Valentines' Day promotions:

-Sen. Janea Holmquist, who yesterday introduced a bill "to reinstate the voters' first and true love: the blanket primary." (SB 6048) The bill would reinstate the vote-for-anyone-in-any-party primary the state had for decades until a party lawsuit torpedoed it.
To avoid a repeat, Holmquist's bill includes a provision that if the state parties sue, then the state would simply revert to a nonpartisan primary, with no one listed as a Republican or Democrat. The top two winners -- regardless of party -- would face off in November.

-From the Washington Tax Fairness Coalition: "No more sweetheart deal for Big Oil" under Rep. Steve Conway's bill (HB 2128) that would add a 3 percent business tax on the gross receipts of major oil companies. The fee would only kick in when gas prices rise above $1.75 a gallon.
Valentine's Day for oil companies, the group says, is over -- and they were handing out those chalky heart candies to make the point. The tax would raise $300 million to $650 million a year for the state, according to executive director Barb Flye.

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