Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, of Washington’s 20th Legislative District, met with Woodland residents Tuesday during the Woodland Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, taking questions from the community, many of which stemmed from its budget and tax outlook for the 2026 supplemental budget.
Abbarno opened by stressing the value of staying connected to business owners and local communities.
“That is so much more important to me and so I really appreciate all your activity,” he said.
Abbarno, who serves in the House’s Capital Budget and Consumer Protection and Business committees, began with the state’s financial outlook. He revisited last year’s tax and fee increases made to fill an estimated $12 billion gap and warned the audience that more proposals were already being floated ahead of the 2026 legislative session. The state faces a budget shortfall in the $12 billion to $16 billion range.
He referenced reporting that Senate Democrats discussed an income tax of 9.9 percent on adjusted gross income above $1 million, projected to draw an estimated $3 billion from about 20,000 affected households. Abbarno told attendees he believed such proposals rarely stay limited to high earners.
“Most tax proposals that get leaked out of Olympia start high and work their way down to impact more and more people,” he said.
He said lawmakers will enter committee assembly days in early December and bills could be filed almost immediately afterward, urging residents to get involved early.
Questions from the audience ranged from regulatory authority to school policies and the state’s growing tax burden.
One attendee asked about school sports and “the safety of female athletes competing against trans students.”
Abbarno, who co-sponsored a failed amendment that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports, said the makeup of the Legislature makes such restrictions unlikely to pass, although he noted shared parental concerns.
“What do you do when a 6-foot guy decides he wants to play on a women's soccer team, and she is a striker and their defense, and what do you do in that situation where it could be a clear danger issue?” he asked.
Tax frustration surfaced again when another attendee asked about the difficulty of working under a strong Democratic majority.
“It’s difficult,” Abbarno said. “We know in the state of Washington right now that Republicans are in the minority in both the House and the Senate, and we also know that Democrats have controlled all three chambers for 8 or 9 years.”
He said he tries to work within the system to reduce harm to his district.
“My view, my role is I'm gonna try to stop it, but if I can't stop it, how do I make it better?”
Abbarno also criticized the state’s recently passed bill, which allows a 0.1% sales tax option that cities and counties can now adopt to support law enforcement, saying the state is pushing local governments into tax hikes rather than funding police directly. He told attendees that Olympia routinely creates grant programs that require local tax increases to access the money.
“Hey, we've got this really cool grant program that can help you out. All you have to do is pass this local tax increase, right?” he said.
He said House Republicans proposed $100 million for training and retaining officers, noting Washington has the lowest number of officers per capita in the country, but the governor tied access to that funding to local tax increases.
“I guess what you're saying, governor, is we're funding it ourselves because that money is gonna go to Olympia to pay for it,” he said.
Abbarno urged the state to take responsibility for public safety funding rather than forcing local governments to raise taxes.
“I'm hoping that Olympia realizes that we don't have a budget crisis. We have a priorities crisis,” he said.
Woodland Chamber President Neil Butler brought the discussion home with a question about the Brockmann Residential Treatment Facility, a state-funded psychiatric treatment center completed in Clark County earlier this year but now mothballed until at least 2027 to save an estimated $74 million amid a budget shortfall.
“It's been really disappointing over the last decade or longer watching the legislature not prioritize mental health,” Abbarno said.
He criticized the state for repeatedly passing mental health policy without building the infrastructure to support it.
“It’s always the cart before the horse in Olympia,” he said. “We cannot leave abandoned assets after spending tens of millions of dollars on mental health and then leaving facilities closed and not dealing with the problem.”
The event closed with Abbarno again urging local residents to stay involved as the Legislature approaches a high-stakes budget session.
