The 2026 legislative session is well underway, and work is moving quickly in Olympia. As key decisions begin to take shape, I want to keep you informed about what’s happening at the Capitol, what I’m working on, and how the priorities of the 8th Legislative District are guiding my work....

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Courtesy of the Washington State Senate Last month marked a historic milestone for Hanford — and a turning point for the Tri-Cities region that has stood at the center of America’s nuclear legacy for generations. After decades of research, construction, and collaboration, the Hanford Site has officially...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/CREDIT: Washington State Legislature OLYMPIA… Senator Matt Boehnke today issued a strong warning about the Pacific Northwest’s energy future, citing a new analysis that projects potential power shortfalls in the region during extreme conditions. The analysis, conducted by Energy + Environmental Economics for the region’s largest utilities,...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Courtesy of the Washington State Senate As summer winds down, I’m proud to share the latest from my work as Washington’s representative in the Western Energy Caucus (WEC)—a bipartisan regional coalition addressing critical energy challenges across the West. This June, I was honored to be selected for...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Courtesy of the Washington State Senate I’m honored to participate in the Northwest Renewable Hydrogen Conference this September, joining fellow policymakers as a featured speaker in the “Leading from the Legislature: Hydrogen Policy Champions” session. The Renewable Hydrogen Alliance is a respected coalition advocating for renewable hydrogen,...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Courtesy of the Washington State Senate In early July, I spoke at the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Regional Advocacy Roundtable: Behind the Bill – How Policy Shapes Your Energy Costs—a timely forum examining how state-level decisions are directly influencing rising utility bills and the future of...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick (4th from the left) with the Western Energy Caucus in Denmark. Photo courtesy of the Western Energy Caucus. This June, I  joined an elite bipartisan group of lawmakers from across the western United States to help launch the new Western Energy Caucus (WEC)—a regional initiative focused...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Credit: Washington State Senate OLYMPIA… On Tuesday, the governor signed a bipartisan measure from Sen. Matt Boehnke that accelerates the deployment of distributed energy technologies like solar, storage, and agrivoltaics across the state. The new law is a major step forward for clean energy and land stewardship...

Front row, L to R: Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, Gov. Bob Ferguson, and Virginia Hall, SLA, Office of Sen. Boehnke. Back row, L to R: Dawn Boehnke, Derrek Wilson, Dept. of Ecology, Anthony “Tony” Abbot, Dept. of Ecology, Cameron Long, SRC Policy, WA State Senate, Ken Camp, Dept. of Ecology,...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Credit: Washington State Senate OLYMPIA… As Republican leader on the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee, Sen. Matt Boehnke has worked hard to improve the state’s energy policy. His bill to improve the state’s climate-data reporting is headed for the late-session step known as “concurrence” after receiving...