Three Washington lawmakers painted a grim picture of the state's upcoming legislative session during an early morning forum this week while assuring attendees that they would continue to be a voice of financial responsibility in Olympia.
The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce hosted an in-person legislative forum with state Reps. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehals, and Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, as well as state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, at Jeremy’s Farm to Table in Chehalis at 7:30 a.m. Thursday.
The event attracted a small audience of local officials representing local governments, school districts and interest groups. The lawmakers took the first 30 minutes of the hour-long session to share their expectations and concerns for the 2026 legislative session, which begins in January. Afterward, members of the audience got a chance to ask questions.
The lawmakers singled out the state budget as the single most important issue going into the 60-day legislative session, dedicating most of their time to the topic.
The three Republicans warned that the majority Democrats in the state Legislature would likely look at a second round of tax increases this year to address budget concerns. The panel echoed Republican talking points from the 2025 legislative session, arguing that the state is spending beyond its means, and advocating for cuts to spending over tax increases.
“This is not a revenue problem,” Abbarno said. “This is a spending problem and it is a priorities crisis.”
The Washington state Legislature passed widespread tax increases during the 2025 legislative session in an attempt to address a predicted multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. But the state's financial woes seem likely to continue as tax revenue grows slower than expected and falling revenue predictions from the Washington State Office of Financial Management create budget gaps.
Each lawmaker in their own turn credited the tax increases in the state for driving an affordability crisis and specifically driving up costs for housing, health care, child care and other essentials. They also linked the tax increases to rising construction costs for updating infrastructure and raised concerns that aggressive taxes would push valuable industries out of the state.
“We can no longer afford the policies coming out of Olympia,” Braun said.
Abbarno was the first to speak, tackling affordability issues across the state and arguing that many of the taxes passed in 2025 were said to impact only the rich but would have widespread impacts on all Washington residents.
“It hit everybody, from gas prices or grocery prices to child care,” he said.
“There was a tax on virtually everything,” Abbarno said. “And some of those taxes haven't even been realized yet. They don't even go into effect until later, in months and years later. But it was pretty impactful.”
Abbarno also touched on recent news that Democrat lawmakers in the state are considering introducing a new form of income tax in the 2026 Legislature. According to recent reporting by The Washington State Standard, state Democrats might propose a new form of income tax designed to only impact individuals making more than $1 million a year.
Abbarno and later Braun added that the tax would take some legal maneuvering to pass as they believe the tax to be unconstitutional.
Orcutt took the stage next and delivered more grim news, explaining the state's financial situation as it stands. According to Orcutt’s calculations, lawmakers in June were expecting the state's allocated budget to just barely get through the two-year budget period without a deficit, ending with a $2 million fund balance.
However, with September tax revenue estimates dropping by more than $412 million, Orcutt now estimates the state faces another deficit heading into the 2026 session despite the tax hikes earlier this year.
“They already added new taxes to solve their budget problem, and they still have a budget problem,” Orcutt said. “What that tells me is what you heard from here. It's not a revenue problem. It's a spending problem.”
Adding his own thoughts to the conversation, Braun stated that he expects the increasing taxes and signs of more to come will push away businesses and lead to further diminishing tax revenues for the state.
“I suspect we're going to see more bad news on the horizon,” Braun said. “I don't say that with any relish. I just think, well, that's what we've done to what was, and still is to a large degree, a fabulous economy. We've just hammered and hammered it, and we're going to pay the results.”
As the lawmakers finished up their talking points, a few in the audience jumped at the chance to ask questions.
Centralia City Councilor Norm Chapman asked the lawmakers to weigh in on a slate of local issues, including nitrate water contamination in Centralia, the possibility of a new Interstate 5 interchange north of Centralia and the future of the Centralia TransAlta power plant, which is due to shut down its last coal-fired boiler by the end of the year.
The legislators delivered a final bit of bad news, bluntly stating that enough funding for an interchange in Lewis County in the next 10 years was unlikely. The rest of the questions from Chapman received more positive responses. All three on the panel voiced support for moving the Bob Oke Game Farm out of Centralia, and Braun attempted to assuage fears over the future of the TransAlta power plant.
Chapman said he was concerned that the state wouldn't allow the TransAlta facility to transition into a natural gas-burning power plant. Braun, however, showed optimism, signaling that the TransAlta site is a perfect candidate for a small nuclear reactor-based power plant and would likely be approved for conversion to natural gas in the near term.
“We have invested, the state, Energy Northwest, Puget Sound Energy have invested heavily in building small nuclear reactors at the Hannaford site,” Braun said. “This site presents a huge opportunity for our community, economically and from an energy power availability issue, to provide a site. We need to do the work to rally support for that based on new, current technology, and get that at the TransAlta site.”
Before concluding the event, Chamber Executive Director Cynthia Mudge asked the legislators what community members can do to help during the two-month session. The three lawmakers urged those present and those in the community to follow important issues and bills closely and testify at committee hearings.
“I would ask you to stay tuned in the news that we put out, that our caucus puts out, specifically on budget issues,” Braun said. “Weigh in where you have expertise, whether it's education, whether it's health care, whether it's either, and whether it's businesses and taxes. Be bold about showing up in Olympia and testifying.”
