Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Credit: Washington State Senate
OLYMPIA… Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, came into the 2025 legislative session to find common ground with the Senate majority – and it’s working.
Two full weeks into this year’s session, 14 of the 17 bills filed by Boehnke, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee, have attracted co-sponsorship from across the political aisle.
Boehnke’s bills cover topics ranging from increasing election security, SB 5014, and increasing efficiencies when siting energy projects to strengthening Washington’s leadership and accountability on climate policy and emissions data and modifying motor-vehicle emissions standards, SB 5091.
“The Tri-Cities region is poised to lead Washington’s clean-energy revolution. By streamlining energy-project siting and embracing advanced nuclear and hydrogen technologies, we’re creating jobs while securing our energy future,” he said, referring to SB 5015.
Other bipartisan Boehnke bills would provide tax exemptions for qualifying farm equipment, SB 5092; modify cost-of-living adjustments for older, retired public employees, SB 5113; improve the process for payouts of retirement benefits when a retiree or beneficiary dies, and create prohibitions on the purchase of small, unmanned aircraft manufactured or assembled by certain foreign entities (SB 5302).
Boehnke is also a co-sponsor on several majority-party bills, including SB 5329, which is about better regulating the installation of smoke-detection devices; SB 5338, which would create a veteran’s affairs advisory committee; SB 5400, aimed at supporting local news journalism; SB 5401, which concerns wholesale power purchases by electric utilities under the Washington Clean Energy Transformation Act; and SB 5430, which deals with approvals of electric-utility wildfire-mitigation plans.
The 105-day legislative session began Jan. 13 and is scheduled to conclude on April 27.
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