resort used only in very specific and limited circumstances such as for roads and NEVER for just increasing the “tax base.” If the government does not follow through on the project, the land, or profits made from the sale, should be returned to the original owner. That is why I have championed a bill and proviso to the budget every year that would establish a right of first repurchase for the original owner of property subsequently acquired by eminent domain and then later sold as surplus (HB 1441).

“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired…” Article 1, Section 24, Washington State Constitution I am an avid hunter and fisherman. Gun rights for law-abiding citizens are non-negotiable. I have received a consistent A+ rating from the NRA and the endorsement of the Gun Owners of America. At the end of the day, depending on whose statistics you use, guns are used to prevent 4-10 times more crimes than they are used to commit. I will continue to oppose any attempts to limit, track, or otherwise interfere with the sale of ammunition. An attempt to track ammunition by bar code was actually introduced in the past. In fact, just last year the Washington State Patrol asked gun dealers for the names, addresses, and phone numbers of everyone who purchased an AR-15 in the last 12 months. My letter co-signed by over 30 other members of the legislature helped stopped this request in its tracks. I will also continue to introduce legislation like the Firearms Freedom Act (HB 1990) that protects gun owners from the ever-encroaching arm of government bureaucrats. Hunting and fishing is a tradition going back many generations among residents in the 4th District. I will also work to improve game management laws to allow more access for hunters and fishermen.

It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known.” Thomas Jefferson (Letter to Mary Jefferson Eppes, 1801) Stronger families mean stronger societies and less crime. I support all efforts to protect and defend the traditional family.

“No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority. It has not left the religion of its citizens under the power of its public functionaries…” Thomas Jefferson (Reply to Address to New London Methodists, 1809) “Absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship, shall be guaranteed to every individual, and no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion…” Article I, Section 11, Washington State Constitution “The following ordinance shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of this state: First. That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured and that no inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship…” Article 26, Washington State Constitution This is the heart of our republic and our state. No person should have to choose between their conscience and their livelihood, otherwise it is by definition tyranny. I staunchly support the longstanding and well-recognized right of conscientious objection (the right not to not participate in an activity based on sincerely held religious beliefs). This includes, for example, health care providers and pharmacists so they may continue to freely exercise their religious beliefs without fear such as in the case of the Stormans Family where the Democrats wanted to force their small business to stock the Plan B abortion pill against their will. It also includes SB 6239 (now R-74) which would force small businesses like limo rentals, catering services, bakers, hotels, and photographers to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies against their will. See the conclusive proof that this is the case here at minute four. This clearly violates Article I, Section 11, and Article 26 of the State Constitution cited above.

“But nature…seems to have provided more securely for the perpetuation of the species, by making it the effect of the oestrum implanted in the constitution of both sexes. And not only has the commerce of love been indulged on this unhallowed impulse, but made subservient also to wealth and ambition by marriage…” Thomas Jefferson (Letter to John Adams, 1813) This is the heart of our republic and our state. No person should have to choose between their conscience and their livelihood, otherwise it is by definition tyranny. Marriage between one man and one woman is the best environment in which to raise children. I will continue working to strengthen our current Defense of Marriage Act and oppose any and all attempts to redefine marriage. I am also honored to help lead the statewide effort to stop the attempt to redefine marriage through the unconstitutional SB 6239 (now R-74).