Home | About Tom | News & Media | Email Updates | The Ledger | Contact
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you are enjoying the summer with family and friends. I have been busy meeting with constituents, serving on committees, taking tours, and preparing for the 2026 session. While it is months away, much of the work for the legislative session is done during our interim. If you have an issue, concern, or question about state government, please do not hesitate to contact me. I appreciate hearing from you about how state government is impacting you and your livelihood.
Wildfires and response
This summer, we have been fortunate to avoid the catastrophic wildfires we have seen in some of the previous years. Part of the reason for that is that we are better prepared to stop wildfires before they get out of control.
I worked closely with former Washington State Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz on wildfire management during her eight years in office. The Columbia Basin Herald recently featured our work together. You can find that article here.
Working together, we were able to make major changes in wildfire response and suppression efforts. The ability to react quickly to a fire through initial attack was accomplished by increasing the size of the aerial resources. We went from around 10 aircraft in 2017 to over 40 in eight years. This put us in a position to respond almost instantly to any wildfire across the state. Also, with the passage of House Bill 1498 in 2023, we were able to offer small rural fire departments aviation assurances. This meant they could use aerial assets to respond with an initial attack and potentially stop the fire, so state mobilization would not be needed. The state would cover the costs of the response. This has been a popular option, saving the state untold dollars. Rarely does a fire requiring state mobilization cost less than $1 million; the norm is much higher.
Unfortunately, funding for wildfire prevention and forest health was cut in the 2025-27 operating budget. In 2021, the Legislature invested $500 million over eight years in the Department of Natural Resources for wildfire preparedness and response. The department had been spending around $120 million a year. However, with the budget shortfall, the majority party reduced the funding to about half of what had been spent in the previous years, including cuts to the aerial assets and boots on the ground firefighters. This could have a very detrimental effect on the ability to stop wildfires. This budget cut could also change our ability to continue with our forest health work. When it comes to wildfire and forest health, the money is always better spent on the front end, such as prevention and initial attack, rather than on the back end, wildfire management.
I am exploring additional avenues to combat Washington state wildfires. My Rangeland Fire Protection Association legislation, House Bill 1048, would allow for public-private partnerships in the form of RFPAs in which citizens would work with fire departments to provide an initial attack. It received a public hearing in the 2025 session, but did not make it out of the Appropriations Committee. I will be pushing this bill again in the upcoming session.
Oregon continues to strengthen its RFPA’s and has been using them for about a decade. They just passed legislation that allows their forestry department to sell or give depreciated firefighting assets to RFPAs. Oregon’s governor says the RFPA’s have been the first line of defense in their rural communities as the forest fires are larger than they have ever experienced. I see the RFPA program as another tool to reduce the losses due to fire while at the same time strengthening our public-private partnerships. As I have repeatedly stated, there is something inherently wrong with burning up our natural resources.
Ag industry mental health report
The agricultural industry has the highest suicide rates of any sector in the country. In the 2024 supplemental operating budget, I secured $250,000 for a work group to provide recommendations on mental health and suicide prevention for agricultural producers, farm workers, and rural communities.
The report was recently finished and made public. It found that while the agricultural community is highly resilient in the face of adversity, we are still struggling with high rates of mental health challenges and suicide. The mental well-being of our ag industry has been in decline due to several factors. Recommendations from the work group include:
- Integrate 988 and AgriStress Response hotline under a unified system allowing for swift accessibility.
- Expand community awareness campaigns.
- One-stop support centers to offer mental health, financial, and legal resources.
- Suicide prevention and awareness training for those working in the industry.
- Establish grants to study the regulatory burdens and economic impact on farmers.
- Identify funding sources and a comprehensive funding strategy.
Several of us will be exploring possible legislation needed to address some of these recommendations. You can access the report here.
Keeping our children safe
One of my many legislative duties is sitting on the Washington State Department of Youth, Children, and Families Oversight Board. A couple of weeks ago, the board was notified by the state Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds that there were 45 fatalities or near-fatalities of children who are under state supervision during the second quarter, April through June. This comes on the heels of a report that showed 47 children suffering near-fatalities or fatalities in the first quarter. This is a significant and disturbing increase from 2024. Many who have died or suffered near-fatal incidents are related to opioid exposure and fentanyl.
The Keeping Families Together Act, passed in 2021, needs to be amended. While the intent of the legislation was good, to reduce the children placed into foster care and support family members to take care of their children, it has put them in unsafe and dangerous surroundings. It has been my experience that when trying something new and you hit the wall, turn left or turn right, but don’t back up and hit the wall again.
With the staggering numbers being reported, child safety must be the priority over family preservation. The time is now to make a positive turn with this legislation, learn from our mistakes, and make changes to avoid further tragedies.
Also worth noting, Gov. Bob Ferguson vetoed funding for the Pediatric Interim Care Center. It has been in operation for 35 years and is the only specialized medical facility in western Washington that cares for drug-exposed babies. Read more on that here.
Protecting our most vulnerable must be priority number one. The state’s treatment of our children and infants is unacceptable. It is time for a change.
New taxes
As I shared in my end of session update, the governor signed legislation totaling a record $12.5 billion in tax increases. If you start seeing an increase in certain things, it is because many of the new taxes and fees went into effect in July—including a six-cent gas tax increase. Seven other new laws that may make your wallet feel lighter include:
- House Bill 2049 will raise property taxes by increasing the local school district property tax levy authority by 55% by 2031, allowing rich districts to get richer and leaving poor districts behind.
- House Bill 2015 will allow local governments to authorize an additional 0.1% local sales and use tax, raising costs for consumers.
- House Bill 1409 will increase gas prices by an estimated 5-25 cents per gallon through changes to the Clean Fuels Program.
- Senate Bill 5083 will shift health care costs from the state to families, averaging $1,400 per year for a family of four (PEBB/SEBB price caps).
- Senate Bill 5786 will increase the cost of liquor licenses, on average 50%, for grocers, restaurants, bars, and more—depending on the license type.
- House Bill 1858 will extend document recording fees to more real estate-related transactions, further increasing the cost of housing.
- House Bill 1488 will raise property taxes by increasing the cap for conservation district property taxes and adjusting the increase every three years for inflation.
Aviation and Wildfire Caucus meeting
We have tentatively scheduled an Aviation and Wildfire Caucus meeting on Oct. 9 in Spokane. Stay tuned for further details.
Stay in touch
A reminder, even though we are not in session, my door is always open. I appreciate hearing from you. If you have questions, concerns, or ideas, please reach out. You can call my office at (360) 786-7932 or email me at Tom.Dent@leg.wa.gov.
It is an honor to serve the 13th District.
Sincerely,
Tom Dent
