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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope your new year is off to a great start.
The first two weeks of this short 60-day session have been packed with important work, and I want to share it with you. Before I get into that, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who responded to my survey this fall. The response was incredible, and the information you shared is invaluable to my work representing you in Olympia. Thank you. Look for more surveys in the future.
Initiatives to the Legislature
I am excited to share that two citizen initiatives — one on fairness in girls’ sports and one on parents’ rights in public schools — have officially qualified for the Legislature. They should get a public hearing and a straight-up or down vote. Instead, both the House and Senate majority leaders have indicated they won’t hold hearings, despite strong public support.
These initiatives reflect real concerns families are raising. The girls’ sports measure protects fairness for female athletes in our schools and, despite claims to the contrary, does not add any new or invasive exams — it uses the same sports physicals already required.
The parents’ rights initiative restores and reinforces the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which was rolled back by majority Democrats last session. It ensures parents can access school materials and records, are notified when medical services are offered at school, and have a say in certain surveys or instruction tied to sexual activity.
If you want these initiatives to be heard, I encourage you to contact House and Senate majority leaders and ask them to schedule hearings on the initiatives.
Budget Deficit
Despite passing the largest tax increase in state history last year, the state is once again facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit in 2026, and that means more new tax proposals from Democrats.
House Republicans released their own budget solution before session started . The Affordability First Budget Framework is a no-new-taxes budget plan focused on cuts, spending limits, and accountability. We continue to encourage the majority to consider it.
Watch Rep. Marshall’s legislative video update below from week one of the 2026 session
Earlier this month, I was proud to stand with many of my House Republican colleagues to support calls to fix our state’s child welfare system and stop the needless rise in child deaths and near deaths of kids left in homes with adults abusing hard drugs.
I was also proud to speak at a rally in support of protecting informed consent. This is a vital bodily autonomy right that allows people to decide what medical treatments they want – or don’t want. It is meant to prevent things like mandated or coerced vaccinations tied to one’s ability to keep their job or attend school. But there continue to be legislative attempts to erode informed consent.
I’ll keep you informed with updates throughout the session on these issues and more.
Read more about the variety of crises in our state and House Republicans’ plans to fix Washington.
I also encourage you to get involved in the process. You can come to Olympia to testify or testify remotely. – Your voice makes a difference.
Learn how easy it is for you to get involved in the legislative process.
Read how to help stop bad bills.
Please stay in touch by reaching out to my office regularly to share your ideas and concerns. It is essential to my work representing the 2nd District.
Sincerely,
Matt Marshall
