Matt Boehnke

Dear Friends and Neighbors, Now that the 2026 legislative session has wrapped up, I wanted to reach out on a couple of important topics. First, to invite you to my upcoming town hall this Saturday, April 11. Next, as promised in my previous update, to share a brief dive into...

OLYMPIA — Residents of Washington’s 8th Legislative District are invited to attend a town hall meeting with their state lawmakers on Saturday, April 11. Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, Rep. Stephanie Barnard, R-Pasco, and Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, will provide an overview of the 2026 legislative session and take questions from...

Sen. Matt Boehnke and Reps. April Connors and Stephanie Barnard secured key investments for the 8th District and the Tri-Cities region in the 2026 supplemental capital budget, building on major investments in last year’s budget and bringing total funding for the biennium to more than $100 million. In a joint...

OLYMPIA — Legislation sponsored by Sen. Matt Boehnke to simplify how students track their financial aid applications has been signed into law by the governor. Substitute Senate Bill 5841 integrates financial aid application data into Washington’s universal High School and Beyond Plan platform, giving students, families, and school staff a...

The 2026 legislative session has officially come to an end. After 60 days in Olympia, it was one of the more intense — and exhausting — sessions in recent memory. Like every session, some positive things happened. But several major decisions made by the majority will have long-term consequences for...

OLYMPIA — Legislation sponsored by Sen. Matt Boehnke to strengthen protections against AI-generated impersonations and other digital misuse of a person’s identity was signed into law today, Monday, March 16, by Gov. Bob Ferguson. Substitute Senate Bill 5886 updates Washington’s personality rights law to address the growing use of artificial...

OLYMPIA — Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, released the following statement after the Legislature gave final approval to Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6346, legislation establishing a new state income tax on individuals earning more than $1 million annually. “I strongly condemn the passage of this income tax. It’s being marketed as...

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, announced he will not seek re-election. He began representing the 8th Legislative District in the House of Representatives in 2019 and was elected to the Senate in 2023. The Senate honored his service with a resolution.

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Legislature has approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Matt Boehnke to improve how students track their progress on state and federal financial aid applications. Substitute Senate Bill 5841 aims to integrate financial aid application data into Washington’s universal High School and Beyond Plan platform, allowing students,...

OLYMPIA… Katalyna Contreras, an eighth-grader at Kiona-Benton City Middle School, recently spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Contreras was one of 25 students who served as Senate pages for the eighth week of the 2026 legislative session. She was...