Author Archives: bookerstallworth

McCune pledges to fight ‘reckless’ airport plan in the Senate

Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, released the following statement today in response to the Commercial Aviation Coordination Commission (CACC) proposal to site a massive two-runway airport at one of two rural Pierce County locations or another rural area southeast of Olympia.

“The proposal for a new mega airport in Pierce or Thurston counties has been thoroughly rejected by the homeowners, farmers and small-business owners of the communities I represent.

“A six-mile-diameter airport in the heart of these areas would tear close-knit communities apart, destroy agricultural lands, and devastate property values. It could even force some to sell their property for less than fair market value, at a time when rental costs and mortgage rates are rising, putting affordable housing out of reach.

“Such a project would also mean new freeways, high-speed transit, hotels, restaurants and lots more. Any value created by this economic development would come at a very high price. It would fundamentally change the very nature of these rural communities, as well as further reduce affordability at a time of record inflation.

“The only feasible and fair option of the two left on the commission’s list is to add capacity to Paine Field. That would meet some of the overall projected demand, without changing or destroying communities and causing irreparable harm to the people I represent.

“If the commission cannot listen to the voices of the people, who are speaking out loudly against the reckless option targeting Pierce and Thurston counties, I will work to convince my colleagues in Olympia to reject it should that plan come before the Legislature for consideration.”

The CACC began its work in October 2019 (as required by that year’s Substitute Senate Bill 5370), and is required by Senate Bill 5165, adopted in 2021, to meet three deadlines:

  • Provide an initial list of six possible locations to the Legislature by February 15, 2022 [Completed]
  • Provide a list of the top two locations (options) by October 15, 2022 [Completed]
  • Provide a single preferred location recommendation by February 15, 2023

McCune represents the largely rural 2nd Legislative District, which runs along the southern portion of Pierce County, including the communities of Graham, Orting, Eatonville, and Kapowsin, and also includes part of Thurston County, including Yelm and Lacey.

McCune announces Parents’ Education Bill of Rights

Pierce County state senator plans to introduce bills to protect children, increase accountability, and respect the will of parents in education

As Labor Day quickly approaches, and with it, the return of students and teachers to the classroom, one lawmaker says it is time for Washington to recognize the ultimate authority of parents to determine what is best for their children’s education.

“Providing for K-12 education is the paramount duty of the state, but in most cases, the education of a child is the primary concern of that child’s parents,” said Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham. “Parents know what is best for their children, and the state needs to recognize the parent’s right to play the primary role in determining education policy and school curricula.”

When lawmakers return to Olympia in January for the 2023 legislative session, McCune will introduce a Parents’ Education Bill of Rights for consideration. The package will include measures that would require written parental consent for students to participate in controversial new state-mandated sex-education courses; provide parents with online access to curriculum materials; encourage state-education funding to follow students to the school of their choice; support charter schools and home-schooling families; ban teaching of the controversial Critical Race Theory (CRT); and encourage greater transparency and parental involvement.

McCune said his legislation will respect the substantial number of parents genuinely concerned about controversial sexual and divisive race-related materials being forced on their young children.

“The best way to address division and controversy and reduce the level of tension and animosity is not to force a one-size-fit-all solution on every student and parent,” said McCune. “The best solution is to have parents make informed decisions about what is best for their children, and then respect their decisions. This packet of legislation requires that parents make the call, and ensures they have access to all curriculum materials and resources necessary to see what their children are being taught. The more information people have, the better choices they can make.”

Measures included in the Washington Parents’ Education Bill of Rights package include –

  • Right to choose – This measure would establish the right of all Washington parents to educate their children at the school of their choice, be it public, private, home-based or religious. It would require the state to provide parents with vouchers equivalent to their student’s portion of the public-school fund.
  • The Educational Choice Scholarship Program – This measure would provide students from designated public schools with the opportunity to attend participating private schools. The program also provides scholarship opportunities to low-income students who are entering kindergarten through 12th grade.
  • The Individual Class Freedom Act – This legislation would prohibit school employees from indoctrinating students on CRT, the concept that “one race, color, national origin, or sex are morally superior to members of another race, color, national origin, or sex” and that “a person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
  • Parental Consent in Youth Sexual Education – This would require parents or guardians to sign permission slips before students participate in the new controversial, comprehensive sex-education program mandated during the 2020 legislative session.
  • Education Transparency Act – This would require each school district to post, on its website, all core instructional materials used within its curricula within 14 days of adoption by the school district board of directors. This would provide parents and legal guardians with access to, and an opportunity to review, all classroom materials. Most schools currently use an online portal to access grades. This bill would make a similar system available to parents, while also preventing copyright issues.
  • The Parental Involvement Act – This measure would require parental, guardian or court notification and consent prior to providing a minor student with abortion or gender reassignment treatments at school, and would prohibit school officials from transporting students off school grounds for such purposes without prior parental or court consent.
  • The Safe Facilities Act – This measure would require parental notification and consent before restrooms, locker rooms and other environments with an expectation of privacy are made gender-neutral or opened to students whose gender assigned at birth does not correspond to the intended facility.
  • Ban on “Puberty Blockers” and irreversible surgeries for school-aged kids – In July, the federal Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that puberty blockers can cause serious and lasting negative health risks for children. The FDA documented thousands of deaths linked to the most common puberty-blocking drugs now given to children who suffer from gender dysphoria or claim to be transgendered. Complications related to the use of these drugs include heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, malignant tumors and suicidal behaviors.

