The Democratic senator who is prime sponsor of Senate Bill 5770 today told The Washington State Standard that the bill will not be brought forward
Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver and Senate Republican budget leader, offered this comment after learning the proposal to allow local governments to raise property taxes by up to 3% annually without a vote of the people will not move any further this legislative session.
The Democratic senator who is prime sponsor of Senate Bill 5770 today told The Washington State Standard that the bill, which was placed on the Senate voting calendar Wednesday, will not be brought forward. Most of the 18 Democrats who are sponsors of the bill hail from the Puget Sound area, and 13 Democrats on the Senate Ways and Means Committee had approved the bill Monday.
“Republicans are working to lower the cost of living, and housing costs are a big part of that. I can’t figure out why so many Democrats from Puget Sound counties got behind this idea. They of all people should have realized it would make housing even more expensive, both to buy and to rent, at a time when people are already struggling to get by.
“The supporters of this bill didn’t highlight how the 1% cap set by voters nearly 20 years ago and confirmed by the Legislature in 2007 applies to annual property-tax increases approved at the council level. Local governments have always had the option to go above 1% if they get voter approval. More than anything this bill was about making it easier to raise property taxes without asking voters. I’m glad it is off the table for this year, but taxpayers should still be outraged that the bill got as far as it did.”
Watch the FOX 13 story on SB 5770.
Read more about SB 5770 on the Washington State Senate website.
Also read:
- Woodland School District secures $600,000 grant for essential repairs
Woodland School District received a $600,000 state Urgent Repair Grant to fund fire alarm upgrades at Woodland Middle School and roof repairs at Columbia Elementary. - Clark County launches new equitable park access programs in 2026, including free-parking days
Clark County is introducing new park access programs in 2026 that include free parking days and a library-based parking pass checkout option. - Additional measles exposure site identified in Ridgefield
Clark County Public Health identified an additional measles exposure location in Ridgefield involving a medical clinic visit while a confirmed case was contagious. - The Study of Sports Podcast Jan. 31, 2026: We discuss how the 2A GSHL football is about to change in a major way, plus some Seahawks talk, too
The Jan. 31 episode of the Study of Sports Podcast covers major upcoming changes to 2A GSHL football, local high school sports updates, and discussion of the Seattle Seahawks. - Fort Vancouver athletics improving under partnership with Trico League
Fort Vancouver High School athletics are showing measurable gains in competition and participation during the second year of a partnership competing in the Class 1A Trico League. - Opinion: Inviting courts into health care policy discussion
Elizabeth New (Hovde) warns that Senate Joint Resolution 8206 could invite lawsuits by placing vague health care mandates into Washington’s Constitution. - Opinion: 24 States In. Washington Out? $732 Million Lost?
Vicki Murray argues Washington risks forfeiting $732 million in federal education funding if state leaders do not opt into the federal tax-credit scholarship program.
Senator Wilson understands that residents need property tax relief. She has sponsored a bill to exempt the first $250,000 of property value from taxation, a real help given the inflated property values in WA state.
It’s a shame she did so much to make them explode in the first place.
Thank you, Senate Republicans, for stepping up! Citizens, do you get it now? When you roar like a LION and make the windows in the Democrats offices rattle, you CAN win the fight. Even here. But you have to step up also! Be a one-minute warrior. When you receive those Legislative Alerts from conservative sources, stop, look, listen and taken action!
calm down numb skull, more democrats voted this down than republicans…
Minor detail: many more leftists in the legislature than GOP’ers, so your response is meaningless, sport.
This is the same GOP senate who jacked the largest gas tax/tab fee increases to date in this state’s history, while killing the referendum clause that would have put it to a public vote.
Hypocrisy, much?
Wilson was a huge supporter of and who unnecessarily voted for the so-called McCleary Budget, that caused our property taxes to exploded to pay for more teacher extortion, but did absolutely nothing to improve academic outcomes. You all remember “academics,” don’t you?
It’s what we send our kids to school for… and what public schools in this state so routinely suck at providing.