    This bill would ban the use of these drugs in schools and prevent schools from taking children off-campus for the purpose of administering these drugs.

McCune calls for action to reverse ‘sad, but predictable’ spike in crime caused by Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies

The annual report on crime recently released by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs found violent crime in Washington has increased by an alarming 12.3 percent and is climbing by even more in Pierce County. State Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, responded with this statement calling for action to help protect the public:

“The reluctance to put criminals behind bars is a symptom of the ‘soft on crime’ philosophy that has taken hold in Olympia over the past five years.

“Since Democrats recaptured full control of state government in 2018, we have seen thousands of convicted felons released early from prison, drug possession essentially decriminalized by the courts without an effective legislative response, voter approved anti-crime measures weakened, and much-needed tools taken away from law enforcement.

“The fact that these anti-public safety measures have resulted in more crime and reduction in both law enforcement and public safety is sad but was completely predictable.

“The sweeping law-enforcement measures passed by the majority is the key contributing factor in the dramatic decline in officers.

“These measures focused on eroding local control of law enforcement, restricting police tactics and tools. They increased the likelihood that law enforcement would be subject to successful lawsuits, even from known criminals. In a time when law-enforcement agencies were already having trouble recruiting, these measures sent the wrong message to law enforcement and criminals alike, and it has been the public that has suffered as a result.

“The murder rate reached an all-time high in both 2020 and 2021. Based on 2022 data to-date from Seattle and Tacoma, it is likely that next year’s statewide report will make it three years in row.

“We cannot wait another day for action to restore law and order. This year I was part of an effort to reverse these trends, with the introduction of the Republican Safe Washington package of bills. While the Democrat majority relented on a few minor points, the majority of our reform efforts did not receive serious consideration, and many of the restrictions on law enforcement remain. Nothing was done to seriously address drug laws, prison closures, sentencing trends, or the need for judicial oversight.

“Until Governor Inslee and the Legislature tackle these issues, public safety in Washington will continue to deteriorate.”

McCune responds to U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe

Today’s ruling corrects a fundamental legal error and returns the issue to the states and the people, says the Pierce County state senator

Today the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, effectively ending recognition of a constitutional right to abortion, returning the issue to the individual states, and giving the people the power to regulate abortion through their elected legislators.

The ruling, which came in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, corrects a fundamental legal error made in 1973 when the court removed the issue from state legislatures, said Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham.

“Roe, and the decades-long contentious debate in our country over the issue of abortion, was the result of our judicial system overstepping its constitutional bounds, assuming the role of a national legislature, and inventing new law,” said McCune. “Today’s decision corrects that misstep. It does not make abortion illegal, but simply sends the issue back to state legislatures where it should have resided in the first place.”

In a 6-to-3 ruling, the majority opinion argues that “for the first 185 years after the adoption of the Constitution, each State was permitted to address [abortion] in accordance with the views of its citizens.”

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, adds, “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely—the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

McCune stressed that while the ruling on Dobbs is good news for the country, it is not likely to change much here in Washington.

“There are some common-sense reforms – like protecting unborn babies with Down syndrome and eliminating sex-selection abortions – that could and should be adopted in Olympia to add some protections for unborn babies and expectant mothers,” McCune points out. “But despite the hyperbolic language and scare tactics by some on the left, the ruling, which had been anticipated for some time, will not actually change that much here in Washington.”

Washington voters in 1991 passed Initiative 120, which codified the Roe-era Supreme Court rulings as a matter of state law. The argument at the time was that state law would take over if Roe went away.

“Today we see elected officials and others who should know better talking as if I-120 never happened,” said McCune.

He added that, ultimately, the issue is not about the big moral questions surrounding abortion, but about the democratic process. “In this ruling, the Supreme Court is telling us that it’s up to the people to decide, as the Constitution says they should.”